NURS 6053 Week 4 Leadership Theories In Practice Discussion

There is no doubt that the healthcare system is ever-changing and fast-paced in today’s world. Healthcare professionals require strong leadership to be able to lead and guide their employees effectively, and decisions made at the top are likely to have a profound impact on entire populations if not handled correctly. A great healthcare leader inspires their staff, boosts their morale, and helps them improve their quality of life at work. Leaders in the healthcare industry must be competent to be successful. Leadership is not something that just anyone can do. Implementing change requires a strong leadership team with strong management skills (Marquis & Huston, 2017). There is no doubt that the behavior of leaders has a significant impact on an organization’s overall success (Yang & Wei, 2018).

Leadership requires the creation of plans for how the team or organization will succeed, which is dynamic, exciting, and inspiring (MindTool, n.d.). It is essential for leaders to handle situations individually, which means diagnosing the condition and the individual they are leading and tailoring their leadership styles to meet the needs of everyone (Laureate Education, 2014). Leaders cannot be everything to everyone, and those capable of doing so must also be competent. The first principle that is recognized among the theories that are widely accepted today is that leaders need to have some moral code or values that positively guide their actions and behavior. Whenever leaders do not carry the trust and best interests of those they stand for, no matter how brilliant the strategy or how productive the actions they take, leadership is impossible” (Marshall & Broome, 2017).

Since I have been a nurse leader for most of my career, I identify with the Transformation Leader style. It has also been my experience to work with managers who are transformational leaders. Transformational leadership is often compared with transactional leadership. Different leadership styles may be required (Asamani et al., 2022). Self-motivated individuals who work well in a structured, directed environment are essential to transactional leadership. Rather than directing workers, transformational leadership motivates and inspires them. On the other hand, the transactional leader values order and structure. They will likely command military operations, manage large corporations, or lead international projects that require rules and regulations to accomplish objectives on time or systematically move people and supplies. Transactional leaders are not suited for organizations that value creativity and innovation (Michigan State University, 2014).

As a nurse leader for most of my 25 years of nursing, I identify most with the transformational leadership style. The transformational leadership style dominates my workplace. For instance, my immediate supervisor uses a transformational leadership style. She is a lovely person who works well with others. As part of the company’s culture, she believes teamwork is essential. She is always on top of things and ensures her staff is cared for. To the best of my knowledge, she has been able to motivate and encourage her team exceptionally well. An example of both styles is my workplace is my home manager, she is stricter who ensures that all tasks are completed correctly and on time in my organization. Despite not punishing us, she provides us with positive reinforcement by rewarding her team for a well-done job. Her friendly and pleasant disposition is responsible for her uncanny ability to accomplish much. Many of her abilities are impressive, and I can see why she is so well-liked by her team.

In my research of leadership styles, I discovered that transformational leaders are known for being positive role models, providing support for employees, being honest and ethical, and being effective communicators. Being a positive role model and communicating effectively are the traits that most identify with. In any profession, especially nursing, a positive role model is essential as a leader. An individual can be inspired to be better, do better, and reach higher by following a positive role model. Effective communication is essential in any relationship. Communicating clear expectations and goals can eliminate trust issues between leaders and employ.

The most common and well-received leadership styles are transformational leadership and transactional leadership.  Leaders are necessary for the workplace as a guide and mentors for their staff. They ensure that an organization is efficient and achieves its goals. For an organization to achieve its mission, influential leaders provide clarity of purpose and motivate and guide the organization.

References:

Asamani, J. A., Naab, F., & Ofei, A. M. A. (2022, April 26). Leadership styles in nursing management: Implications for staff outcomes. Journal of Health Sciences. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.jhsci.ba/ojs/index.php/jhsci/article/view/533

Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert   clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Marquis, N. L., & Huston, C.J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:  Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Michiganstateuniversityonline.com. (2014, November 25). Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/transactional-vs-transformational-leadership/

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2014). Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Yang, qi, & Wei, hua. (2018). The impact of ethical leadership on Organizational Citizenship   Behavior: The moderating role of workplace ostracism. Leadership &     Organization Development Journal. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from   https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LODJ-12-2016-0313/full/html

A walk through the Business section of any bookstore or a quick Internet search on the topic will reveal a seemingly endless supply of writings on leadership. Formal research literature is also teeming with volumes on the subject.

However, your own observation and experiences may suggest these theories are not always so easily found in practice. Not that the potential isn’t there; current evidence suggests that leadership factors such as emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviors, for example, can be highly effective for leading nurses and organizations.

Yet, how well are these theories put to practice? In this Discussion, you will examine formal leadership theories. You will compare these theories to behaviors you have observed firsthand and discuss their effectiveness in impacting your organization.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and examine the leadership theories and behaviors introduced.

Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.

Also Check Out: NURS 6053- Week 5 Discussion Your Leadership Profile

Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.

Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.

One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.

I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.

In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.

Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).

Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).

Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.

I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.

As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.

It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Effective leaders take a personal interest in the long-term development of their employees or subordinates. Again, they use tact and other social as well as leadership attributes to encourage their followers to attain their best (Broome et al., 2022). These leaders are keen on tapping into the individual motivation in the interest of advancing overall good and development of their organizations. Based on two scholarly articles, leaders affect the perception of a healthy workplace based on the type of attributes that they demonstrate. Additionally, leaders develop a healthy workplace when they practice and follow transformational leadership style. According to Boamah (2022), transformational leaders focus on how their employees can attain the best for the organization through a new way of doing things. Transformational leadership attributes allow leaders to create and sustain a healthy workplace culture that encourages increased innovative approaches to developing solutions for all stakeholders (Vidman et al., 2020). Transformational leadership is authentic, interested in personal development of employees, and promotes a positive and inclusive workplace culture for nurses to deliver quality patient care.

These skills and behaviors are practiced in highly performing healthcare organizations that focus on quality care delivery. These entities have a strong employee-focused and patient-centered culture whose aim is to improve overall health outcomes. In this organization, these behaviors have been applied to help solve diverse staff issues and aspects that may impact the overall care delivery. These skills have been effective in ensuring that employees have a common approach to issues and prioritize patient care to improve overall outcomes (Bregenzer et al., 2020). The leaders in the organization are also ethical and value integrity and transparency when dealing with nurses and patients. The leadership style and skills have also led to the development of teamwork approach which implies that all work with one common vision and purpose.

References

Boamah, S. A. (2022). The impact of transformational leadership on nurse faculty satisfaction

and burnout during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A moderated mediated analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(9), 2815-2826. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15198

Bregenzer, A., Milfelner, B., Šarotar Žižek, S., & Jiménez, P. (2020). Health-promoting

leadership and leaders’ listening skills have an impact on the employees’ job satisfaction and turnover intention. International Journal of Business Communication, 2329488420963700.

https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488420963700

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert

            clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Vidman, Å., & Strömberg, A. (2020). Leadership for a healthy work environment–a question

about who, what and how. Leadership in Health Services, 34(1), 1-15.

DOI: 10.1108/LHS-06-2020-0041

Leadership skills begin with understanding one’s self. Leadership leaders “demonstrate self-confidence and are able to trust and empower others” (Sherman & Pross, 2010). Their communication and actions impact others and creates a healthy working environment. The art of leadership within healthcare organizations involve managing relationships with patients, coworkers, nurses and influencing their behaviors.

An example of a good leader was my previous manager who I had the pleasure to work with for four consecutive years. I witnessed a strong leadership characteristics such as setting certain directions, strategies, having a vision for the unit, and her ability to connect with her coworkers/nurses on both personal and professional level. She was considered an informal leader; as described in the Laureate Education (2014) “displayed charisma and willingness to help others be successful because of the vision they see for their unit which can be perceived as a leader with personal power”. A good example of leadership, when my manager implemented pressure ulcer prevention strategies on the unit. She created a daily list of patients who required frequent turning every 2 hours and set up a worksheet with times with nurses names to turn patients at the assigned times. Options were offered for nurses on a preferred time depending on their patients’ workload.

Overall, this particular practice helped recognize team members’ strengths to help create a positive workplace environment and ensure tasks get completed. Also, made quality of care to be a vital element for achieving high productivity levels within healthcare organizations (Sfantou et al., 2017). In the process of conducting skills; leaders are establishing the methods of collaboration, innovation, and communication. These methods will help set the healthcare organization for success. In conclusion, it is important for leaders to ensure they develop the skills and competencies needed to be successful. The development of healthy work places are responsive to the changing healthcare environment.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Sherman, R., & Pross, E. (2010). Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work Environments at the Unit Level. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(1), Manuscript 1. Doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No01Man01. Retrieved from http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol152010/No1Jan2010/Growing-Nurse-Leaders.aspx

Sfantou, D.F., Laliotis, A., Patelarou, A.E., Sifaki-Pistolla, D., Matalliotakis, M., & Patelarou, E. (2017). Importance of Leadership Style towards Quality of Care Measures in Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review. Healthcare, 5(4), 17. DOI:10.3390/healthcare5040073

 

Hello Sketa, ensuring that policies are developed from evidence-based practices and organization values is vital. I appreciate your topic on the opioid crisis. The opioid crisis is a major healthcare issue in this nation. In the midst of an opioid epidemic, health care workers are encountering an increasing number of patients who have opioid use disorder in addition to complex social, behavioral and medical issues (Horner et al., 2019). Change is crucial amongst our nation to combat the opioid crisis as many Americans are dying daily. Medical personnel, emergency departments, first responders, public safety officials, mental health and substance use treatments providers, community-based organizations, public health, and members of the community all bring awareness, resources, and expertise to address this complex and fast-moving epidemic (CDC.gov, 2022). I also appreciate your view on changing policies to manage pain. I agree that using opiates as an adjunct therapy instead of first line pain medicine is a great idea to help reduce opioid dependence. Great post!

Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 1). Understanding the opioid overdose epidemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html

Horner, G., Daddona, J., Burke, D., Cullinane, J., Skeer, M. & Wurcel, A. (2019). You’re kind of at war with yourself as a nurse. Perspectives of inpatient nurses on treating people who present with a comorbid Opioid use disorder. Plos One, 14(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224335