NURS 6053 Leadership Theories in Practice
As a core part of healthcare delivery, nurses are considered leaders because they influence their patients and colleagues through care interventions that they suggest. Leadership theories like transformational, servant, transactional and contingent form the different approaches that nurse leaders adopt in influencing organizational change and delivery of quality patient care (Marshall et al., 2021). This discussion paper focuses on aspects of leadership from scholarly articles and the degree to which the leadership attributes of a certain are effective and their effects in the workplace.
Two Core Insights
The two articles explored in this discussion include Hughes et al. (2022) and Specchia et al. (2021). These articles emphasize the different yet critical attributes of nurse leaders in different care settings. Specchia et al. (2021) observe that the leadership styles of any nurse leader are critical to the overall job satisfaction of nurses. Imperatively, the article advance that nurse leaders should embrace transformational, servant, and participatory leadership styles. Further, they should promote technical and professional competencies and influence their staff by being role models. Hughes et al. (2022) show that an exemplary leadership model is critical for nurse leaders. Through this model, they can influence, and be effective communicators, understand processes, and develop sound relationships and interactions with their staff.
A situation where the Skills are in Practice
A situation where I witnessed these leadership attributes create a healthy workplace setting is our workplace at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the situation was not only challenging and delicate, nurse leaders were at the frontline and would take even longer shifts. Sometimes, they spent over 48 hours in the facility to meet the high demand for emergency care. Nurse leaders supported nurses by carefully listening to them (Mrayyan et al., 2023). The organization, like others, experienced challenges, and nurses could feel satisfied that their leaders are there for them to vent any issue and concern. For instance, the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) was high yet the facility could only supply a limited number, one that did not meet their needs.
These skills were highly effective because they enabled the leaders to develop better communication skills with the nurses and even patients. The skills also allowed the leaders to enhance their self-awareness and improve their approaches to emergencies. The practice allowed the workplace to attain better coordination in handling the surge in COVID-19 cases reporting to the facility. Conclusively, effective leadership attributes are essential to improving the overall workplace setting, especially during medical and health emergencies.
References
Hughes, V., Wright, R., Taylor, J., Petchler, C., & Ling, C. (2023). A qualitative descriptive
study of effective leadership and leadership development strategies used by nurse leaders in European island countries. Nursing Open, 10(2), 1071-1082. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1374
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader. Springer Publishing Company.
Mrayyan, M. T., Algunmeeyn, A., Abunab, H. Y., Kutah, O. A., Alfayoumi, I., & Khait, A. A.
(2023). Attributes, skills, and actions of clinical leadership in nursing as reported by hospital nurses: a cross-sectional study. BMJ leader, leader-2022. https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2022-000672
Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., &
Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1552. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041552
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Leadership Theories in Practice
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.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
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.
- Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
By Day 3 of Week 4
Post two key insights you had from the scholarly resources you selected. Describe a leader whom you have seen use such behaviors and skills, or a situation where you have seen these behaviors and skills used in practice. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain to what extent these skills were effective and how their practice impacted the workplace.
By Day 6 of Week 4
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by explaining how the leadership skills they described may impact your organization or your personal leadership, or by identifying challenges you see in applying the skills described.