Introduction
Mrs. Gaulle is our chief nurse at the hospital I work as a nurse. When I was first employed in the hospital as a nurse, no instinct could convince me that Gaulle was able to handle administrative issues. To be a successful leader in the issues of health, one has to understand the intricacies of nursing practices. Moreover, the interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship must be prioritized so as to relate well with those you are supervising (Frankel, 2008). This also means having an accommodative attitude, leadership skills, and the ability to understand and respect other people’s beliefs, culture, attitudes, and principles. Mrs. Gaulle has a combination of leadership attributes that have made her stand out as a leader in her profession although this does not mean that she is without weaknesses. This paper describes Mrs. Gaulle’s positive and negative attributes in her leadership position and concludes by describing what should be changed and or not changes in her leadership attributes.
Her Leadership style
According to Porter-O’Grady (2003), leadership is a broadly understood process where goals are identified; people are motivated to act to achieve commonly agreed goals. Mrs. Gaulle uses the dynamic leadership style where she has established an ever-changing relationship with other nurses. She does not control other nurses but offers direction so that individual nurses have control of their work. This leadership style is important because it shows that both the senior nurse and those under her are inevitable for the success of their service delivery (Bondas, 2006). Moreover, her dynamic leadership style is in line with the nursing profession where every nurse has a responsibility for the wellbeing of the patients. This cannot be achieved if nurses do not work as a team. Therefore, Mrs. Gaulle coordinates and supervises all interactions among her team members, and in this, she utilizes her positive leadership attributes.
Her Positive and negative attributes of leadership
Mrs. Gaulle is friendly, easy-going, and gets along well with those she supervises. She encourages an open-door policy and is approachable. These leadership attributes are beneficial to her coworkers because they do not fear explaining their experiences to her and seeking any help and guidance from her. Mrs. Gaulle’s leadership attributes have offered a style that motivates nurses to work without being closely supervised while at the same time getting the work done in line with the hospital’s policies. Frankel (2008) argues that when senior nurses are approachable and motivating, nurses are able to attain their mutual goals, and patients are accorded the best medical services and recovery.
However, Mrs. Gaulle has some weaknesses in her leadership. For instance, she does not believe that some nurses should be closely supervised or guided and therefore, assumes that every nurse should know when to act and seek guidance. This has not augured well with new nurses who are inexperienced and unmotivated because they end up making a number of mistakes and frustrating patients (Bondas, 2006).
Conclusion
The leadership style that senior nurses use is significant to the provision of care, service delivery, and patient’s recovery. This being the goal of every nurse, Mrs. Gaulle has assumed a dynamic leadership style so as to ensure that all nurses are part of success in service delivery in her unit. Mrs. Gaulle as a senior nurse is easily approachable, easy-going, and always ready to guide and mentor his coworkers. She should not change these leadership attributes because it works in motivating nurses to work as a team. However, she should apply these attributes to nurses who are experienced and motivated. Her close supervision and a little aggressiveness when dealing with new nurses who are inexperienced and unmotivated are sometimes required.
References
Frankel, A. (2008). What leadership styles should senior nurses develop? Nursing times, 104(35), 23-24.
Porter-O’Grady, T. (2003). A different age for leadership part I. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(10), 105-110.
Bondas, T. (2006). Paths to nursing leadership. Journal of Nursing Management, 14, 332-339.