It goes without saying that conflicts may be regarded as an unavoidable part of almost all spheres of human activities. In general, they are caused by people’s different expectations, personal characteristics, agendas, backgrounds, individual needs, and communication styles. Conflicts in health care facilities and in emergency care units, in particular, occur on a regular basis as practice traditionally implies the interactions of a considerable number of individuals with varying peculiarities, points of view, and backgrounds affected by pain, anxiety, and great stress. Thus, in such an atmosphere, these interactions inevitably lead to emotional tension and conflicts. In emergency medicine, conflicts frequently occur with nurses, patients, healthcare consultants, students, hospital administrative staff, and patients’ family members (Kayser & Kaplan, 2020). At the same time, conflict management strongly depends on leadership, and competent leaders are responsible for conflict resolution and building a team where members work efficiently together.
There are multiple leadership theories that aim to offer the most appropriate strategies and approaches for leaders’ goal achievement. This paper is dedicated to conflict management in emergency care units and teams from the perspective of Situational leadership theory. Its purpose is to prove that Situational leadership may be regarded as highly efficient in conflict resolution in a climate of emergency care facilities. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to examine the specific aspect or a narrower focus of a particular area properly without insight into a general concept. That is why the paper will initially review leadership theories and Situational leadership theory. In general, this theory suggests that competent leaders may adapt their leadership strategies and styles on the basis of team members’ current skills, readiness, perceptions, and developmental level. Moreover, according to Situational leadership theory, the context of a particular situation should be considered as well. In this case, the leader is provided with flexibility in order to assess the situation and adapt to it, presenting management that will fit the majority of followers’ needs, peculiarities, and capacities.
Subsequently, the paper will address leadership and the application of situational leadership for conflict management. The most common strategies include responsible acting, the initial investigation of a conflict, the development of self-awareness, respect for people’s differences, the maintenance of boundaries, and identifying the goals for conflict resolution. In other words, a leader should initially gather information related to a conflict in order to understand its reason and what each party wants and develop efficient strategies of conflict resolution on the basis of situational context and people’s individual needs.
Finally, the paper should focus on situational leadership for conflict management in emergency care units to evaluate its efficiency. In general, for leaders who apply the theory of situational management, it is possible to use any approach for conflict resolution suitable in a particular situation. They should know “which factors to consider when analyzing a situation and opt for the leader decision style that best fits the problem to be resolved” (Alsaqqa, 2020, p. 233). In emergency care facilities, where time, patient’s conditions, the emotional state of family members, and many other challenges should be considered along with factors that have led to a particular conflict, flexibility is essential. Thus, respect to followers’ competencies, demands, and readiness and focus on a particular situation and goals within a unit help a leader to solve every conflict in its own manner for the most appropriate results.
References
Alsaqqa, H. H. (2020). The situational leadership for the three realities of healthcare organizations (a perspective view). Journal of Health Systems and Policies, 2(2), 230-247.
Kayser, J. B., & Kaplan, L. J. (2020). Conflict management in the ICU. Critical Care Medicine, 48(9), 1349-1357.