Introduction
Leadership and management styles in nursing vary greatly, depending on each organization’s management style and the community’s specific needs. According to Marquis & Huston (2019), leadership styles and management functions in nursing are determined by five main factors: 1.) Purpose-based leadership, 2.) Social inclusiveness 3.) External orientation 4.) Autonomy 5.) Competency-based leadership. This report takes deeper scrutiny on leadership theory, communication styles, solving performance improvement issues through evidence-based practice and quality improvements, and supervision techniques.
Leadership is a process of social influence in which an individual, who has power and authority over others, uses these resources to accomplish organizational goals. Management is defined as directing and controlling issues within a company or organization. In nursing, these activities are referred to as leadership and management roles (Marquis & Huston, 2019). Nurses are subject to many leadership theories that help them determine how best to influence the individuals under their care. These theories break down into three main categories: 1.) Theories based on relationships 2.) Theories based on behavior 3.) Integrated theories and applicable leadership theories.
Leadership and Management Theory
Leadership in nursing is about leading and managing nurses to achieve organizational goals. This requires a focus on the behavior of both leaders and managers, which are important for change, quality improvement, and leadership. The Nursing Management and Leadership course give learners the insight to lead and manage effectively. Leadership has been defined in many ways. It can be described as the ability to influence people to take action; together, they can achieve their goals; it’s the art of influencing people; it is a highly personal characteristic that managers have; moving others towards goal achievement is a key aspect of leadership (Beeber et al., 2019). It requires nurses’ knowledge, skills, attributes, and motivation in nursing management. On the other hand, management involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling resources to achieve organizational goals effectively and efficiently.
The three main leadership and management theories in nursing are transformational, transactional and charismatic leadership. Other leadership and management theories may be used in these roles.
Transformational Leadership – This theory uses the leader’s view as a change agent. The leader intends to create positive change within an organization or community. They attempt to unify everyone around a common vision or belief, emphasizing the ideals behind a higher purpose (Beeber et al., 2019). A transformational leader focuses on taking risks, setting high standards, and involving others in their vision for success. They often make decisions based on their beliefs about their organization’s best course of action.
Transactional Leadership – This theory uses the leader’s view as negotiating roles, exchanging resources, and gaining commitment from followers. This theory aims to strike a balance between providing rewards for following and costs for not following. The leader is viewed as a manager of transactions between themselves and their followers. In other words, followers seek rewards by supporting leaders’ ideas while leaders try to motivate followers by giving them something they want in exchange for their efforts. A transactional leader improves the organization through rational planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and communication.
Charismatic Leadership – This theory uses a view of the leader as a person who inspires and motivates others to follow. Individuals use their power to influence others by attracting attention and admiration. Charismatic leaders advocate sweeping social change, challenge existing norms, set idealistic and impossible goals, and encourage their followers to make sacrifices to achieve this change (Marquis & Huston, 2019). The big difference between charismatic and other types of leaders is the source of the leader’s power. Charismatic leaders rely on their followers to consider them extraordinary, whereas other types of leaders use organizational positions or power.
Change Theory
Change theory is about influences that produce changes in attitudes or behaviors over time (change processes). Many change theories aim to create conditions under which individuals endorse new beliefs or behave differently from past behavior (Hisel, 2020). This generally occurs after individuals have been exposed to a stimulus that leads them to change. Change in nursing management is adopting new behaviors, ideas, theories, and strategies for improving nursing care quality and patient safety.
Communication Style
Communication in leadership and management is about influencing people’s communication styles that can impact their behaviors, attitudes, and productivity. Therefore, the communication styles aim to develop good communication skills, which can benefit patients and employers. The communication style most often discussed and studied in nursing management is one’s communication style as it relates to organizational culture and structure (Hisel, 2020). Organizations are shaped by their leaders’ communication style, which determines how they manage information flow, who they listen to and how they will respond to requests from others.
Performance Improvement and Quality Improvement
Performance and quality improvement refer to processes through which individuals can improve their performance on tasks (or other aspects of their jobs). These processes usually involve identifying problems and developing solutions through improvement activities and interventions (Harvey et al., 2019). Performance improvement aims to increase work outputs by changing work processes. In contrast, many study performance has been done to evaluate work productivity, including physical capital, human capital, social capital, organizational capital, and material wealth. Performance and quality improvement involve identifying, analyzing, evaluating, intervening, or correcting suboptimal or low-quality performances. These processes aim to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health services (Harvey et al., 2019). Performance improvement is about developing strategies for improved patient care, generally short-term in duration. Quality improvement focuses on continuous improvement in patient care over longer periods than those involving performance improvement efforts (such as patient care, efficiency, and effectiveness
Evidence-based Practice and Improvement
Evidence-based practice refers to gathering, comparing, and using evidence to support decisions about policies and procedures. The aim of evidence-based practice is for nursing leaders and managers to be able to provide care based on scientific research and experience in health care delivery. Evidence-based practice requires leaders with good knowledge in evidence and practice to design policies create interventions and evaluate nursing care. Therefore, evidence-based practice and improvement are about evaluating the strength of evidence for nursing interventions or decision-making.
Supervision Style
Style is a focus on verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors and listening skills. This includes communicating effectively with all healthcare team members, understanding how others perceive you, and describing your style. Supervision style refers to a set of behaviors that a supervisor uses during supervision with their subordinates; such techniques can influence the subordinate’s behavior, attitudes, performance, creativity, and productivity. Effective supervision strategies help increase subordinates’ job satisfaction and interpersonal relationships between supervisors and subordinates. Supervision in leadership and management is most concerned with developing the supervisor’s skills to support developing the nurse’s skills to produce excellent clinical results.
The purpose of supervision is the direction of learning and expertise in the workplace, where effective managers can provide guidance and support to team members who need assistance or assistance to improve managerial effectiveness. Therefore, this will be a way for you to increase your performance while providing them with the assistance they need. Supervision is also referred to as “the training of leaders,” which involves “building on strengths.”
There are various supervision styles in nursing, such as directive, participative and reflective.
- Directive Supervision – The process of indirect suggestion and instruction. It is used for task-oriented observation and control.
- Participative Supervision – The process of formulating ideas from subordinates. It involves discussion and research, which leads to the formulation of possible alternatives for action by subordinates.
- Reflective Supervision – This style serves as a check on the progress made during development processes. It involves self-evaluation by administrators to ensure they are doing what they should.
Conclusion
In conclusion, leadership and management styles and theories vary according to the cultural context of the people working in the organization. Leadership is valuable in nursing because it requires communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Effective nurse leaders will be developed through training opportunities and experiences to utilize their skills for operating organizations effectively. Leadership is valuable in nursing because it requires communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. The effective nurse leader will be developed through leadership training opportunities and experiences.
References
Beeber, A. S., Palmer, C., Waldrop, J., Lynn, M. R., & Jones, C. B. (2019). The role of Doctor of nursing practice-prepared nurses in practice settings. Nursing Outlook, 67(4), 354–364.
Harvey, G., Gifford, W., Cummings, G., Kelly, J., Kislov, R., Kitson, A., Pettersson, L., Wallin, L., Wilson, P., & Ehrenberg, A. (2019, February). Mobilising evidence to improve nursing practice: A qualitative study of leadership roles and processes in four countries. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 90, 21–30.
Hisel, M. E. (2020). Measuring work engagement in a multigenerational nursing workforce. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(2), 294–305.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2019). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application.7th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Prezerakos, P. E. (2018). Nurse managers’ emotional intelligence and effective leadership: A review of the current evidence. The Open Nursing Journal, 12(1), 86–92.