The test score that I obtained from the Followership Style Test was 4.25 which was arrived by dividing number 68 by 16; based on the test score my leadership style was determined to be very democratic with a personality of a self starter person (Sheila and Theresa, 2008).
Democratic leadership style which is also referred as participative style since it strives to involve employee in organizational management and decision making. In this type of leadership a manger understands that employee are more informed in some instances than their leaders and can therefore provide valuable insight that can enable informed decisions at the management level (Kouzes and Posner, 2007).
Thus, it provides a forum where employees are able to present their opinions on where they feel the direction of the organization should head, in fact I normally involve them in decision making at all levels of decision making. In addition I am able to promote employee job satisfaction through rewarding hard work and employee achievements that is essential in preparing and motivating employees to achieve career growth.
This is because a democratic leadership makes employees feel important and appreciated at the work place and is a leadership style that I find very motivating within my department. As a democratic leader I strive to empower employees as well as facilitate professionalism among employees in order to improve the quality of health services within the facility.
Through my leadership style I have been able to improve the working relationship among health workers and between health workers and patients in my facility because I seek to explore for solutions as a team rather than implementing policies without the involvement of my colleagues.
Based on the characteristics of a democratic leader that has been elaborated by the Followership Style Test I must say that I was not surprised at all by the test results since these attributes of a democratic leader are consistent with my personality and my style of people management.
I would say for me I have found followership to be an integral quality of my leadership style when it comes to people management. This is because the characteristics of an effective follower are closely correlated with the attributes of a good leader regardless of the leadership style (Allentraining.com, 2010). The core characteristics of a follower that I possess are that of self direction, proactive, transformer and motivator.
Because of my followership characteristics I am able to follow up on employee progress at every level, ensure I am adequately motivated so that I can motivate them as well, be proactive and spearhead the employee initiatives and encourage creativity in solving work place problems. An example of my followership abilities can be demonstrated by my ability to inspire employees to support me in various programs that I keep implementing within the facility.
One of the examples is the recent hand washing program that is currently undergoing which have been successful largely because I was able to convince the health workers to support this idea that I had.
Finally as a leader who is open minded and democratic I will empower the health workers in my health facility and work together with them hand in hand towards providing a working environment that is both safe and supportive to the employees.
Thus, as a visionary leader who strives to empower my followers in every front I will use the ANA Bill of Rights as a framework of developing my organizations policy document and also to improve on my employee welfare in general.
References
Allentraining.com. (2010). Inspiring Followership, a Leadership Necessity.
Kouzes Jones and Posner, Bulker. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. California, CA: Jossey Bass Publishers.
NursingWorld.org. (2011). Bill of Rights FAQs.
Sheila, G. & Theresa, V. (2008). The Leadership Challenge/Creating the Future of Nursing. Washington DC: F.A. Davis Company.