Effective leadership in any organization has major value for the establishment of its image and success. In healthcare facilities, leadership is extremely important since people’s welfare and even lives depend on the leaders’ decisions and actions. At every level of the healthcare process, there are people who organize and sustain the best quality of services. Leaders are responsible for managing the personnel and arranging favorable conditions for patients.
Their work may not be visible sometimes, but it is always felt through the atmosphere of a healthcare organization. Leadership is regarded in four major domains concerning graduate nurses: the profession of nursing, health policy, clinical practice, and systems level. To achieve the most valuable results of the nurses’ work, their leaders have to employ the most effective methods and techniques. Frequently, leaders’ decisions are the major determinants of building the hospital’s successful strategy and attaining the most favorable outcomes for the patients.
Reporting and Discussing Quiz Results
Based on the quiz outcomes, I belong to democratic leaders (Cherry, 2016). Peculiarities of democratic (participatory) leadership involve an equal degree of participation of each team member. A democratic leader encourages cooperation and allots some degree of authority to every person (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). To show his/her impact, such a leader demonstrates not only the power but also amiable communication to sustain friendly relationships between the employees (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). Democratic leaders are interested in the opinions of each team member. However, the final resolution is taken by the leader (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014).
Such an attitude allows the leader to make every person feel empowered and responsible for what they are doing. Also, a participatory leadership style encourages the staff’s enthusiasm and increases their self-confidence. The more people are involved in the decision-making process, the more precise and effective the results will be. No person can know everything, however well-educated and experienced he/she is.
Therefore, democratic style eliminates professional errors by enabling a variety of opinions. In the atmosphere of democratic leadership, everyone wins: the leader him/herself, the team, and the patients. For the leader, the benefits are in achieving the best healthcare results. For patients, the advantage is in a variety of approaches, which leads to choosing the most appropriate treatment method. For the team, the convenience is in feeling important and stimulated to endeavor for best results.
Democratic leadership has a lot in common with the transformational style, which is considered by some scholars as “exemplary” (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013, p. 12). Transformational leadership also puts emphasis on the encouragement of the subordinates and treating everyone as equal members of a team (Giltinane, 2013). However, the democratic style is suitable only for the situations when each team member realizes his/her duties and is proficient in them.
For other situations, delegative or authoritarian styles may be more suitable (Cherry, 2016). For instance, when a leader has insufficient knowledge about some issue, he/she should employ delegative leadership which presupposes requesting for help from more experienced colleagues (Cherry, 2016). On the contrary, when the subordinates do not have enough expertise, the leader may need to resort to authoritarian management when he/she tells people directly what they should do. Such an approach may be particularly useful when there is an emergency, and the team members are at a loss of what to do.
The quiz results asserted my opinion about my leadership style. I have always considered cooperation and friendly disposition better than dictatorship and harshness. I am convinced that when the subordinates see that their opinions matter, they are inclined to devote all efforts to their work.
Analyzing the Leadership Features Necessary for Graduate Level Nurses
The expectations to graduate level nurses’ leadership qualities are diverse. The core requirement is being capable of creating leaders with the help of establishing and maintaining effective working relations (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). Graduates should employ respectful cooperation within the teams of nurses, show expertise in coordinating healthcare activities, and know how to manage conflict situations. Also, a good leader should be able to distribute the tasks and create a sociable atmosphere within the team (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011).
Skills expected from graduate level nurses incorporate negotiation, communication, coordination, and delegation. Graduates should combine a high level of knowledge, experience, and caring attitude to the team members. To organize the best patient care outcomes, graduate-level nurses need to be in constant cooperation with other professionals (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011).
What concerns patient needs, a graduate-level nurse leader should integrate comprehensive care and be able to perform his/her duties in different environments (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). Combining the data from various sources, a nurse leader should help the patients go through the treatment process to guarantee the most beneficial results.
Evaluating My Personal Leadership Attributes and the Ones which Need Further Improvement
As I can judge from the quiz results and my experience, I own the most necessary features of a good leader. I can say so because I am often praised for my great communication skills. Also, I have high respect for the opinions of the people with whom I work. At the same time, I am always able to synthesize the divergent ideas and come up with a comprehensive resolution. Another proof of my readiness to be a good leader is that I am always ready to negotiate the disputable issues and listen to everybody’s opinion. I do not neglect people’s wish to take part in the decision-making process. What is also important, I am ready to admit when I was wrong. I believe that any good leader should have this quality; otherwise, he/she will not be respected by the personnel.
While I have the basic attributes of a good leader, there are some features in which I feel not confident enough. My major problem is that I do not own authoritative leadership skills. I realize that sometimes such competence may be necessary, so I need to work on my authoritative methods more. So far, I feel rather embarrassed when it comes to dictating others what they should do. Therefore, I should pay more attention to the development of authoritative skills.
Conclusion
Properly organized leadership is the core constituent of any healthcare organization’s successful activity. The coordination between team members is essential when it comes to dealing with people’s health issues. A graduate-level nurse leader has several major responsibilities: organizing and sustaining the environment of reciprocal respect within the team, creating conditions for attaining the best care for the patients and coordinating all kinds of work in the department.
Choosing the most suitable leadership style is of great importance as it will enable everyone to benefit from the cooperation: staff members will be satisfied with their working conditions, patients will receive a high-quality treatment, and the organization will have a good reputation. A leader’s role in a healthcare organization cannot be overestimated. As it is mentioned by Wong, Cummings, & Ducharme (2013), “Effective nurse leaders ensure that appropriate staffing and other resources are in place to achieve safe care and optimal patient outcomes” (p. 710).
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). The essentials of Master’s education in nursing. Web.
Cherry, K. (2016). What’s your leadership style? Learn more about your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Web.
Giltinane, C. L. (2013) Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard, 27(41), 35-39.
Hutchinson, M., & Jackson, D. (2013). Transformational leadership in nursing: Towards a more critical interpretation. Nursing Inquiry, 20(1), 11-22.
Kelly, P., & Tazbir, J. (2014). Essentials of nursing leadership and management (3rd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
Wong, C. A., Cummings, G. G., & Ducharme, L. (2013). The relationship between nursing leadership and patient outcomes: A systematic review update. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(5), 709-724.