Leadership Traits of an Effective Communicator
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Expertise
- Integrity
- Empathy
Communication is an essential part of leadership, and it requires crucial leadership skills and qualities for successful interaction. There are six basic styles at the intersection of leadership and communication: listening, coaching, teaching, advising, motivating, and directing (Prossack, 2018). All these styles can be applied to the health care domain, but not all of them fit into the servant leadership model for nursing professionals.
Leadership Styles of an Effective Communicator
- Listening
- Coaching
- Teaching
- Directing
- Advising and motivating
In general, leadership is related to improved organizational culture, better interpersonal communication, and more profound trust between leaders and teams. Nursing is a people-oriented profession that makes leadership and communication crucial for nurses’ work satisfaction and retention, especially regarding the global nursing shortage and poorly balanced workload (Asamani, 2016). What is more, in the health care domain, successful leadership improves the process of treatment.
Adaptation of Communication Approaches in Various Working Environments on the Example of a Nursing Professional
- Advising and motivating approach with colleagues
- Emphatic listening with patients
- Coaching, teaching, and directing with ancillary departments
- Coaching with the community members
- Flexibility and combination of techniques depending on the context
To sum up, in the health care domain, successful leadership improves the process of treatment. Health care is a sector where professionals of different expertise and background meet patients who need help. Thus, for the nurses, it is necessary to master various communication techniques and leadership styles. These professionals should also be able to combine them and adapt to dynamically changing working conditions.
Servant Leadership and Its Tenets
- Empathy and listening
- Persuasion and self-awareness
- Building community and healing
- Stewardship and commitment to the growth of people
- Conceptualization and foresight
The notion of servant leadership implies ten basic tenets mentioned above. Apart from these ten principal tenets, it was also found out that servant leaders impact employee creativity in ancillary departments by fostering an environment that promotes workplace spirituality (Williams et al., 2017). Thus, the potential positive impact of servant leadership is promising and not fully explored yet.
Integrating Servant Leadership for Nursing Professionals
- Motivational role of a nurse as a leader
- Responsibilities and trust for nursing professionals’ professional development
- Servant leadership integration as a steady process
- Nursing professionals as agents of change in the health care sector
- Servant leadership vs. leadership avoidance in health care
In the health care domain, two tendencies stand out. Servant leadership is the opposite of leadership avoidance defined as the tendency to stay away from the responsibilities (Lacroix & Verdorfer, 2017). A nurse as a leader can motivate colleagues to be more conscious and responsible, reducing leadership avoidance. For nursing professionals, leadership is a process by which they influence others, by setting goals, and achieving them, aiming to improve the patients’ care quality. This conception of a leader should be integral in the daily practices of a nurse.
Making Impact and Empowering Others in Leadership
- Fostering creativity via servant leadership
- Developing responsibility with empowerment
- Servant leadership for building a mature team
- Servant leadership implementation strategies
- Nurses’ empowerment by servant leadership
The adoption of servant leadership is primarily determined by the team member’s personal and professional maturity. Their willingness to assume responsibility is also crucial in leadership development in the workplace. Therefore, shaping the strategies of servant leadership implementation requires broadening nurses’ duties, empowering them with trust and information.
References
Asamani A. (2016). Leadership styles in nursing management: Implications for staff outcomes. Journal of Health Sciences, 6(1). Web.
Lacroix, M., & Verdorfer A. P. (2017). Can servant leaders fuel the leadership fire? The relationship between servant leadership and followers’ leadership avoidance. Administrative Sciences, 7(1). Web.
Prossack, A. (2018). These six communication styles should be in every leader’s toolbox. Forbes. Web.
Williams, A. W., Randolph-Seng, B, Hayek, M., Haden, S. P., & Atinc, G. (2017). Servant leadership and followership creativity: The influence of workplace spirituality and political skill. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(2) pp. 178-193. Web.