Introduction
Leadership is a social force that brings people together and inspires them to work hard to accomplish a task. Leaders are respected and trusted rather than obeyed due to official power and authority. Leadership is an important aspect in the clinical field, as it allows for more effective and rapid decision-making that results in better patient outcomes. This paper will describe and evaluate my experiences in this field.
Leadership Styles in Action
The first step in my leadership evaluation is understanding the leadership styles and the situations in which they can be used. There are four major leadership styles: transformational leadership, laissez-faire leadership, autocratic leadership, and democratic leadership. Each style is useful in different circumstances and can fit the leader’s personal qualities and skills more or less.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership focuses on three key aspects: future, change, and people. Transformational leaders understand what tasks must be completed to meet the organization’s goals and what changes must be made. They put the right people into the right positions to make those changes most efficiently (4 Leadership Styles, 2022). I used this style while working on a group assignment with my classmates. I encouraged them to work hard on the assignment, as it would affect our marks, and then made sure that each of them did tasks that they were best at doing. Thus, I used transformational leadership to improve how we worked on a group project.
Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership is a more “laid-back” approach to employee management. Instead of getting involved in each employee’s tasks and managing them, a laissez-faire leader trusts their competence and responsibility. This allows for greater freedom and creativity among staff, boosting morale and productivity (4 Leadership Styles, 2022). I used this style when our group was making an art project. Knowing that putting pressure on this abstract task would only result in harm, I allowed my teammates, skilled in the art, to do what they thought was best. Hence, I used a laissez-faire style to improve productivity in a creative assignment.
Democratic Leadership
Democratic leadership style revolves around employee feedback and involvement in the work process. By letting staff into decision-making, a manager can achieve greater morale, trust, and communication (4 Leadership Styles, 2022). I utilized this approach when I was put at the head of a group project for which I was less qualified than my groupmates. Thus, knowing they had more knowledge of the task, I constantly communicated with them and asked them questions. This way, our team was more motivated to finish the task, as they were included in the decision-making process.
Autocratic Leadership
In autocratic leadership, a single person controls the organization or team. An autocratic leader dictates everything to subordinates, including strategy, policies, processes, and the organization’s overall direction (4 Leadership Styles, 2022). I used this style when working with a group of underperforming students who did not know what they should do. By giving them concrete tasks and deadlines, I was able to help the group finish the task successfully.
Preferred Leadership Style
The most suitable leadership approach for me is the laissez-faire style. As I frequently work with people who are specialists in their fields, they rarely require guidance, and thus, I trust in their skills. Moreover, I tend to get overwhelmed when a job requires micromanagement, so delegating tasks to my subordinates is more appropriate. An example of me utilizing this style can be found above.
Effective Patient Communication
With patients, several techniques can be used for optimal communication. Firstly, a health provider needs to ease a patient’s anxiety by sitting with him while talking to them. Moreover, it is necessary to ask patients open-ended questions, mainly about their background, the emotional effect of their state, if anything troubles them, and how they have been handling it. Lastly, it is important to speak to a patient in plain language, ensuring that they understand the procedures they will go through to mitigate anxiety (Strategies for Effective, 2021). Thus, a health provider can get useful information from patients and their anxiety with open communication techniques.
A range of useful techniques can be utilized for effective communication with colleagues in the medical field. One of the most common practices for easy communication is using structured, non-offensive, and closed-loop communication. This way, each team member will know that whatever message they convey is received and understood and will not offend other team members. Moreover, it is necessary to document any information required for the work process and be constantly aware of the situation that the coworkers are in right now (Communicating with patients, n.d.). Thus, a professional who utilizes these methods will be informed that what they tell their colleagues is received and understood and informed on the current state of their work.
The Importance of Delegation
Delegation of tasks is an important part of leadership, as it allows the leader to automate processes in the company. I used this technique in the abovementioned example of the laissez-faire leadership style. Knowing that getting too involved in a work process involving creativity will only make it slower, I gave my subordinates a large degree of freedom. This way, they could express themselves freely, and the project was done on time and received good marks. Thus, a delegation of tasks increased the productivity of my team.
However, one of the most important skills of a leader is change management. Change management is a leadership skill for facilitating change at an organizational level. Additionally, it is a strategic competency intended to improve the organization’s capacity for change and response. Competent in change management entails driving change for the organization, which includes exhibiting commitment to and advocating for change (What is Change Management, n.d.). Thus, a manager’s role during major organizational changes is to encourage subordinates that change is good for an organization and prepare the organization for it.
Guidelines for Employee Retention
To retain employees, an effective leader must follow a set of guidelines. A leader must have principles, meaning that they possess a strong work ethic, are honest, and recognize the good performance of subordinates. Moreover, they must possess adequate interpersonal skills, provide empathy, radiate confidence, and have a good attitude. Lastly, they need to act professionally, be knowledgeable about their field, and make good decisions (Which Factors Affect, 2022). Thus, employee retention requires an adequate level of professional and interpersonal skills, as well as work ethics.
Conclusion
Thus, a good leader requires knowledge of management theories and sufficient personal skills. To succeed, a manager must decide on what leadership style is more appropriate at the moment, provide efficient communication, and effectively delegate tasks to his subordinates. This way, a leader will be able to increase the staff’s productivity and, with it, the productivity of the whole organization.
References
4 Leadership Styles in Business: Leadership Style Quiz. (2022). The University of Arizona Global Campus. Web.
What is Change Management and How Does it Work? (n.d.). Prosci. Web.
Which Factors Affect Employee Retention? (2022). Peregrine Global Services. Web.
Strategies for Effective Communication in Health Care. (2021). Tulane University. Web.
Communicating with patients and colleagues. (n.d.). Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Web.