Introduction
At my last job, we struggled with the issue of professional burnout in a collaborative setting. Since many nurses have been employed at the facility for a considerable time, many have started to lose their sense of purpose. Perlo et al. (2017) supply that “with increasing demands on time, resources, and energy, in addition to poorly designed systems of daily work, healthcare professionals are experiencing burnout at increasingly higher rates” (p. 1). However, a lot has changed since the new nursing team leader took over the team. While appearing to be tranquil, our new leader applied a transformative leadership style to working with us. He was able to manage the efforts of groups from several hospital departments. He also established a system of awards and open communication times when we could discuss our jobs. Additionally, he continually supplied fresh objectives and chances to enhance the team’s performance on everyday duties. Thus, for the most part, the problem of burnout and drop in efficiency was solved.
Transformational Leadership as a Base for Excellence in Nursing Practice
From the example above, it can be seen that transformational leadership can contribute greatly to the team’s performance and healthy work environment. Our leader was always in touch with his team and could accurately discuss the difficulties that the staff could face during their work and how to avoid or manage them. The team’s efficiency was positively affected by the emotional impact of our leader’s inspiring approach and clarity of his planned strategy (AHA, n.d.). Groups led by transformational leaders perform better and are more satisfied with their work than groups led by leaders of other styles (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2017). The explanation here is that transformational leaders are able to instill a sense of inspiration and strength in group members which in turn leads to better motivation and a more positive attitude towards work.
The essence of transformational leadership can be understood if a person imagines a group in which someone takes responsibility and clarifies the goals of the group, organizing people. A transformational leader changes the worldview of the group and the members’ attitude to work by their example and charisma, improving the working atmosphere in general. The leader is essential to this strategy because of their capacity to inspire the group and their evident enthusiasm for their task (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2017). Transformational leaders are frequently vivacious, enthusiastic, and passionate. These leaders are not just engaged in the process; they are also committed to ensuring that each team member succeeds.
How Transformational Leadership Facilitates a Healthy Work Environment
James MacGregor Burns, a leadership specialist and presidential biographer, is credited with introducing transformational leadership. Burns claims that transformational leadership is evident when leaders and followers encourage one another to attain better standards of morality and drive (Gaston, 2021). Transformational leaders can motivate people to alter expectations, attitudes, and motives to accomplish shared objectives via the strength of their vision and personality (AHA, n.d.). Later, scholar Bernard M. Bass built upon Burns’ initial concepts to create what is now known as Bass’s transformational leadership theory. Bass claims that a leader’s influence on their followers may be used to define transformative leadership (Gaston, 2021). He argued that followers respect, appreciate, and believe in transformational leaders.
The idea of transformative leadership is mainly centered on three key components. The first of these is giving individual followers thought since transformational leadership also entails encouraging and supporting them as individuals. Transformation keeps open channels of communication to forge human connections. This will enable leaders to acknowledge each follower’s distinctive contributions immediately and enable them to exchange ideas freely (Gaston, 2021). Facilitating motivation is also crucial when transformative leaders have a distinct vision to explain to followers. Finally, there is also the influence of a strong role model when the transformational leader serves as an example for followers. They admire the leader and absorb their values because they respect and trust him.
Because transformative leaders may encourage more dedication from their followers, turnover tends to be minimal. Transformational leaders motivate people to accomplish remarkable outcomes and hone their leadership skills (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). By attending to each follower’s needs individually, giving them authority, and coordinating the aims and objectives of each follower, the group, and the organization, transformational leaders enable followers to develop and become leaders. A specific mindset of charisma and solidness may be used to develop into a more transformative leader. Based on my prior job experience and training materials, I contend that having a clear, optimistic future vision is essential. This vision must be one that you believe in, and a leader should motivate others with their views (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). Being truthful, enthusiastic, encouraging, and reliable are all essential qualities that inspire followers to support their leader.
A pillar of leadership studies is the philosophy of transformative leadership. The breadth of the nomological network, the size of the impacts, and the outstanding empirical data have generated significant questions about substantive and constructive validity (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). As a conceptual foundation for the idea of transformational leadership, I suggest rigorous evaluation of the empirical data about the transformation of followers. According to research, the notion of transformational leadership has gone from being a young phenomenon to a fully developed paradigm.
The Relationship between Transformational Leadership, Communication, and Collaboration
The essential difference that distinguishes the transformational leadership model from any other is that transformational leaders act for the benefit of their followers, organizations, and societies they belong. Thus, the whole idea of transformational leadership is based on the idea of teamwork, participation of subordinates in making managerial decisions, and motivation for participation. The transformational leader contributes to the cohesion of the organization’s members, their awareness of the commonality of goals, as well as the enhancement of their forces and abilities.
Given the ongoing stress that nurses must endure, transformational leadership is crucial and helpful in the nursing environment and teams. Sherman and Pross (2010) add that “the establishment of a healthy work environment requires strong nursing leadership at all levels of the organization” (p. 1). One research looked at the connection between trauma recovery within a team and transformative leadership (Gaston, 2021). So, by considering the transformational approach to leadership constructively, the team might get a new view on the matter from the standpoint of the nursing profession. A transformational leader empowers the team to solve issues in the workplace and supports employees in developing a team (Bell et al., 2015). This highlights the enormous potential advantages of such leadership for the nursing industry.
Conclusion
Transformational leadership improves the workplace and work culture by building trust through communication. This communication is carried out through a leader between teams, individual employees, and entire departments. By facilitating discussion and offering opportunities to work together and collaborate on tasks, a transformational leader strengthens the ties between employees and supports healthy communication between different units. It is up to the leader to engage first in collaborative actions and establish a network of connections that will bring together various teams. In the nursing setting, where working with other specialists is a must, this approach is the most effective as it provides a strong ground for excellent communication.
References
AHA. (n.d.). AONL nurse leader competencies | AHA. AONL. Web.
Bell, N., Powell, C., & Sykes, P. (2015). Transformational leadership: Progressive managers that treat the workforce as a valued resource and use coaching skills to involve workers in planning and organization can transform the workplace. The Safety & Health Practitioner, 33(4), 30–32.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2017). IHI framework for improving joy in work. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Web.
Gaston, D. W. (2021). The transformational leader. Advances in Human Resources Management and Organizational Development, 41–58. Web.
Perlo, J., Balik, B., Swensen, S., Kabcenell, A., Landsman, J., & Feeley, D. (2017). IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work. IHI White Paper. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Web.
Sherman, R., & Pross, E. (2010). Growing future nurse leaders to build and sustain healthy work environments at the unit level. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(1). Web.
Siangchokyoo, N., Klinger, R. L., & Campion, E. D. (2020). Follower transformation as the linchpin of transformational leadership theory: A systematic review and future research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(1), 101341. Web.