Leadership Styles In Nursing - Research Paper Example

?Leadership Styles in Nursing Since leadership can affect work performance (Hood, , it is an essential skill required for nursing as a profession and every nurse is expected to exert their knowledge and expertise in leadership both to the healthcare team and to her clients or patients (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2003). The importance of incorporating leadership skill to this profession is evidenced by the vast number of literatures and research studies on nursing leadership, and as a part of the nursing curriculum as Leadership and Management course. Among the leadership styles mentioned in those literatures, servant leadership is quite rarely mentioned from these literatures, and none of these mentioned be-know-do leadership style. This paper will be discussing these two less-frequently utilized leadership styles and will be dealing with their potential application as an addition to the more common leadership styles in the nursing setting in promoting a more effective nursing care planning and patient outcomes. Servant Leadership “And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.” (Mark 10:44, King James Version) Servant leadership is popularized by Greenleaf (1970) in the 21st century, but was already introduced by Jesus Christ about two thousand years ago, written in the gospels of the apostles in the Bible. A narrow idea of servant leadership is that the person taking the lead is assuming the role of a servant to his followers (i.e. a person leads because it is his duty as a servant to his followers). The leader using this style is motivated by his “deep desire to help others” (Greenleaf Center, 1999). What separates this leadership style from others is the incorporation of the concepts of values and morality, having focus on the aspects of trust, appreciation of others and empowerment (Graham, 1991; Russell, 2001). This style is based on teamwork, involving others, ethics and care, enhancing growth of followers, and improving quality (Greenleaf Center, 1999). This leadership style focuses on followers where the achievement of the objectives relies upon (Stone, Russell & Patterson, 2004). Graham (1991) noted this style as a charismatic leadership which is both inspirational and moral. Considering the way on how this style works, this is more of a transformational authoritarian (democratic) approach rather than autocratic or laissez-faire. Servant leadership is observed in the nursing profession and is seen as a feasible style in the nursing setting (Swearingen & Liberman, 2004). Be-Know-Do Leadership Originated from the United States Army (2004), this leadership style revolves in the concepts of “be”, “know” and “do” geared towards their purpose and direction. The leader assumes the role using his ability to influence others and learning the skills in gaining the trust and commitment of his followers for them to act according to their objectives (Department of the Army, 2006). The character and skills of the leader motivates the action performed by the team. Contrary to the common notion of military leadership, this style is not as simple as “bossing” with people, but every person in the team is assuming both as a leader and as a subordinate, wherein it is pictured as leading the leaders, even among the lowest ranks (Hesselbein & Shinseki, 2004). This style is also transformational, but even if it is apparently autocratic, followers are expected to act instead of waiting for an order. There might be no literatures that support the utilization of be-know-do leadership in the nursing setting, many features of this style can be observed, like nurses being both a leader and a follower, the influential power of the nurse leader to achieve the objectives of patient care (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2003). Application of Clinical Example Servant leadership is more apparent on nurse-patient relationships. One of the nurses’ roles to her patients is being a leader in terms of caring. The nurse, being the patient’s manager of his care, exerts her duty in leading as a servant. An example is on helping a diabetic patient in planning his diet. Being a leader, the nurse initiates the discussion of the importance of dietary planning designed for diabetes mellitus, and then motivates the patient to plan his own diet based from the standards of the diabetic meal plan. Another example of servant leadership is the implementation of hand washing to the admitted patients in the ward. She informs the patients about the hand washing policy of the hospital and monitors the compliance of all patients and relatives. She assumes the lead by performing hand washings before and after handling a patient, before and after donning gloves and after using the toilet. It is her job as a leader to ensure that every patient in the ward comply with the policy in hand washing. Servant leadership is applicable also among the nursing team. For example, when a nurse under the command of the charge nurse fails to correctly perform suctioning of patient’s secretions, it is her duty to assist her in correctly performing the procedure and monitor the progress of her skills. Be-know-do leadership style, being unpopular, has a potential to be applied in nursing leadership. This is more evident in the rapid response team performing advanced cardiac life support. The American Heart Association (2005) requires the team leader to organize the group towards their goals at the right time in the right way, using her skills and influence to her team members. Even if the team leader directs the entire resuscitation attempt, every team member is expected to correctly perform their roles even without the initial instruction of the team leader. For example, in case the team leader forget to order adenosine during a supra-ventricular tachycardia episode, the member assigned to give intravenous medications should also exert her leadership influence to the team leader by reminding her about administration of adenosine. Using this leadership style, team members should not wait for the team leader to tell them what to do if they know the task should be accomplished. Conclusion Servant and be-know-do leadership styles might show potentials to be applied in the nursing setting. As there were no single best leadership style in nursing, nurses should consider these two leadership styles and conduct research studies investigating its effectiveness and applicability. References American Nurses Association (2005). 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation, 112, 24, IV-1 – IV-5. Department of the Army (2006). Army leadership: competent, confident, and agile. Field Manual No. 6-22. Headquarters: Washington, DC. Graham, J. (1991). Servant-leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. The Leadership Quarterly, 2, 2, 105-119. Hesselbein,F. & Shinseki, E. K. (2004). Be, know, do: leadership the Army way: adapted from the official Army Leadership Manual. San Francisco: Leader to Leader Institute. Hood, L. J. (2010). Leddy & Pepper’s conceptual bases of professional nurses, 7th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Kelly-Heidenthal, P. (2003). Nursing leadership & management. Singapore: Thompson Delmar. Russell, R. F. (2001). The role of values in servant leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22, 2, 76 – 84. Stone, A G., Russell, R. F. & Patterson, K. (2004). Transformational versus servant leadership: a difference in leader focus. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25, 4, 349 – 361. Swearingen, S. & Liberman, A. (2004). Nursing leadership: serving those who serve others. Health Care Manager, 23, 2, 100-109. Read More