Contribution of Leadership to Quality Care - Essay Example

Leadership Table of Contents Leadership Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Practice Situation 4 Discussion 5 Contribution of Leadership to QualityCare 5 Clinical Leadership Theories 6 Leadership Styles for Nurse Leaders 6 Servant Leadership Style 6 Transformational Leadership Style 7 Transactional Leadership Style 8 Democratic Leadership style 8 Autocratic Leadership Style 9 Laissez-Faire Leadership Style 9 Principles of Leadership 10 Clinical Governance 11 Leadership in Change Management and Staff Education 11 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence or lead others and thereby help in achieving a certain goal. It is very essential for a leader to know the nature and behaviour of the followers or team members that would help in leading them in an effective manner (Bolden, 2004). A leader should be a good decision maker and possess the ability to manage every situation effectively. Leadership plays an important role in nursing for which it has become one of the most significant issues of the era. It has become very essential for the health care institutions and hospitals to recruit nurses, who have efficient leadership skills that would be beneficial to provide good quality health care to the patients (The Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, 2015). Possessing a powerful and effective leadership skill is very essential for the nurses, especially who are in the top most positions. The role of a nurse is to provide care to the patients and provide medicines to the patients as being prescribed by the doctor. Sometimes, in the absence of doctor or registered practitioner, the nurses are required to take decisions regarding the medicines to be provided to the patient in case of emergency. It is very essential for a nurse to be a good decision maker that is an important element of leadership skill, which would help to take important decisions in emergency situations (Cherie & Gebrekidan, 2005). Therefore, a nurse should possess effective leadership skills as well as styles that would help in leading, controlling, organizing and planning their activities, which would serve beneficial in delivering effective healthcare services to the patients (National Academy of Sciences, 2011; CNA, 2010). Practice Situation From my past experience in a well-known healthcare organization, helped me to understand how the quality of nursing is being influenced by the leadership styles and skills possessed by the nurses. I was being appointed as a trainee in the healthcare centre from where I gained practical experience regarding the leadership qualities possessed by the nursing professionals working in the healthcare centre. The leadership skills possessed by the head nurse of the organization inspired me the most. She was prominent and experienced in every aspect of decision making that are required for providing good quality healthcare in the organization. Moreover, she was highly cooperative with the team members and the junior nurses and supported them to carry out their activities in an effective manner. She always tried to make sure that the new nurses and the trainees including me are able to understand every detail of the organization in a comprehensive manner. It is very essential for a leader to make the followers and the team members understand about every aspect of the organization in which they will be working. The head nurse also helped in the development of self efficacy among us that would help us to provide care as well as treatment to the patients in a better way. Another major thing that inspired about her leadership was that she used to treat every nurses of the organization calmly without getting tempered even if some mistakes were being conducted by any nurse. She used to rectify the mistakes and teach the correct means to conduct that particular activity. This helped us to learn from mistakes and her pleasant behaviour motivated all the organizational members to follow her and thus, good relationship was maintained among all the nurses and organizational members. The leadership style i.e. transformation leadership style has been adopted by her helped in maintaining soothing and positive working environment in the healthcare organization, which is very essential to conduct various healthcare activities in an effective way. Discussion Contribution of Leadership to Quality Care Effective leadership role in nursing contributes to the improvement of performance of the nurses along with motivating them to become technically productive and achieve professionalism in their nursing activities (Carter & et. al., 2010). Majority of the healthcare organizations of the present generation generally recruits the nursing staffs on the basis of their educational qualifications and nursing practice courses being perused by them. Therefore, the nurse practitioners are more likely to possess the required competencies and skills, which they have to reflect in their professional workplace (NHS, 2012). However, in majority of the cases, it has been observed that the nurses lack confidence in carrying out their activities in an effective manner (Maltais & Crupi, 2014; Curtis & et. al., 2011). For the development of nursing profession, leadership plays a major role. In order to establish a healthy working environment in the hospitals and healthcare organizations, a strong nursing leadership is very essential (Whitehead & et. al., 2010). An effective and powerful leadership is majorly required to provide best quality healthcare services to the patient that would contribute to their good health and thereby help them to recover from the illness or the disease that they are suffering from (Kelly, 2011). Providing necessary mentoring and training to the nurses regarding their respective healthcare activities is a major objective of the leaders (McKenzie & Manley, 2011; Dawes & Handscomb, 2005). Shifting to transformational style of leadership from the traditional ‘command and control’ style of leadership would serve most beneficial to practice leadership effectively in the healthcare organizations (Huber, 2010). Clinical Leadership Theories Clinical leadership plays a major role in providing effective healthcare services to the patients along with managing the nursing staffs efficiently, so that they carry out their nursing activities properly (Vesterinen & et. al., 2012). Well trained and experienced clinical leaders always try to ensure that the support services and the nursing staffs always think better ways to treat patients and provide best possible healthcare services to them. Clinical leadership theories comprise the leadership styles that are necessary to be possessed by the nursing leaders for the effective management of healthcare activities (Dorgham & Mahmoud, 2013). Leadership Styles for Nurse Leaders In order to provide the best possible healthcare service to the patients, it is very essential for the nurse leaders to possess an effective leadership style that would serve beneficial in managing the nursing team members effectively and thereby motivate them to carry out their respective activities in a proper way (Nursing Times, 2015). The different nursing leadership styles are discussed hereunder. Servant Leadership Style Servant leadership style is one of the most popular leadership styles being followed by the nursing leaders. The nursing professionals possessing this leadership style are highly influential and motivate others by establishing good relationship and thereby focus on developing the skills of the team members (Nursing Times, 2015). The leaders possessing such skill ensure that all the individual needs of all the nursing staffs and team members are fulfilled. The healthcare organization in which Servant style of leadership is being followed, allows all the nursing staffs and team members to participate in the decision making process of the organization that are based on the ideals and values of the organizations (AANC, 2014). A servant leader possesses various characteristics that include commitment towards the growth of team members, persuasion, awareness and foresightedness among others Smith, 2005). Nursing leaders possessing this leadership style creates a positive organizational culture along with creating high employee morale that develop confidence among the nursing staffs to carry out their organizational activities effectively. However, the major disadvantage of this leadership style is that the decision making process is being slowed down due to the involvement of organizational staffs (Havig & et. al., 2011). Transformational Leadership Style Transformational leadership style is to some extent similar to that of the servant leadership style, as it is also based on establishing relationship with the team members and motivates them based on the mission and vision of the organizations (Doody & Doody, 2013). Transformational leaders focus on the fact that the team members perform their activities with positive mindset rather than possessing any negative feelings. The leaders possessing this leadership style are identified to be having the ability to inspire the nursing staffs and help in an effective team building through creative and innovative approaches (AANC, 2014). The leaders encourage and praise the team members for their well performance, which motivates them to deliver the best possible performance. Moreover, friendly behaviour of the leaders helps to gain loyalty and respect from the team members. It is generally recognised that the healthcare organizations following this leadership style are highly successful in providing effective healthcare services to the patients (Givens, 2008). Transactional Leadership Style The nursing leaders following the transactional leadership style lead the team members and nursing staffs with the help of various rewards and punishment (Mesu, 2013). The leadership style is based on the principle that the nursing staffs are motivated by the leaders with proper rewards for their good performance. Transactional nursing leaders generally focus on the fact that all the nursing activities are being performed well by the nurses (Swansea University, 2015). Therefore, the main theme of the transactional leadership style is that the nursing leaders rewards the nursing staffs for their good performance and correspondingly, disparage the nurses with declined performance. The nursing staffs with the urge of getting rewards are identified to work well and thus, it acts as a major motivating factor for their improved performance (Odumeru, 2013). Democratic Leadership style According to democratic leadership style, the nursing leaders encourage the nursing staffs and other team members to participate in organizational decisional making process and therefore open communication exists within the organizations (AANC, 2014). The nursing staffs are provided with various responsibilities and the leaders consider their ideas and feedbacks while making any important decisions in the healthcare organizations. Considering their opinion in the decision making process makes them feel valued that encourages them to deliver their outstanding performance. The leadership style therefore encourages in professional as well as personal growth of the nursing staffs along with providing them autonomy (Sage Publication, 2011). Due to varying educational background and skill sets of the nursing staffs, the democratic form of leadership style thrives best in the healthcare organizations. Democratic nursing leaders focus on the improvement of quality of the overall healthcare system rather than focusing on the mistakes made by the team members. However, a major disadvantage of this leadership style is that the decision making process becomes slow because of the involvement of various team members (Sage Publication, 2011). Autocratic Leadership Style In autocratic leadership style, the nursing leaders make various important decisions without taking any consent from the team members and the nursing staffs. The authoritarian leaders make decisions solely based on their own knowledge, experience and expertise (Bhatti & et. al., 2012). Punishment and using negative reinforcement are often applied by the autocratic leaders and therefore, these nursing leaders make use of their control and power in order to manage the nursing staffs. Mistakes made by any nursing staffs are not being tolerated by these nursing leaders and thus, individual staffs are blamed rather than blaming the faulty process. Autocratic leadership is helpful for making rapid decisions and thus beneficial in case of chaotic situations where there remains limited time to discuss with the staffs. However, the major disadvantage is that this leadership style does not encourage communication, teamwork or trust that are inherently necessary for conducting nursing activities effectively (AANC, 2014). Laissez-Faire Leadership Style In laissez-faire leadership style, the nursing leaders do not provide any supervision or direction to the nursing staffs and therefore, the leaders show a ‘hands-off approach’ (Cherry, 2014). In this type of leadership, the leaders advice and direct the team members only when they are asked. Thus, the decisions are not made by the leaders in such organizations and accordingly, changes do not take place that would hamper the long term sustainability of the organizations (Cherry, 2014). The laissez-faire leadership style is highly ineffective for the development of nursing activities in a health care organization. Majority of the nursing staffs are not experienced and thus, they are needed to train and motivate them for delivering performance. However, the leaders following the laissez-faire leadership style fail to do so and thus; it would negatively impact on the improvement of nursing activities in the healthcare organizations (AANC, 2014). Principles of Leadership In this respect, it can be comprehended that there are different nursing leadership styles. The nurses following these leadership traits are able to perform their operations on the basis of care and treatment requirements. In this regard, the nurses based on the principles of leadership are able to have a better understanding about the procedures in accordance with which nursing is needed to be practiced. Leadership principles are to be possessed by the nursing leaders, which help them to attain success in their professional workplace. A leader is required to personify personal integrity, which is considered as the foundation of leadership. It is very essential for the nursing leaders to know the strengths and weaknesses that would help in managing adverse situations with better effectiveness. Moreover, it is very essential for a leader to accept changes in the organisation that would serve beneficial for its growth and development. In case of crisis, a leader is required to step ahead before the followers and help in making effective decisions. A leader should be highly innovative and should possess the capability to ensure that the team members are able to perform their operations on the basis of organisational objectives. Respectively, student nurses are able to have a determined strategic approach and guidance from the nursing leaders for providing effective care services (Palmer, 2008). Clinical Governance Clinical governance is generally a systematic approach that helps in improving and maintaining the patient care quality in a health care organisation. It is therefore an integral part of the healthcare systems and therefore, healthcare leaders should have a detailed idea about clinical governance and implement in their daily practice (Flewet, 2010). Patient safety and working risk remains in the topmost priority of the healthcare organisations and the prime goal for providing effective care and treatment. In addition, training to the employees and staffs regarding medical treatment and therapeutic procedures should be provided focusing on teamwork and effective leadership inherently necessary for the healthcare organisations to provide good quality health to the patients (WHO, 2015.). The nursing leader in a healthcare organisation plays an important role in providing training and support to student nurses regarding the ways of providing better care to the patients. Specific learning and teaching programs are to be provided to the student nurses, so that they are able to provide care services on the basis of current nursing practices (Vincent & et. al., 2007). Leadership in Change Management and Staff Education In the context of the nursing practice, leadership practices are one of the integral aspects for providing and ensuring proper care to the patients. An effective nursing leadership practices will enable systematic management of various functionality of the healthcare for attaining and inspiring the nurses to pursuit towards the common goal like providing proper patient care (Roussel, 2013). Additionally, the healthcare requires continuous change management under different situations in order to enhance patient care. Moreover, the practice of effective leadership will significantly allow transforming and motivating the workforce. Thus, in the changing environment, nurses face considerable challenges and issues to manage workload and on the contrary, effective leadership allows in making the required level of competence in the nurses (Kaminski, 2000). Moreover, beliefs, shared expectations and assumptions of the nurses differ, which led to key difficulties in the process of effective leadership practices. Additionally, in the current domain of the nursing practices, there it has been highly important that nurses will participate and take lead towards managing the change in healthcare practices in order to improve the quality of care (Carter & et. al., 2010). Change is continuously been noticed in healthcare practices for various factors including changes in technology, policies, participation and measuring the financial implications among other factors. However, lack of the sustainability approach in the healthcare practice will prove to have substantial impact over the nursing practices. This requires nurses to adopt the changes and manage the circumstances of predictable and unpredictable changes. In this regard, effectiveness and requirement of the effective leadership in the nursing practices has been an important consideration for providing quality care as well as treatment services (Smith, 2013; Empson, 2013; Curtis & et. al., 2011). For effective change management and staff education, leaders are needed to guide the team by encouraging towards the changes by reflecting the effectiveness of the change over the existing system. In this context, it has been affirmed that as the change is regarded as transformation process, leaders must drive the response of the overall workforce in positive direction through supportive response over the change management. On the contrary, with the absence of proper leadership, workforce will be face complexities in making adjustment with the new approach and overcome complexities for having success (Daly & et. al., 2004). Thus, the approach of nursing leadership plays an integral role in the nursing profession to make nurses highly sensitive over changing the healthcare policies. A leader is the person working as a sponsor in the event of change initiative, draws positive attention and boosts the morale of the nurses to reflect the potential benefits of change management. Besides, in the nursing practice, leaders are regarded as the role model for the workforce and needed to demonstrate their attitudes as well as behaviours, which other will follow and develop a belief about the effectiveness of the change (Ajmal & et. al., 2012). Correspondingly, the approach of leadership in the nursing practice during the change management is determined as the motivational tool. Besides, the nursing leadership will allow the workforce to develop a sense of importance as well as urgency of the changes in the healthcare practices, reflect and enhance the commitment as well as passion in the workforce to ensure that healthcare operations are performed effectively (Caldwell & et. al., 2008). Furthermore, the leadership approach will prove to enhance the participation of the employees in the change management. Understanding the needs and difficulties is important to take effective step to ensure that nurses are able to adopt the change policies as well as practices with the intention of providing proper care as well as treatment services (Antwi & Kale, 2014). In the process of any change management, nursing staffs need to develop new knowledge and understanding for efficiently performing job roles and responsibilities. In this regard, leaders play a role of providing adequate training and support. Moreover, leaders enable proper flow of communication with the members in delivering the clear instructions and manage the flow of tasks. Leaders also play the role of a mediator in explaining the staff members’ roles and provide guidelines to achieve the desired goals effectively and enhance the level of coordination. Contextually, nursing leaders will teach as well as support the student nurses to have a better understanding about procedures and techniques based on which care services can be offered in different emergency situations. Effective education and training to student nurses also facilitates in developing human factors amid the nurses, so that care services are provided based on person-centred aspect along with patient safety (Kelly & Tazbir, 2013). Conclusion In a health care organization, the nursing leaders are responsible to train and motivate the nursing staffs and other team members with their effective leadership styles and skills that would help them in meeting the care as well as treatment needs of the patients. Every nursing leader possesses their own styles of leadership based on which they lead the nursing staffs to achieve required organisational needs. One of the major skills to be possessed by the nursing leaders is good decision making skill that is essential for controlling and managing the nursing staffs. It is very essential for nursing leaders to motivate and train the inexperienced and newly joined nurses, so that they are able to provide care as well as treatment services on the basis of needs of the patients. One of the most important roles of a nursing leader is to adopt the required changes in healthcare organizations that would be beneficial in performing healthcare activities more effectively. Proper counselling and training is required to be provided to the nursing staffs regarding the acceptance to the change, so that they do not feel hesitate to accept the change management. References AANC, 2014. Management Style: Five Leadership Types for Nurse Leaders. Nursing Leadership, pp. 1-10. Ajmal, S. & et. al., 2012. Role of Leadership in Change Management Process. 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