Introduction
Presently practitioners in the nursing profession face many challenges resulting from deficits of resources, continuously changing incentives, dysfunctional health care systems, and, ever-increasing health demands. In addition to these challenges, technological innovations and increasing numbers of students have made nursing leadership a hard task, more so when leaders apply the wrong leadership approach. Although this may be the scenario in most health care systems, the challenges provide a powerful drive to leaders in this field to transform or change things. It is important to note that, primarily, healthcare providers should be a collaborative, resourceful, personalized, and expedient practice, which must follow specific work ethics and values (Sanchez, Doran, Evans, McGillis, & Pringe 2009, pp.48-67).
The Kind of Nurse Leader I Want To Be
Nursing leadership is one of the most challenging tasks individuals can venture into because, it involves very many changes, developments, losses, and substitutions. It is never easy to exactly determine the future of a health care system owing to many changes in terms of health complications. In addition, it is important to note that leadership in this profession is not all about having the required skills and abilities; in terms of task allocation, but rather it is a practice that should invoke correct motivational and behavioral responses. Considering the nature of duties and trends in this profession, in most cases, dictatorship never works, and if at all it works it never gives desired results due to low motivational levels. Correct leadership in nursing involves the power to lead others in desired directions by providing or helping employees formulate and implement workable plans. This is possible through well-planned, organized, and controlled measures that not only consider a health organization’s needs, but also employees needs and desires; remembering health provision is a basic need (Feldman, 2009, p.1).
Five main nursing leadership styles exist namely: situational, laissez faire, autocratic, bureaucratic, and participative leadership. Although all these follow the same work nursing ethics, their modes of application is different depends on their main application principles. Depending on the prevailing situations, leaders can combine or switch between any of the above, but my most preferred is participative or democratic leadership. This is because participative leadership is all-inclusive that is, this type of leadership style incorporates all employees’ suggestions in the decision-making process. Inclusion of employees in decision-making is one of the most motivating factors because it is a sign of how much an organization values its employees. Primarily, participative leadership orientation encourages commitment among team members because managements give them an opportunity of participating during decision-making and goals formulation. This form of leadership gives leaders an opportunity to endure ambiguity and inconsistency while giving organizational goals the first priority. In addition, this method gives space for positive participation of all individuals, a process that makes implementation of policies easy; hence high chances of success in leadership (Shaw, 2007, pp. 45-78).
How to Implement Participative Leadership Effectively
For this leadership orientation to work effectively it is important for one to understand the prevailing organizational conditions in terms of service delivery. This is an important tool when formulating a health facility’s goals and vision. In other words, prevailing organizational conditions such as working environment, available materials, and its economic position are main determinants of any goals that managements will set. In addition, this gives direction when it comes to meeting nurses demands.
After understanding the prevailing conditions, the next main step is to structure the working patterns to suit the set goals. Structuring of work patterns requires wide consultation with team leaders who in most cases act as main connectors between the overall management and employees. This is an important tool for ensuring leaders acquire desired confidence from employees, owing to the fact that, there will be clear pathways of addressing employees problems and wants. In addition, inclusion of employees’ suggestion in scheduling duties will not only motivate nurses, but will also inspire them to work hard, which is an important tool for building organizational change and innovations.
As Huber (2005, p. 599) argues, adoption of measures that promote nursing autonomy is another primary way of ensuring a participative leadership succeeds. This is possible via development of organizational structures for example, shared governance and nursing research. These structures are very important in the nursing profession in that, they guarantee nurses a chance of participating in decision-making, more so when it comes to nursing and correct patient care practices. In addition, these structures are important because of their associated motivational power, when it comes to formulation of strategies of solving clinical problems between medical interdisciplinary teams and medical doctors. In addition to organizational structures, it is important to include professional autonomy when it comes to remuneration packages. Primarily, this encompasses the inclusion of autonomy in work-life related concerns for example, flexibility in scheduling and promotions of nurses.
To achieve cooperation among nurses, it is important for leaders to promote organizational cultures that will help to boost respect and teamwork spirit among nurses. This is an important tool for goal achievement in that nurses will maintain high working standards, hence enhanced quality delivery. This is because, whenever there exist collaborations between nurses and other medical practitioners, chances of skill enhancement are high due to skill transfer among different medical practitioners.
Considering the nature of complications associated with some medical conditions, sometimes it calls for combination of efforts to come up with workable solutions. This is to say, when it comes to complicated medical cases, leaders should offer other nurses a chance of giving suggestions on mechanisms of handling such conditions. This is an important mechanism of avoiding the blame game incase a medical condition results to complications or death. Nursing is one the professions where individuals are in a continuous learning process due to changing trends in diseases. This therefore calls for a collaborative effort among all nurses leaders inclusive, when formulating solutions to problems because of varying expertise among different medical experts (Tate, 2004, pp.67-80). On the other hand, to ensure participative leadership succeeds, leaders must consult widely when handling nurses’ problems. It is important to note here that, different individuals have varying behavioral and emotional characteristics, which leaders must consider when passing judgments in case problems arise. Such considerations can help to eliminate biases that may occur when solving nurses’ conflicts and issues.
In addition to consulting when faced with a medical condition, it is also advisable for leaders to consult other nurses when purchasing medical equipment and instruments. For example, instead of departmental leaders conducting equipment and drugs audits themselves to ascertain shortages, they should use suggestions offered by other nurses. This is because they are the ones who mostly handle these medical drugs and equipments frequently; hence, they understand better areas of deficits (Rampur, 2009, p.1).
Conclusion
In conclusion, for any style of leadership to succeed, there is need for collaborative participation in decision making because it will help to alleviate problems, which may result due to egocentricity. In addition, depending on prevailing conditions, it is advisable for leaders to use other leadership styles when it comes to dealing with different health care systems’ problems.
Reference List
Feldman, R. H. (2009). Nursing leadership: a concise encyclopedia. Web.
Huber, D. (2005). Leadership and nursing care management. Forth worth: Saunders Publishers.
Rampur, S. (2009). Leadership styles in nursing. Buzzle.com. Web.
Sanchez, M., Doran, D., Evans, M., McGillis, H. & Pringe, D. (2009). Effects of leadership and span of control on Nurses’, job satisfaction and patient satisfaction. Nursing leadership (CJNL), 22(3), 48-67.
Tate, C. W. (2004). Leadership in nursing. New York: Churchill Livingstone. Web.