Transformational leadership is a well-known phenomenon that usually takes place at the top of the organization in order to promote certain values of justice and honesty as well as human rights (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Marshall & Coughlin, 2010; Daniels & Daniels, 2004).
There are a number of programs, which may be used to promote the required transformational leadership qualities in nurses. Some of them are identified in this article to prove that there are various approaches to be used by nurses to improve their skills and knowledge.
One of the programs to build up transformational leadership capabilities in nurses is the one offered by the University of Minnesota, TLP. The chosen TLP approach helps to understand clearly how nurses do what they do considering innovating ways in the field required (Martens & Salewski, 2009).
Due to a chance to work on real projects and lead the teams, the participants of such program will be able to develop their skills and knowledge in change of management and create their own visions of the program (Martens & Salewski, 2009; Huber, 2006; Yoder-Wise, 2003). A three-week program is available for the nurses selected by the leaders as the ones, who have a desire to increase their knowledge.
The nurses receive the necessary coaching from the Office of Service and try to implement solutions, control the situation, and achieve the required results. As a result, important analytical and team-building skills are gained (Shaw, 2007; Govier et al., 2009; Aiken et al, 2008).
Another important program to promote transformational leadership skills is based on the necessity to consider communication as the main weapon to success (Shermian & El-Jardali, 2007; Manion, 2005; Sherman et al, 2009).
The point is that the majority of programs have to be based on theory with its particular measurements and concepts by means of which nurses will be prepared to complete their main functions (Tourangeau, 2003), and nurses should be able to communicate properly to share the information got. This is why this program should last about one month to detect the main problems of communication between nurses.
The participants have to face different situations offered by the leader and share their opinions of how to solve the problem. The leader should observe nurses’ behaviour, make notes, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the team and its particular member. Though the main responsibility lies at the leader, nurses are also able to develop their transformational leadership skills and prove their worth as future leaders.
The final program is all about nurses’ motivation. Nurses have to be motivated by their mentors during this kind of program. To achieve the goal set, nurses should get a chance to understand their main task and have a person to rely on at the very beginning.
The offered goal-setting model will help to ensure motivation among nurses, develop their transformational leadership qualities, and identify several ways of how the goal may be achieved. The main feature of this model is that specific goals set during the program will increase performance. Nurses are motivated accordingly and realize what they should do to become better leaders (Kouzes & Posner, 2007; Gordon & Melrose, 2007).
In general, each program identified is a unique chance for nurses to discover leadership qualities inside. It is not enough to explain the main idea of transformational leadership.
It is more important to show that nurses can become good leaders with time in case they grasp each piece of information given. Though each program may has its positive and negative aspects, it is possible to identify the worth of the ideas and hints acceptable in the nursing settings.
List of Reference
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