Nurse Leadership Styles

Introduction

Any organization in the world needs effective leadership strategies in order for it to operate. These strategies are always obtained from employing the services of highly skilled professionals who have exceptional leadership skills. It is also important to note that the current world organizations aim at globalizing and attaining internationally recognized standards of operations. For this to be achieved, an organization need to put up organizational structures that will enable it offers competitive services to its clients.

Health institutions are also faced with similar challenges. This suggests that there is a need for certain parameters to be put in place in order to ensure the efficient running of the health organizations. Culture development in such organizations is important. Establishing a culture that is based on the emotional, passionate, spiritual and mental aspects helps the employees render high quality services which ensures that the clients are well taken care of. These four aspects are important in developing the leadership skills of nurses in health organizations. This paper discusses some of the leadership strategies and management of nurses in health institutions.

Leadership

As the world changes, so is the need of modification of existing leadership skills in the healthcare field. This means that there is the growing need for nurses to develop themselves into effective leaders. It is very important for nurses to have the four shields in order to help them survive in this sacred field. The four shields are the physical aspects, mental aspects, emotional aspects and last but not least, the spiritual aspects of their profession. The tight relationship of these four shields cannot be overlooked because they all work hand in hand throughout the nursing profession (Maida & Levin 2010). One of the definitions of leadership is that it is giving new directions or giving new dreams to a team that follows the leadership. This means that the leader is the one who spearheads the implementation process of any vision or dream. Leadership skills are constant in all fields. They only deviate somehow from their norm by virtue of the nature of the environment in which the leadership strategies operate. Thus the normal leadership strategies apply in every organization as long as it concerns the leadership of certain people. The leader must therefore be visionary and inspirational so that they may know what needs to be achieved and create an image of how things ought to be (Snell 2009). An effective leader must also be aware and be influential. The awareness of a leader in health institutions will make them understand the abilities of each individual. A good leader must also understand their role in influencing the group that they lead. Hence an influential leader will use vision and employ the services of stakeholders in order to sway an opinion. In addition, effective leadership skills must have the aspects of trustworthiness so as to be honest and open to the team under the leader. They should also keep track of progress as a way of monitoring the targets.

Management

Management is a control parameter that takes care of people’s resources within the team. Management controls these specific resources according to laid down policies and principles that are already in place. Leadership without management only takes care of the visions and dreams of a leader. On the other hand management without leadership is void since there is no provision of new change or new direction. Whatever happens in this situation only deals with control of the available resources, be it human or natural. Leadership must be participatory and not symbolic. This is because when a leader is taken as a symbol, they act as a figure head. This happens to the leader without taking any direction. Thus, the leader is not visionary and therefore cannot provide a new direction or a new vision to the team. Nurses who are leaders naturally feel the deep devotion to their profession. They also work with passion and have the art and practice of their professional nursing field. These nurses do whatever it takes to make sure that all goes well within their sphere of influence. It is important to note that nurses who are called to make the world rotate around them are actually the leaders in this field. They also have and maintain the vision that led them into this profession. Such kinds of people are the ones who are needed in the nursing field because they are bound to propel it to further heights of prosperity.

Management in the nursing field is demanding because there is a lot of effort involved. First of all, one has to understand that this field is pretty stressful hence the nurses need to embrace a coping strategy based on the nature of their performance. A nurse therefore needs to posses skills that are practical and theoretical. This means that it is important for a nurse to further their education in class as well as engaging in the practical aspects of their profession. This helps them to learn effective leadership qualities so that they can lead their fellow nurses in a professional manner. Leadership positions are more demanding than subordinate positions because they require a lot of additional sacrifice. The leader must work professionally, effectively and maturely under pressure on assignments and must also ensure that they beat the deadlines. Such leaders usually have additional responsibilities that also include conflict resolution. Due to these responsibilities, the nurses who have taken these responsibilities must be quick, critical, and creative thinkers. Managing a group of staff also requires the nurse to ensure that all employees are fulfilling their duties. By doing this, the leadership of the healthcare organization ensures that the patients are given the best services. As discussed above, nurses who have undertaken the role of leadership are also supposed to be role models. They should therefore have the ability to positively influence the other nurses. This positive influence has the characteristic of improving the image of the hospital (The Healthcare Performance Institute 2011).

Conclusion

There is a need for certain parameters to be put in place in order to ensure the efficient running of health organizations. Culture development in such organizations is important. Establishing a culture that is based on the emotional, passionate, spiritual and mental aspects helps the employees render high quality services which ensures that the clients are well taken care of. An effective leader must be aware and be influential. The awareness of a leader in health institutions will make them understand the abilities of each individual. A good leader must also understand their role in influencing the group that they lead. Management controls human resources according to laid down policies and principles that are already in place. It is important to note that leadership without management only takes care of the visions and dreams of a leader.

Reference List

The Healthcare Performance Institute. (2011). Effective management leadership in Nursing. Web.

Maida, S. & Levin, J. (2010). Four shields of leadership for nurses. Web.

Snell, B. (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World. Ed. 8. The Mc-Graw-Hill Companies. Chapter 12.