NURS 6053 LEADERSHIP THEORIES IN PRACTICE

NURS 6053 LEADERSHIP THEORIES IN PRACTICE

A simple internet search will produce thousands of quotes discussing the value of a leader and the art of leadership. Leadership is an intangible concept often tricky to define but easily recognized (Broome & Marshall, 2021). It is the act of guiding, directing, motivating, and inspiring people to achieve a set of common goals (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Leadership includes effectively communicating an organization’s mission and vision, knowledge and support of quality improvement, and non-hierarchical collaboration (Duggan et al., 2015). Most importantly, however, a leader is grounded in ethics and the core values of human behaviors (Broome & Marshall, 2021). This discussion will explore two critical insights gained from reviewing this week’s resources and provide further discussion as supported by additional scholarly resources. Additionally, this discussion will use real-life examples of behaviors and skills associated with a leader and their effectiveness in the workplace.

When reviewing this week’s resources, two primary insights were noted: a leader understands people and a leader recognizes the significance of the power and influence they hold. Leadership can take on numerous roles, and the given style of the leader can play an essential role in the overall environment of the workplace. A quality leader is an innovator, considers servant leadership, and recognizes their responsibility to bring up future leaders (Broome & Marshall, 2021). This concept is essential as it requires the leader to be open to sharing, growing, and developing the team around them. Additionally, it both gives and requires trust in return to the system in which it governs that the common goals of the organization and its people are always considered. 

Considering these insights, one can be drawn to the concept of servant leadership. Healthcare is a people profession often drawn to by individuals interested in fulfilling the lives of others (Bennett & Roquel, 2020). Servant leadership provides a distinctive way to examine leadership behaviors and their relationship to employees’ overall job satisfaction (Bennett & Roquel, 2020). The literature consistently recognizes the importance of leadership in burnout reduction (Kelly & Hearld, 2020). The servant leadership model focuses on the future and people rather than on individual processes and outcomes (Bennett & Roquel, 2020).

For this discussion, I spent time thinking about the behaviors of the great leaders I have encountered in the past. I immediately am pulled in, though to a previous leader, Donna. She was a quality leader who evoked trust, shared in successes, and provided clear direction as to the expectations of the position. When I think about the leaders that I note as exceptional, they have all evoked a feeling of mutual respect and encouragement. They have been and continue to be the individuals I would follow toward a common goal without question as they taught, guided, and allowed for safety in failures to allow for growth and transformation.   

References

Bennett, D. & Roquel, H. (2020). Servant leadership: Is this the type of leadership for the job satisfaction among healthcare employees? Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 210-212. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2470045930?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=trueLinks to an external site..

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer