Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze the effectiveness and impact of leadership skills
• Assess personal leadership traits
• Analyze how leadership traits can be applied to personal leadership philosophies and behaviors
• Develop a personal leadership philosophy
• Create a development plan related to personal leadership philosophies

Learning Resources – NURS 6053:Module 3: Leadership Skills and Theories

Required Readings

Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

• Chapter 1, “Expert Clinician to Transformational Leader in a Complex Health Care Organization: Foundations” (pp. 7–20 ONLY)
• Chapter 6, “Frameworks for Becoming a Transformational Leader” (pp. 145–170)
• Chapter 7, “Becoming a Leader: It’s All About You” (pp. 171–194)

Duggan, K., Aisaka, K., Tabak, R. G., Smith, C., Erwin, P., & Brownson, R. C. (2015). Implementing administrative evidence-based practices: Lessons from the field in six local health departments across the United States. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1). doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3. Retrieved from https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3

Resources for the StrengthsFinder Assessment Tool

Strengths Finder: Gallup. (2018). Retrieved from https://walden.gallup.com

Guidance Document: Student Long Guide

Guidance Document: Short Guide

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Discussion : Leadership Theories in Practice

A walk through the Business section of any bookstore or a quick Internet search on the topic will reveal a seemingly endless supply of writings on leadership. Formal research literature is also teeming with volumes on the subject.

However, your own observation and experiences may suggest these theories are not always so easily found in practice. Not that the potential isn’t there; current evidence suggests that leadership factors such as emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviors, for example, can be highly effective for leading nurses and organizations.

Yet, how well are these theories put to practice? In this Discussion, you will examine formal leadership theories. You will compare these theories to behaviors you have observed firsthand and discuss their effectiveness in impacting your organization.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and examine the leadership theories and behaviors introduced.
• Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
• Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.

By Day 3 of Week 4

Post two key insights you had from the scholarly resources you selected. Describe a leader whom you have seen use such behaviors and skills, or a situation where you have seen these behaviors and skills used in practice. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain to what extent these skills were effective and how their practice impacted the workplace.

By Day 6 of Week 4

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by explaining how the leadership skills they described may impact your organization or your personal leadership, or by identifying challenges you see in applying the skills described. NURS 6053:Module 3: Leadership Skills and Theories

 

ADDITIONAL INFO 

Leadership Skills and Theories

Introduction

The leadership theories and skills are flourishing in today’s world. The leaders need to be able to motivate their people towards a goal and improve their performance. The most important thing is to determine which theory works best for your organization or team so that you can implement it in the right manner. There are several different models of effective leadership, each with its own set of criteria for success. The way you see things might not be completely objective and scientific, but there are some common principles behind many effective leaders; these include inspiring people through visioning and building trust through honesty and integrity.

Participative leadership

Participative leadership is a management style where the leader delegates authority and encourages participation. In this type of leadership, employees are involved in the decision-making process and have a say in how things will be done.

There are three types of participative leaders: democratic leaders, participative leaders, and transformational leaders. Democratic leaders provide equal opportunities for all employees to participate in decision making processes; however, they do not necessarily involve subordinates fully or give them autonomy over their projects or careers (Fox & Kenney 2009). Participative leaders involve subordinates more than democratic ones do but still ensure that each person has an opportunity to contribute their thoughts about what needs to be done with respect to tasks as well as decisions (McGrath 2002). Transformational leaders also encourage employee input but go beyond what is required by providing rewards based on performance rather than simply allowing everyone equal access at all times (Kim 2011).

Situational leadership

Situational leadership theory is based on the assumption that leaders should adapt their behavior to the needs of followers. The leader should use a style that is appropriate for the situation and the followers’ needs.

This theory is often used in organizations where there are many different types of people with different personalities, backgrounds and experiences working together. The leader must be able to understand each person’s unique needs before taking action on them (Sackett & Stuart-Smith, 2016).

Servant leadership

Servant leadership is a type of leadership that focuses on serving others. It’s about helping your followers to develop, and making sure that they’re always growing and improving.

Servant leaders are concerned with the growth of their followers, rather than themselves. They want to make sure everyone’s needs are being met, as well as those around them.

Transactional leadership

Transactional leadership is one of the most popular leadership styles, because it’s so easy to understand. A leader gives an order and the follower follows through on it without question or hesitation. This type of relationship doesn’t require much in terms of mutual trust or respect; it’s just about getting what you need out of each other and then moving on with your day—whether that means doing exactly what you’re told or not giving a damn about anything else going on around you (which is also fine).

Transactional leaders tend to be more transactional than transformational; they will reward those who do good work when possible and punish those who haven’t earned their trust yet with negative feedback or even termination from their position within the company (though this isn’t always necessary).

Transformational leadership

The term “transformational leadership” is a very popular one in business today. In fact, it’s often used interchangeably with the term “leadership” itself! But what does this mean? How does it differ from other types of leadership? And why should you care about understanding it?

Transformational leadership means developing a vision for your organization, inspiring others to help you make that vision a reality and working hard to achieve your goals. It involves having high standards for yourself as well as others around you—and being willing to take risks in order to get things done right (and sometimes wrong). In short: transformational leaders are charismatic and inspirational!

Job-centered approach

A job-centered approach is one that focuses on the job and the work, not on people. It’s a focus on getting things done, not who should do them. The focus is on what needs to be done—the task at hand—not who or how it should be done.

The job-centered approach has several benefits:

• It reduces the amount of time spent worrying about interpersonal issues (which often distract from actually getting work done).

• Employees have fewer opportunities for conflict because they’re focused on their jobs instead of trying to prove themselves as individuals; this can lead to happier employees who are more likely to feel engaged with their organizations over longer periods of time than those working under an employee-centered approach would.*

Conclusion

Leadership is a skill that can be learned. In order to become a leader, you need to develop leadership skills and theories. There are many different types of theories and methods on how to lead people effectively into achieving their goals or mission statement objectives.