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Effective Nurse Leader Manager

Ask for feedback that describes the situation in which you were observed, what you did and
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." how it affected the person giving you feedback.
- U.S. President John F. Kennedy
Become more self-aware.
A good nurse leader is someone who can inspire others to work together in pursuit of a
common goal, such as enhanced patient care. Recognize your emotional reaction to changes, know your values and don't let success go to
your head. Your feelings of power can interfere with your willingness to learn from mistakes.
An effective leader has a distinctive set of personal qualities: integrity, courage, initiative and Take time out to review the thoughts and feelings connected to your work.
an ability to handle stress. This individual is often admired in their efforts to think critically,
set goals and skillfully communicate and collaborate. Under constant pressure to produce, some leaders believe reflection is a waste of time, but
In today's quickly evolving environment of healthcare, it's time to develop creative looking for patterns and getting perspective helps you remain flexible in the face of change.
leadership, i.e., the capacity to think and act beyond the boundaries limiting your potential Navigating Your Organization's Culture
and avoid professional derailment or faltering career moves.
Understand your organizational culture.

Making the Numbers Knowing how your organization thinks is critical to aligning yourself with its goals and helps
you weather the changes that occur in every organization over time.
The short answer is it's usually because of blind spots, i.e, serious leadership weaknesses
professional ignored (or never even noticed at all) in the headlong rush to make the numbers. How do decisions get made? What assumptions does your organization make?

Staying on track means staying focused on interpersonal skills, adaptability, team leadership But be careful not to become too political in navigating the culture. Building on your
and bottom line results. interpersonal relationship means building trust.
Show empathy.
Your path to successful leadership begins today. Here are some ways to begin to make that
happen: Your direct reports, peers and bosses are all human beings worthy of your respect. Listen
without judgement. Don't cut people off in the middle of a sentence. Take the feelings and
Never stop getting feedback. perspectives of others into account.

Solicit feedback on a routine basis. If you're talking to a direct report, for example, be aware of the balance of power in the
relationship and the effect it can have on your interaction.
Periodically ask your manager and others, "Am I working on the right things?"
If someone tells you something in confidence, keep it private.
Learn to listen.

After a meeting, when you are walking back to your office with one of your colleagues, you Separate what you think about the person from what he or she is saying. Ask questions to
might ask, "How do you think that meeting went? What could I have done better?" make sure you understand. If the person talking to you says something intriguing, make a
note on it and get back to listening. A healthy relationship between patient and nurse will often lead to a quicker recovery time.

Make it a goal, by the time the discussion is over, to summarize what you just heard from As a leader, you should seize every opportunity to motivate people by recognizing their
your colleague - without passing judgement or making snap decisions. worth, services or contributions.
By knowing the shortcomings that can knock your career off track, and conducting an honest
Support your staff.
self-assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses, you can start making adjustments
It is important to provide a supportive environment for staff members to try new skills. right now.
Learning the correct methods will allow them to develop their skills in a competent manner.
Styles of Leadership and Management
Allow time to explore each individual and tailor your style to their best comprehension.
Act as a mentor. The manner in which a nurse manager executes leadership over his / her staff has
repercussions that can result in far-reaching effects on the operations of a particular
Being a model for your team members is vital. healthcare organization. A manager's personal style of leadership has a significant impact on
important workplace aspects such as employee attrition, turnover rates, morale, feedback,
When you do your best, you will get the best from your team in return. teamwork and productivity. Nursing leadership styles also influence the perception of of
patient care indirectly because disillusioned staff nurses might not be able to hide their
Adapt your style to your staff. Take time out to check how they are doing and guide them in negative sentiments in the presence of patients and family members. Keep reading to learn
the proper direction. about several different styles of leadership.

Role modeling will help your staff effectively absorb the necessary qualities your
organization is seeking. Autocratic Leadership

Inspire and encourage. The autocratic style of leadership typically involves a leader or nurse manager who makes all
pertinent decisions, gives specific orders, and issues directives to subordinate employees who
Keeping your staff motivated to perform at top quality takes clever nursing leadership. must obey under watchful supervision. Autocratic leaders strongly discourage workers from
questioning the validity of any directives. The autocratic style of leadership is appropriate for
Burnout, dealing with absenteeism and reducing staff tensions takes careful skill. Nursing is workplaces such as jails, prisons, the military, and highly structured settings with routinized
very demanding as a profession. operations because, in these places, the lives of masses of people completely hinge on
workers following very specific orders step by step. In addition, this leadership style is
Be sure to influence a person's performance and ensure their work has a positive effect. As a favorable for the completion of simple tasks.
leader, you will need to support them and understand them in a way that is useful to them.
Democratic Leadership
Onward & Upward

Remember, the goal is excellence in patient care. The democratic leadership style facilitates enhanced participation from subordinate
employees in the organization's decision-making process. Even though the democratic leader
Encourage your staff to have empathy with patients, understand their needs and their health has the final say, he / she gathers information, ideas and feedback from staff prior to
and well being to provide progressive, excellent care.
finalizing the very decisions that will affect them. This is a highly effective style of
leadership since employees are more likely to put forth outstanding effort when they feel
valued. Workers feel valued when their input is an integral part of an organization's decision- leadership include an inspiring nurse leader who encourages team building, creativity and
making process. Democratic leadership thrives in healthcare settings due to the varied skill innovation to transform the staff to accomplish the goals of the organization. This style works
sets and educational backgrounds of employees. Conversely, this leadership style does have well because it instills self-motivation. Self-motivated employees will want to do their jobs
drawbacks. For instance, soliciting everyone's input is time-consuming. Moreover, the without the lure of rewards or the force of discipline. However, this leadership style can flop
aggressive staff members always provide feedback while the timid employees may never get miserably if the nurse manager lacks the personality traits or energy to bring out the best in
the chance to make suggestions or offer input. employees.

Visionary Leadership Laissez-Faire Leadership

The visionary style of leadership involves a charismatic leader who motivates people to Laissez-Faire leadership is a hands-off style of leading that allows employees the freedom to
pursue a common vision by providing guidance on where to go and what to do without the work on their own with little or no guidance. These nurse leaders give minimal direction and
autocratic step-by-step directions on how to get there. This leadership style pushes employees permit subordinate employees to have virtually unlimited leeway to do what they want.
to action by encouraging them to take strides toward the overall goals of the organization. Authority is invested in the employees and they are responsible for formulating their own
The typical visionary leader exhanges information freely to arm subordinates with the decisions, devising their own goals and resolving any problems that might arise. Laissez-
knowledge they will need to succeed. The visionary style works ideally when the healthcare Faire leadership is effective when leading a staff of motivated, well-educated, highly skilled,
facility is in need of a new direction. self-directed employees who have many years of experience. A truly effective Laissez-Faire
leader will offer feedback and input as needed. This leadership style must not be utilized with
Transactional Leadership unmotivated workers, employees who lack time management, and new grads or novices who
are unskilled and inexperienced.
Transactional leadership is a method of leading in which, through routine transactions such
as rewards and punishments, tasks are completed. It is based on transactions conducted LEADERSHIP THEORIES
between the nurse manager and subordinate staff because it is grounded on the theory that
Great Man Theory (1840s)
workers are motivated solely by rewards and discipline. A transactional leader normally does
not look to the future in managing an organization; rather, these managers are simply focused
on ensuring that everything operates well today. The focal points of transactional leadership The Great Man theory evolved around the mid 19th century. Even though no one was able to
include an authoritatian leader who rewards compliant staff with pay increases and punishes identify with any scientific certainty, which human characteristic or combination of, were
with progressive discipline. responsible for identifying great leaders. The Great Man theory assumes that the traits of
leadership are intrinsic. That simply means that great leaders are born...they are not made.
This theory sees great leaders as those who are destined by birth to become a leader.
Transformational Leadership
Furthermore, the belief was that great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate
situation.
Transformational leadership focuses on encouraging staff members to do their very best work
by way of example through the sheer influence of the nurse leader's optimistic personality. Trait Theory (1930's - 1940's)
This style of leadership operates on the idea that employees receive motivation to perform
well through positive, rather than negative, incentives. The main traits of transformational
The trait leadership theory believes that people are either born or are made with certain themselves or their department. Preserving their employment, position as well as their
qualities that will make them excel in leadership roles. That is, certain qualities such as seniority is what drives their elusive and evading behaviors. In short, the indifferent leaders
intelligence, sense of responsibility, creativity and other values puts anyone in the shoes of a are ineffective and are sorely lacking in any of the traits that can be attributed to successful
good leader. The trait theory of leadership focused on analyzing mental, physical and social
and effective leaders.
characteristic in order to gain more understanding of what is the characteristic or the
combination of characteristics that are common among leaders.
Impact on employees:
Behavioural Theories (1940's - 1950's)
Employees have a high degree of dissatisfaction
The behavioural theories first divided leaders in two categories. Those that were concerned
with the tasks and those concerned with the people. Throughout the literature these are No harmony within the group
referred to as different names, but the essence are identical.
High turn over
Leadership Styles Associated with Managerial Grid
Impact on organization:

Inefficient operation

The Country Club or Accommodating (1, 9)

These leaders will go above and beyond to ensure that the needs and desires of his employees
are met. These leaders are making the assumption that their staff will yield maximum results
as they are likely to be self-motivated when they are lead in such environment. These leaders
will have behaviours that will yield and comply with the needs of their staff. The productivity
of the group however, can suffer from the lack of attention on tasks.

Impact on employees:

Employees are Happy

Good team harmony

The Indifferent or Impoverished (1,1) Impact on organization:

These leaders have minimal concern for people and production. Their priority is to fly under Low productivity
the radar while they content to seek solutions that won't bring any negative focus to
The Status Quo or Middle-of-the-Road (5, 5)
These leaders balance out the needs of their staff with those of the organization, while not The Sound or Team (9, 9)
adequately achieving either. These leaders will balance and compromise their decisions, often
endorsing the most popular one. They dedicate minimal efforts towards facilitating the According to Dr. Robert R. Blake and Dr. Jane Srygley Mouton (and I agree), the sound
achievements of their staff or the production results in average or below average levels. leader is the most effective leadership style. These leaders will contribute and are committed,
can motivate and are motivated while holding the belief that trust, respect, commitment and
Impact on employees: employee empowerment are essential for fostering a team environment where team members
are motivated, thus resulting in maximum employee satisfaction as well as the most efficient
Employees are not really discontent nor are they happy productivity. This sound leadership style is also inspired by the McGregor Y theory.

Good harmony within the group Impact on employees:

Impact on organization: Employees are forming a highly cohesive team

Average performance Employees are satisfied

The Dictatorial or Produce, Perish or Control (9, 1) Similar to autocratic leader Employees are motivated and work as a team

These leaders focus all of their attention to production-related matters and very little towards Impact on organization:
the needs of their employees. These leaders will direct and dominate while holding the belief
that efficiency gains can only be achieved through rigid disciplines especially those that don't Low employee turnover
require human interaction. Employees are considered expendable resources. Productivity is
usually short lived as high employee attrition is unavoidable. The dictatorial style is inspired Attracts highly skills employees
by the McGregor X theory.
Efficient organization
Impact on employees:
Role Theory
Employees experience a high level of dissatisfaction
Role theory refers to the explanation of what happens when people are acting out social
processes and the consequences of their doing so.
High level of conflict within the group
A role is a place in a model and the participant acts out a situation in the same manner that a
Impact on organization:
person in real life would respond in that same situation.

High employee turnover Contingency Theory

Peak performance is short lived Argues that there is no single way of leading and that every leadership style should be based
on certain situations, which signifies that there are certain people who perform at the
maximum level in certain places; but at minimal performance when taken out of their The Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision-making Model of Leadership focuses upon decision
element. making as how successful leadership emerges and progresses. The parameters shaping a
decision are quality, commitment of group or organization members, and time restrictions.
Fiedler's contingency theory is one of the contingency theories that states that effective
leadership depends not only on the style of leading but on the control over a situation. There
needs to be good leader-member relations, task with clear goals and procedures, and the Transactional Theory
ability for the leader to mete out rewards and punishments. Lacking these three in the right
combination and context will result in leadership failure. Fiedler created the least preferred A transactional approach to management describes when rewards are used to motivate a
co-worker (LPC) scale, where a leader is asked what traits can be ascribed to the co-worker team. The main issue is self-interest, which can refer to both the manager and the worker, as
that the leader likes the least. they both look good and are rewarded if the task goes according to plan. Conversely,
punishment is used when a team member does not complete the task set forth by the
Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cooperative
manager. This is the simplest, most bureaucratic approach to management.
Unfriendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Friendly
Transformational Theory
Hostile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive
This is the opposite of transactional management, and it is a true leadership role in that it
Guarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Open does not depend on bureaucracy but on the personal presence of the leader. This model seeks
to motivate those under authority. For example, the manager raises awareness about the
........ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ........
importance of the task at hand and inspires her team to succeed. This theory seeks, most of
all, to transcend self-interest and mold a tightly integrated team together to perform a task.

Charismatic Theory
The Path-Goal theory
The charismatic approach is leadership in the most powerful sense and is one of the few
Path-goal theory of leader effectiveness, or path-goal model can be considered as a variant models that does not require a bureaucratic apparatus to function. Charismatic leadership is a
on Transactional Leadership Theory, where the leader clearly is directing activity and the radical form of transformational leadership -- people follow out of love or respect to the
only factor that varies is the manner in which this is done. There are some aspects of leader. Rewards and self-interest are rejected here, and tasks are completed because the
Contingency Theory, as well, where various means of application vary with the situation. The charismatic presence motivates others to work for a greater good.
leader sees a path that needs to be tread, one leading to the accomplishment of a goal and she
or he attempts to clear it and get the group members to tread on it. The leader may cajole,
command, reward or punish, get suggestions from the group, or sugar coat the tasks, if
necessary, but it is clear that democracy is not the hallmark of this method

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