N588 Leadership Styles & Theories

Decision making: makes them independently with no input from others
Systematic
Task driven
Little creativity
Short on humor
Difficult for staff to be “heard”
Decisions need to be made quickly, when there’s no need for input, and when team agreement isn’t necessary for a successful outcome

Code, crisis situation, military, bureaucratic settings
Might be useful when quick action or critical decisions must be made in which everyone must perform in the same way

In general, it is ineffective with professionals and creates workplace issues

Consultative: allows team input on decision, but degree of input varies
Decision making
Empowers individuals
Acts as coach, team leader
Collegial
Trusting
Important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas

Manager of a floor, good when cooperation and collaboration is necessary
Might be useful when sufficient time is available or when the group must agree on a plan
In general, this approach is effective in healthcare and helps reinforce the concept of team
Especially effective when a group is dealing with a quality initiative

If there are lots of differing opinions it’s hard to come to an agreement

Non-directive, non-interfering
Permissive: allows team to make decisions
Works well when the team is highly capable, motivated, and doesn’t need close supervision

Physicians letting the med students lead

Problems can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted

Physical and emotional characteristics that inspire others

Early belief that leadership qualities are innate; later others believed they can be learned and improved upon

Self-awareness of traits is useful for personal growth, but is a limited theory

Great leaders share many of the same personality traits

What do they do in relational and contextual terms, 360-degree feedback is obtained

Leaders are employee-centered

Developed because of the limitations of trait theory

Style theories focus on what leaders do in relational and contextual terms

The achievement of satisfactory performance measures requires supervisors to pursue effective relationships with their subordinates while comprehending the factors in the work environment that influence outcomes

Degree of trust/respect, task structure, positional power, style of leadership dependent upon situation; can change as needed.

These theorists believed that leadership effectiveness depends on the relationship among:
1) the leader’s task at hand
2) his or her interpersonal skills, and
3) the favorableness of the work situation

The 3 critical factors must be present

Leaders viewed as able to adapt their style according to the presenting situation

Attends to needs/motives of followers; leader is a role model, more recent theory and more effective in current health care settings

Refers to a process whereby the leader attends to the needs and motives of followers so that the interaction raises each to high levels of motivation and morality

The leader is a role model who inspires followers through displayed optimism, provides intellectual stimulation, and encourages follower creativity

Self-awareness of traits is useful in self-development (e.g. developing assertiveness)

Seeking employment that matches traits (drive, motivation, integrity etc.)

Leaders need to obtain feedback from followers, superiors, and peers, such as through Managerial Grid Instrument

Employee-centered leaders tend to be the leaders most able to achieve effective work environments and productivity

These theories consider the challenge of a situation and encourage an adaptive leadership style to complement the issue being faced

Nurses must assess each situation and determine appropriate action based on the people involved

Transformed organizations are responsive to customer needs, are morally and ethically intact, promote employee development, and encourage self-management

Nurse leaders with transformational characteristics experiment with systems redesign, empower staff, create enthusiasm for practice, and promote scholarship of practice at the patient-side

1) the degree of trust and respect between leaders and followers
2) the task structure denoting the clarity of goals and the complexity of problems faced
3) the position power in terms of where the leader was able to reward followers and exert influence

All leadership styles are used based upon the context of the situation and consider the maturity level of the follower
leads based on situation
Adapt to the situation
degree of trust/respect, task structure, positional power
style of leadership dependent upon situation; can change as needed

Transformational: motivates using influence and persuasion, not using rewards/punishment
attends to needs/motives of followers; leader is a role model
more recent theory and more effective in current healthcare settings

Based on an inspirational vision that changes the framework of the organization for employees
Employees are encouraged to transcend their own self-interest
Involves communication that connects with employees’ ideas in a way that causes emotional engagement

Challenging the process
Inspiring shared vision
Enabling others to act
Modeling the way
Encouraging the heart (ex. saying thank you)

The traditional “boss” image
Employees understand that a superior makes the decisions with little or no input from subordinates
Relies on the power of organizational position and formal authority to reward and punish

Charismatic, inspiring and motivating, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration

Contingent reward (quid pro quo), punitive, management by exception (active)- monitors performance and takes action to correct, management by exception (passive)- intervenes only when problems exist

A shared vision, increased self-worth, challenging and meaningful work, coaching and mentoring happens, feeling valued

Fulfills the contract or gets punished, does the work and gets paid, errors are corrected in a reactive manner

Increased loyalty, increased commitment, increased job satisfaction, increased morale and performance

Work is supervised and completed according to the rules, deadlines are met, limited job satisfaction, low to stable levels of commitment