Theory of Leadership

Leadership is defined by Yoder-Wise (2011) as the process by which one uses personal traits to effectively and ethically lead patients, families and staff to accomplish clinical and organizational outcomes. Theory is defined by nursing-theory.org (2013) as a belief, policy or procedure that is followed to accomplish a mission (nursing-theory.org, 2013). Theory has everything to do with nursing, it answers questions that need answers, it supports evidence based practice and it guides, directs and sharpens clinical and organizational problem solving outcomes (Yoder-Wise, (2011). In nursing no one theory solves a situation, each situation has to be assessed and evaluated to reach the best outcome that applies to the situation.

As I am reading about leadership theories, knowing that no one leadership theory accomplishes every situation, I believe I function between the Situational-Contingency Leadership Theory and the Transformational Leadership Theory. As I lead the evening shift as the staffing coordinator I am the only administration on grounds after five pm, so at times I am making decisions on the spur of the moment to take care of the situation at hand, this is where my Situational-Contingency Theory traits comes in.

When I am in a relaxed state with support from other administration members during the day my Transformational Leadership Theory traits are in operation, however I believe Transformational Leadership Theory describes my traits best. Per Yoder-Wise (2011) leadership theories were developed as a system of knowledge whereby behaviors and traits of leaders who were looked at as successful at influencing people, events and situations to achieve organization goals were identified. According to Yoder-Wise (2011) it is evident today that leadership is a process of interacting with others and therefore motivational theories uniformly overlapped with leadership theories. Transformational Leadership Theory

According to Yoder-Wise (2011) in Transformational Leadership Theory, the leader puts the needs and aspirations of followers before his or hers to motivate them so they achieve the highest level of achievement in motivation and morality. Transformation leaders inspire their followers by encouraging them to display optimism, intellectual stimulation and creativity (Yoder-Wise, 2011). Sullivan (2009) states with Transformational Leadership Theory, focus is directed to interpersonal relationships, it is not concerned with status quo. The ultimate goal for Transformational Leadership Theory is to encourage employees to commit to the vision of the organization rather than seeking personal interests (Sullivan, 2009).

I believe in Transformational Leadership Theory because it can be used effectively by nurses, coworkers on the bedside, in the home, in the community health centers and other health organizations (Sullivan, 2009). It has been proven that Transformational Leadership Theory leaders practice reduces burnout among employees (Weber, 2010). Most clinical registered nurses reported high level job satisfaction when led by Transformational Theory Leaders (Yoder-Wise, 2011). Transformational Leadership was rebirthed in the millennium when globalization and other influences forced organizations to reestablish themselves (Yoda-Wise, 2011). Personal Theory of Leadership

My personal theory of leadership is one where the leader leads by example. I am professional in my dressing and professional in my speaking, I believe in role modelling as the best example because in life, I have learned that you can say things all you want to and if they are not seeing you doing them they are not going to believe in it. Role modelling is an important form of communication. A study was done on Chief Executive Officers who were trying to lead their followers to change their marketing skills to gain more customers and one of the followers was asked what caught his attention that caused him to believe in these CEO’s and he stated, that seeing what they were doing was much more convincing than what they were saying, (Latham,2013

I believe in respect, integrity and trust in the people I lead. I believe in a hospital culture that respects their employees and by this I mean everyone must be treated fairly and respectfully regardless of position. When I pass in the hallway and see a doctor or housekeeper, I acknowledge them the same because we are a team that cannot do without one another. I see this situation like a human body, the eye cannot say I do not need a leg because for it to be called a whole body it has to have all its’ components to operate.” Respect of others should come easily for a leader who serves his/her followers, hence a very important component of transformational leadership” (Latham, 2013). Integrity is very important for a leader to have because doing what is right consistently and walking right in your life is important for followers to see, so you can gain their trust. Latham (2013) states integrity is very important for teamwork and conquering resistance to change.

Having trust between followers and leader is very important to me because if they cannot trust me how am I going to lead them. To me trust is the glue that holds teams together. Even when caring for patients and we go back to the basics of nursing of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation, if this process goes right I gain the trust of the patient but if I do not assess right, plan right, implement right and evaluate right, I lose their trust. A high level of trust is the most important characteristic in a culture of an organizational” (Latham, 2013). In my experience trust and success go hand in hand, if one starts a project and wants to convince people to be on his/her side you have to tell them or do something to gain their trust in order for them to follow you and your idea. Leadership Experience

I lead by showing respect to everyone, I believe a leader has to lead by example so she/he can gain the respect. When I first got the Nursing Coordinator position, I started making rounds and I heard the employees grumbling about how nursing administration leaders do not visit or stop by to talk to the employees or acknowledge their work. After hearing their complaints I decided I will make rounds and I will acknowledge every staff member that is on duty by name and thank them for a good job they are doing. After a few weeks of I doing this, I noticed employees were happier and every time I go by each ward, I will address every employee on duty. “Valued employees value customers and treat them accordingly” (Latham, 2013). I also began to model the way I speak to them on the phone, I addressed them by name and asked how they were doing before I asked to speak to the nurse. “The leader is a role model who inspires followers through displayed optimism, provides intellectual stimulation and encourages followers’ creativity” (Yoda-Wise, 2011).

At the Terrell State Hospital where I work, we have an I caught you caring reward system where if a Manager sees an employee exhibiting caring behavior to their patients I can write one and give to Nursing Administration and that person will receive a five dollar gift certificate to eat in the hospital on campus canteen, If they have five I care incidences they get a seventy five dollars Walmart Shopping card, after a while I began seeing employees interacting more with their customers on the floors on a daily basis. According to Yoda-Wise (2011) Transformational nurse leaders will experiment with systems redesign, empower staff and promote knowledge of practice at the patient bedside.

Conclusion
In the practice of nursing, individuals with all levels of education intermingle with each other and those members that have extraordinary abilities take on the challenge of leading the team, considering everyone’s strengths and weaknesses to make it work for the common goal of excellent patient care. A leader leads the team to better themselves by making sure everyone in the team is being encouraged to give their best contribution that one can give.

References
Latham, J. R. (2013). A framework for leading the transformation to performance excellence part II: CEO perspectives on leadership behaviors, individual leader characteristics, and organizational culture. Quality Management Journal, 20(3), 19-40. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.databases.wtamu.edu:2048/ed nursing-theory.org (2013). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=nursing-theory.org on
07/11/2014. Sullivan, E. J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (8thed.). Pearson Weber, J. (2010). Assessing the “tone at the top”: the moral reasoning of CEO’s in the automobile industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 92(2), 167-182. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.databases.wtamu.edu:2048/ed Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2011). Leading and managing in nursing. St, Louis, Missouri: Mosby-Elsevier