Leadership Theories in Practice Essay Paper
Effective leadership is necessary in the practice setting to ensure that the health care system is of high quality and consistently provides efficient and safe care. It is necessary for medical personnel, including nurses, to identify the leadership theories and style that are relevant to their professional practice. This is important as it enables them (medical personnel) to be adept at developing skills and competencies for better leadership while improving relationships with other stakeholders. Ultimately, all medical personnel must understand that there are different leadership theories and styles that are applicable to different situations, and they should know the specific theory and style most effective in a scenario to achieve set objectives (Xu, 2017). The present insight provides insights into leadership theories of significant to nurses.
Post two key insights you had from the scholarly resources you selected.
Two key insights were gleaned from the two selected scholarly resources. Xu (2017) presents the first insight by showing that effective leadership is all about adaptation and personalization. Leadership Theories in Practice Essay Paper Nurse should have an awareness of the different leadership theories, and this knowledge would be applied when facing different situations/scenarios. This occurs by adapting the theories to the specific needs of each situation. It is the awareness of the different theories and how to adapt and apply them to different situations that determines the difference between effective and ineffective leaders (Xu, 2017). Stanley (2020) presents the second insight that leadership can be based on an informal or formal position with the focus being on applying evidence-based and well established theoretical perspectives presented as theories. The theories allow leaders to have confidence in their approaches that are based on tangible evidence (Stanley, 2020).
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.
An example of a highly adaptable and effective leader is Steve Jobs who led Apple to global prominence. Jobs recognized that the digital environment is ever evolving and his leadership approaches should similarly evolve. He experimented with bold ideas that saw him transform the digital industry using cellphones, music and personal computers. He had his fair share of failures (such as Apple TV, NeXT and The Apple Lisa), but these failures did not discourage him from being an adaptive leader and eventually succeeding. Jobs understood the needs of his customers, focused on improving their experiences, and was relentless in realizing his dreams (Snyder, 2013). The adaptive leadership approach exhibited by Jobs is useful for the health care industry, especially in the face of changes to include increasing adoption of communication technologies in telehealth. Applying a similar leadership approach would entail clearly understanding the needs of the stakeholders, ensuring that each stakeholder has the best experience, and relentlessly pursuing improvements. The adaptive leadership approach has especially been useful in ensuring leadership success when facing the Covid-19 epidemic. It has seen medical organizations shift towards telehealth that allows them to continue providing medical care services in the midst of lockdown and social distancing needs.
Conclusion
One must accept that nurses must be effective leaders in order to ensure that the health care system is of high quality and consistently provides efficient and safe care. In addition, one must accept that an awareness of the different leadership theories is important for improving leadership performance. A review of leadership theories reveals that effective leadership is all about adaptation and personalization, and applying evidence-based and well established theoretical perspectives presented as theories. One leaders who should be emulated by nurses is Steve Jobs who was an adaptive leader as this is useful for addressing changing situations, such as developing telehealth capabilities in the face of lockdowns and social distancing requirements for Covid-19.
References
Snyder, S. (2013). Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow Through Challenge and Adversity. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Stanley, D. (2020). Response to: Perspectives: Leadership: What is it good for? (Maxwell, 2020, DOI: 10.1177/1744987120908359) What is professional nursing leadership good for? Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(3), 312-315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120920726
Xu, J. (2017). Leadership Theory in Clinical Practice. Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 155-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnre.2017.10.001
Discussion 1: 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:
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.
NB: Include an intro and a conclusion
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. Leadership Theories in Practice Essay Paper