NRS 440 CLC Leadership Styles and Nursing GCU

Compare and Contrast Two Leadership Styles or Theories

Leadership refers to the art of inspiring a group of people to act towards the realization of a common objective. As such, a leader can be defined as a person with have a combination of personality and leadership skills to influence others to follow his or her direction. To be an effective leader, one has to be motivating, visionary, and responsible to successfully run an organization (Zaccaro, Dubrow & Kolze, 2018). Consequently, this paper seeks to compare the democratic and autocratic leadership styles in nursing.

The democratic leadership connotes a style where participation in decision making is encouraged. A democratic nurse leader accommodates perspectives of subordinates and promotes open communication (McKeown & Carey, 2015). Although the ultimate decision is made by the manager, the stakeholders and subordinates are asked to provide their feedback and are also given feedback. Conversely, autocratic leadership connotes a style where the manager is the boss who makes all decisions and gives particular orders and directions to the subjects, but discourages dissent.

Rationale for Selecting the Leadership Styles

The rationale for selecting the democratic and autocratic leadership styles is to create a clear understanding of the styles to nurse managers who possess either of them. The above is based on the fact that the two leadership styles carry an impact on the willingness of the workforce to perform their duties and responsibilities with dedication. Consequently, the significance of the democratic style of leadership in nursing is that it improves the participation of subordinates in the decision making process of the organization (McKeown & Carey, 2015). It also enhances joint goal setting where every employee is free to give suggestions on various aspects of management. It increases employees’ sense of belonging and value because they feel appreciated and engaged in the organization. On the other hand, the significance of autocratic leadership style is in its improvement of productivity. Since autocratic leaders have the ability to move information in the entire organization faster, few delays are often witnessed in the productivity chain. Employees are less likely to stop their engagements or deter them since they get timely communication and decision from their leadership (Cope & Murray, 2017).

Similarities and Differences between Democratic and Autocratic Leadership Styles

Essentially, democratic and autocratic leadership styles have little in common to share because they appear to be the exact opposites of one another. However, a similarity can be identified in the sense that ideas need to be stored in both cases prior to making a business decision. In democratic leadership, employees are involved first before the decision making process. The same applies in autocratic organization where the leader must first consider the decision before rolling out to employees.

According to Cope and Murray (2017), there are several differences in the two leadership style

NRS 440 CLC Leadership Styles and Nursing GCU

s. In democratic leadership, employees are involved in decision making while an autocratic leader tends to make independent decisions. Besides, while autocratic leadership is mostly oriented towards realization of organizational goals, democratic leadership emphasizes on developing relationship with employees. Regarding their difference in degree of control, autocratic leadership demonstrates more control over employees, while democratic leadership shows low degree of control over employees.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership is associated with many advantages. First, it focuses on team involvement, participation, and engagement. The contribution of every employee is welcomed and their performance also acknowledged and rewarded where necessary. In turn, the level of employees’ morale is elevated. Besides, the level of productivity is high and employees often create innovative and creative ideas because of high cooperation of employees. This leadership style also encourages communication which is critical in enhancing motivation and ensuring greater adaptability and flexibility.

On the other hand, disadvantages include time wastage when trying to come to consensus during decision making, which may cause serious damages in situations that require immediate actions. Besides, the style is not suitable where decision making should be made instantly. Further, there is a possibility of making wrong decisions where unskilled employees are involved in decision making.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership is associated with several merits such as having a clear line of control because every decision emanates from the leaders. It is also easy to learn due to its intuitive nature, which does not need expert training or knowledge of leadership theory. Besides, it also fosters faster decision making, and improves productivity. Adversely, the demerits include increased work burden to the leaders because a leader is fully responsible for every operation. There is also a danger of depending entirely on a leader and employees are not empowered to work in the absence of a leader. Moreover, it is unsuitable for highly trained and motivated employees who do not need to be told what to do. This leadership style lowers their morale and reduces creativity and productivity.

The Environment/Conditions Where Both Styles Would Work Best

Autocratic leadership style can best work in straightforward or simple tasks. It is also critical in emergency situations where a strong voice to give direction is necessary. On the other hand, democratic leadership can work best where there is need to develop relationship with staff members, which is anchored on trust and accountability.

Summary

Both leadership styles have merits and demerits and so, their suitability depends on the needs of the organization and what is to be achieved. It is important to identify the leadership style to employ in an organization because every style tends to impact the willingness of the workforce to perform their duties and responsibilities with dedication and also great influence on the job satisfaction and determination of nurses. Essentially, nursing practice is centered on professional nurses. Therefore, leadership is significant for nurses at all levels to ensure safety of care and positive outcomes. The effectiveness of leadership style employed by nurse leaders is crucial determinant of job commitment and satisfaction among nurses.

References

Cope, V., & Murray, M. (2017). Leadership styles in nursing. Nursing Standard, 31(43).

McKeown, M., & Carey, L. (2015). Democratic leadership: a charming solution for nursing’s legitimacy crisis. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(3-4), 315-317.

Zaccaro, S. J., Dubrow, S., & Kolze, M. (2018). Leader traits and attributes. In J. Antonakis & D. V. Day (Eds.), The nature of leadership (p. 29–55). Sage Publications, Inc.

Some of the leadership styles include Democratic, strategic, and transformational leadership. Democratic, strategic, and transformational leadership styles are all effective in different situations. Democratic leadership is best suited for organizations that are stable and have a well-established track record. In this type of environment, employees are comfortable with taking risks and don’t need a lot of direction from their leader. The democratic leader’s role is to provide support and guidance as needed. Strategic leadership is necessary in times of change or uncertainty (Adiguzel et al., 2020). Organizations that are facing new challenges or competition need a leader who can develop a plan and execute it effectively. The strategic leader sets the direction for the organization and makes sure everyone is on board with the plan. Transformational leadership is ideal for organizations that want to make significant changes. By studying leadership practices and theories, individuals can gain a greater understanding of what makes a successful leader and what leads to ineffective or unsuccessful leadership.

The nurse leader (democratic-participative) has bi-weekly weekly team meeting consisting of RN’s, LPN’s, and Certified Nurse Aide’s. Each employee is given the chance to voice their opinion ask questions and offer suggestions of how to improve the unit and working together as a team. Once the meeting is over the nurse leader converses with the unit charge nurse and asks for her feedback.

My preferred leadership can be summarized as democratic. This is the type of leadership that usually asks for the opinions of the people I am working with. In addition, I always want to be a transparent leader sharing with the group members about the progress and any new information within the group (Farrington & Lillah, 2019). This always increases trust among the team members and encourage team spirit in the process.

Servant leadership is a type of leadership that involves a leader becoming a servant to his followers first. This is a type of leader who usually consider the priorities of other people first before his own priorities. They usually try to help their followers from difficult situations and help them achieve their goals (Farrington & Lillah, 2019). Servant leaders are most of the times considered empathetic and would try to understand the difficulties that their followers are going through and find solutions to their problems (Farrington & Lillah, 2019). It is a combination of both democratic and transformative form of leadership.

One of the benefits of applying servant leadership skills for nursing professions is that it improves their listening skills which helps the nurses to get help from their staff easily. Servant leaders are usually more efficient in resolving conflicts and such skills can be very crucial for nursing professions (Farrington & Lillah, 2019). They are more likely to be good at negotiation and provide a more effective healing environment that encourages conflict resolution (Farrington & Lillah, 2019). Furthermore, servant leadership skills can increase awareness and conceptualization among nursing professions. Such skills will enable the nurse professions to look at a bigger picture of all the activities that are taking place in the healthcare sector.

References

ØFarrington, S. M., & Lillah, R. (2019). Servant leadership and job satisfaction within private healthcare practices. Leadership in Health Services.

As a leader, I strive to demonstrate democratic, strategic, and transformational leadership styles. My traits drive effective practices as an inspirational leader. Self-awareness bolsters respect for my colleagues and subordinates, which leads to feelings of gratitude that foster integrity. I always lead with empathy not just for those I manage but also their respective issues and conflicts. The courage to take risks motivates me to challenge the status quo with a shared vision and by modelling desired behaviour that encourages others to step up and seize opportunities. By inspiring this kind of growth among the team, I am able to foster a strong sense of trust in the workplace which leads to greater success over time (Stauffer & Maxwell, 2020). The three leadership styles can be effective under different circumstances. For example, democratic leadership can be effective when a leader wants to get input from all members of the team and build consensus before making a decision. Strategic leadership can be effective when a leader wants to focus on long-term goals and objectives and make sure all team members are aligned with those goals. And transformational leadership can be effective when a leader wants to inspire team members to reach higher levels of performance.

In order to foster communication, empowerment and a shared vision, servant leaders must first create an environment in which people feel safe and valued. People need to feel that they can trust their leader enough to be open and honest, without fear of reprisal (Brouns et al., 2020). Once this environment is established, the leader can begin to delegate authority and responsibility, empowering their team to make decisions and take actions that will move the organization forward. The goal of a servant leader is to create a sense of community in which everyone feels they are working towards a common purpose (Setyaningrum et al., 2020). By sharing their vision with their team and empowering them to act on it, the leader helps build a sense of ownership and responsibility among the members of the organization. A leader who practices servant leadership will be more likely to encourage open communication within the team and to actively listen to the concerns and suggestions of team members. This can help to create a culture of trust and respect, which can lead to better collaboration and problem-solving.

References

´Setyaningrum, R. P., Setiawan, M., & Irawanto, D. W. (2020). Servant Leadership Characteristics, Organisational Commitment, Followers’ Trust, Employees’ Performance Outcomes: A Literature Review. European Research Studies, 23(4), 902-911. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Retno-Setyaningrum/publication/346671856_Servant_Leadership_Characteristics_ERSJ/links/5fcdce4945851568d146991e/Servant-Leadership-Characteristics-ERSJ.pdf

´Adiguzel, Z., Ozcinar, M. F., & Karadal, H. (2020). Does servant leadership moderate the link between strategic human resource management on rule breaking and job satisfaction?. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 26(2), 103-110. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2444883419302359

´Stauffer, D. C., & Maxwell, D. L. (2020). Transforming servant leadership, organizational culture, change, sustainability, and courageous leadership. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 17(1), 105-116. http://www.digitalcommons.www.na-businesspress.com/JLAE/JLAE17-1/6_Stauffer_Maxwell_17_1_.pdf

´Brouns, T., Externbrink, K., & Blesa Aledo, P. S. (2020). Leadership beyond narcissism: On the role of compassionate love as individual antecedent of servant leadership. Administrative Sciences, 10(2), 20. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/10/2/20