Topic 14: Servant Leadership

My practicum practice has been instrumental in equipping me with important leadership skills required in a healthcare setting. I have been working with nurses within our facility to improve patient education and develop a positive healthcare team. These projects have been significant in understanding my team and creating a structure that meets the needs of each person (Neubert et al., 2021). In the past few weeks, I have observed numerous things connected to healthcare leadership. The flow of activities from the nurse leaders to the nurses has been essential in comprehending the importance of having better leadership skills in health. Therefore, the purpose of this paper will be to reflect on the seven servant-leadership principles and how to integrate them into leadership roles.

In the bible, the word “power” has been used 118 times which conveys the meaning of force or strength. Again, the word is used to refer to ability or capability. In the bible, the word defines the ability of one to influence people and things. The healthcare setting has been borrowing the same analogy by gaining the power to influence people and things. Healthcare leaders would have more power to influence and lead changes within the healthcare setting when they have the power to influence healthcare workers (Cottey & McKimm, 2019). The value of a leader is measured by their ability to rally a team towards meeting the desired change. The dynamic nature of healthcare requires servant leaders that can have a great influence on their employees. Such leaders focus on the inspiration and motivation of the employees to register the required success in the healthcare setting. Therefore, I believe that gaining the power to influence employees has a positive impact on meeting the desired patient needs in a healthcare setting.

While power is the ability to influence people and things, authority is the legitimate right to practice the influence. As

such, power and authority also have a positive impact on healthcare. These principles have a critical function in a healthcare organization, and it requires a good leader who can balance their emotions and those of the subjects. A servant leader earns authority and power within the healthcare setting. This is opposed to the situation where healthcare leaders demand power and authority (Mostafa & El-Motalib, 2019). The power of servant leaders comes from the association they develop with the employees. The success of the healthcare institution starts from the relationship that a leader develops with the subjects. The respect and authority developed among the employees would allow the leader to lead the employees to the desired goal. Servant leadership qualities should bind the organization in one accord and rally all subjects toward meeting the desired goals.

The principle of rule in servant leadership has been discussed at length in the bible (Mathew 20:25-28). The verse talks about a leader becoming selfless and not taking advantage of their position to exploit others. This principle is applicable in healthcare, especially in guiding the conduct of leaders towards their employees (Cottey & McKimm, 2019). While other leaders use their selfishness to drive goals, such leaders fail to understand the design behind their power and authority. These are the types of leaders that would always lead in contrast and face intense rebellion from their employees. In my practicum practice, I realized that exercising selfish rules on healthcare workers would only raise a rebellion and poor communication between workers and nurse leaders.

The headship principle in servant leadership focuses on a chief shepherd defined in 1^st Peter 5:4. Jesus used the imagery of a shepherd to describe his leadership style. The duty of a shepherd is to care for the sheep, provide protection and nurture them. In a healthcare setting, a leader should treat employees as sheep (Hean & Tin, 2020). They should nurture, protect and care for the healthcare workers. In my practicum setting, I realized that focusing on the social welfare of employees has a positive impact on employees. Such leaders would have a contractive talk about family and relationship problems affecting nurses and suggests some of the best ways to solve such family issues. While these duties are additional roles of nurse leaders, most leaders fail to focus on other measures that affect the output of employees. Such nurse leaders lead by providing all aspects of care to nurses to push them to meet the desired patient outcome.

The humility principle is significant in understanding employees. In my practicum, I realized that employees always differ in performance. While some nurses are perfect at dealing with the geriatric population, others are good at dealing with pediatric patients. These differences imply that all the nurses in our unit had their areas of weakness and strengths (Cottey & McKimm, 2019). However, it takes a humble nurse leader to study employees and align them with the tasks they can perform to the best of their abilities. Managing nurses in healthcare institutions entails developing a close relationship with them, as this would be important in understanding the strength and weaknesses of each nurse. I would see our nurse leader showing love and friendship to us. For instance, the leader would always correct nurses without shouting and encouraging us that mistakes are possible, but we are looking forward to reducing errors in this industry.

The practicum lesson was significant in comprehending the true meaning of headship and ruling. Servant leaders do not need to prove to their subjects that they possess strength, courage, and dedication to their subordinates. However, their actions would show the actual definition of a servant leader (Cottey & McKimm, 2019). These principles teach that leadership is about directing a team or an organization toward a shared goal while serving as a role model. In healthcare, it entails motivating, inspiring, and coordinating health providers and other support staff toward improving patients’ experience and clinical outcomes. The ability to rise to levels of leadership in healthcare is about adopting suitable strategies and skills to win the loyalty and trust of colleagues and senior management.

Acting as examples and servants for the subjects is important in leading by example. While healthcare professionals would need the theoretical concept in nursing, the practical work is all about following examples from mentors (Mostafa & El-Motalib, 2019). Health care leadership is pivoted on the capacity to recognize priorities, offer tactical direction to numerous players within the health organization, and fashion commitment across the health segment to attend the primacies to enhance health services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the servant leadership style plays a pivotal role in healthcare as it promotes unity in healthcare delivery. The seven principles of servant leadership define the seven traits that a servant leader needs to portray in healthcare settings. Incorporating these principles in the healthcare setting defines an effective leader who would rally employees toward meeting the desired patient outcome. Positive clinical outcome is possible with the increased communication and relationship between the leaders and the healthcare workers.

References

Cottey, L., & McKimm, J. (2019). Putting service back into health care through servant leadership. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 80(4), 220-224. https://doi.org/10.12968/hmed.2019.80.4.220

Mostafa, A. M. S., & El-Motalib, E. A. A. (2019). Servant leadership, leader–member exchange and proactive behavior in the public health sector. Public Personnel Management, 48(3), 309-324. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0091026018816340

Neubert, M. J., Hunter, E. M., & Tolentino, R. C. (2021). Modeling Character: Servant Leaders, Incivility and Patient Outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04783-7

Hean, L. L., & Tin, L. G. (2020). Accentuating servant-leadership in Singapore leadership mentoring. Global Servant-Leadership: Wisdom, Love, and Legitimate Power in the Age of Chaos, 225

Grid View

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Main Posting	45 (45%) – 50 (50%) Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. Supported by at least three current, credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to some of the discussion question(s). One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Post is cited with two credible sources. Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	0 (0%) – 34 (34%) Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately. Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible sources. Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness	10 (10%) – 10 (10%) Posts main post by day 3.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not post by day 3.
First Response	17 (17%) – 18 (18%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	15 (15%) – 16 (16%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	13 (13%) – 14 (14%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 12 (12%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response	16 (16%) – 17 (17%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	14 (14%) – 15 (15%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	12 (12%) – 13 (13%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 11 (11%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Participation	5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS: Topic 14: Servant Leadership

Lopes Write Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
Include in-text citations in your response
Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
Follow APA-7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
Follow APA 7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
Here are some helpful links
Student paper example
Citing Sources
The Writing Center is a great resource