Clinical Leadership and Professional Relationships Report 2022

Running head: CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Clinical Leadership and Professional Relationships
Name
Institutional Affiliation

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2
Clinical Leadership and Professional Relationships
Leadership remains a crucial aspect in the healthcare sector because it determines how
leaders relate with their subordinates and how they channel resources towards the efficient
service delivery in hospitals. Leaders play a significant role in motivating their followers and
patients with the goal of creating a positive influence towards the delivery of quality services.
The overall understanding about leadership is that it thrives on the ability to influence others to
pursue and achieve common goals. Different leadership styles have been studied with each style
having its merits and demerits. Good leaders win the support of their followers because they
allocate tasks equally and are interested in the career development of their followers.
Transformational leaders have been hailed as the best team leaders because they motivate and
encourage their followers to adhere to evidence-based practice in delivery of services. Efficient
leadership in nursing is crucial because it contributes to employee performance, innovation, and
transformation to job satisfaction that results to positive work culture and patient safety. This
essay discusses the definition of leadership and patient safety, discusses transformational and
transactional leadership styles, and provides additional information on how the two leadership
styles impact patient safety when applied in healthcare settings.
Understanding the definition of leadership helps one to know what is expected of leaders
and their role in influencing change in their leadership positions. Leadership is defined as the art
of motivating people and followers towards achieving organizational goals (Choi, Goh, Adam,
& Tan, 2016). Leadership as an art requires that the person in charge uses interpersonal skills to
motivate followers to work willingly and enthusiastically (Liu & Li, 2018). Patient safety is the
prevention of harm to patients through prevention of medical errors and delivery of quality
services (Sola, Badia, Hito, & Garcia, 2016). There exist a direct relationship between leadership

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 3
and patient safety. Good leadership creates a suitable environment for patients in hospitals by
preventing medication errors and all forms of harm that may befall patients in the healthcare
environment. Farokhzadian, Dehghan, Nayeri, and Borhani, (2018) explain that organizations
with good leaders have an advantage of attracting competent employees and retaining them as
they deliver quality services to patients.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles and Patient Safety
Transformational leadership style has been cited as one of the most effective leadership
styles applicable among different disciplines. Choi, Goh, Adam, and Tan (2016) define
transformational leadership style as one where the team leader identifies the need for change and
works with the team by inspiring them towards the desired change in an organization. Liu and Li
(2018) further explain that transformational leaders make maximum utilization of knowledge
sharing as a collaborative tool for winning support from stakeholders.
Transformational leadership is seen an effective leadership style in managing the
relationship among the stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. Sola, Badia, Hito, and
Garcia (2016) explain that transformational leaders shape the attitude of employees towards their
co-workers and their profession. Transformational leaders are committed to achieving change in
organizations because they take a proactive role in impacting change in their followers. Liu and
Li (2018) further explain that transformational leaders make maximum utilization of knowledge
sharing as a collaborative tool for winning support from stakeholders. They can be found among
encouraging them in solving problems and suggesting new ideas. They acknowledge the value of
each member in a team as they seek to harness the strengths of each member.
Compared to transformational leadership, the theory of transactional leadership focuses
on supervision, performance, and organization of the resources and people for effective work

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 4
output (Farokhzadian, Dehghan, Nayeri, & Borhani, 2018). The primary difference between
transformational and transactional leaders is that while transformational leaders are vision-
oriented, transactional leaders are work-oriented. Sfantou, Laliotis, Patelarou, Sifaki-Pistolla,
and Patelarou (2017) explain that transactional leadership requires that employers give their
employees something in exchange for what they want to achieve in their organizations. This
makes this leadership style a practical style because lack of input from the organization implies
that the desired output will not be realized.
Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Patient Safety
Patient safety is an essential aspect of the healthcare sector because it revolves around
life of the patients. Any leader has to find a way of working with external and internal
stakeholders including the government towards achieving quality and safety standards that are
set by the government. Transformational leaders identify the existing avenues of change and use
those opportunities to strengthen employee productivity. According to Liu and Li (2018), many
nurses find it difficult to work in environments where their efforts are not appreciated.
Transformational leaders are approachable and readily available whenever they are needed for
consultation. This approach has a significant impact towards patient safety, considering that
demotivated employees are likely to extend their frustrations to their clients.
The Australian government has developed different mechanisms that facilitate access to
quality standards and efficient safety systems in the healthcare sector. The Clinical Excellence
Commission (CEC) undertakes the role of addressing leadership and governance in healthcare
sector. According CEC website, the commission plays the role of identifying the challenges
affecting managers and it comes up with suitable intervention measures that foster
collaborations. Transformational leaders are at the center of these changes because they are

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 5
considered effective change makers in winning the hearts of their followers. They can influence
change by creating goals for organizations and attracting talents and skills from their followers
towards achieving the goals of the organization.
Relationship between Transactional Leadership and Patient Safety
Transactional leaders are work-oriented because they focus on setting clear goals to be
fulfilled. For instance, instead of training the whole team of employees, an organization that has
transactional leaders in place will train the manager on how to handle a given situation and equip
him with time and resources. The manager applies the principle of “getting things done in the
right way” through rewards and punishments as discussed in Asiri, Rohrer, Al-Surimi, Da'ar, and
Ahmed (2016). This leadership style is passive because the leader only focuses on what is
happening currently within the organization. The manager cannot consult employees or other
stakeholders such as patients who are the recipients of care. When the transactional leader does
not engage employees and other stakeholders in the decision making, employees will feel
isolated from the organization they serve.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership and how each may Promote Patient
Safety
The dimensions of transformational leadership theory have made it both a theoretical and
practical input in resolving issues facing the healthcare sector today. Transformational
leadership has been theorized to include six components including individualized support to
members, vision articulation, high performance, and knowledge sharing (Farokhzadian,
Dehghan, Nayeri, & Borhani, 2018). Transformational leaders acknowledge the value teamwork
as they seek to harness the strengths of each member towards building strong teams. This is a
crucial aspect when it comes to addressing staffing issues in hospitals and work overload for

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 6
nurse practitioners due to high patient to nurse ratios. When a transformational leader comes up
with a solution or proposes a solution to the problem, the person will be speaking from
experience because of his presence among the workers.
Transformational leaders will play a crucial role when handling safety issues such as
medication errors administered by nurses. When a nurse commits a mistake, a transformational
leader could consider retraining the nurse to equip the nurse with additional skills (Steinmann,
Klug, & Maier, 2018). The Australian government has set in place patient safety standards that
make sure that leaders are equipped with skills on matters of leadership and governance. Some
of the commissions include the Clinical Excellence Commission and the Australian Council of
Healthcare Standards (ACHS). Since transformational leaders understand the value of training
and career development, they will create an opportunity for their followers to work and
maximize patient safety.
Transactional leaders are interested in the day-to-day activities and success of the
organization, hence they will hardly consider retraining their employees when they realize that
their subordinates have made a mistake. Instead, they will punish them through demotion, or
even hold them responsible for their mistakes. Some transactional leaders will fire their
subordinates because they value the organization more than they value their subordinates. This is
discouraging behavior and reduces productivity because employees work in fear. When a patient
is injured of falls while undergoing treatment, the transactional leader hardly takes time to
establish the cause of the problem. This is because transactional leaders view patients as clients,
instead of people that are seeking medical care.
The Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme (AHSSQAS) is
one of the effective schemes put in place to safeguard the quality of care and services extended

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 7
to patients. AHSSQAS (n.d) defines patient safety and quality as the right care in the right place
at the right time at the right cost. AHSSQAS also defines patient safety as absence of error and
adverse conditions that are likely to undermine the quality of care extended to patients.
Organizations with transactional leaders can find it easy to navigate some of these challenges
because the leaders are interested in lasting change rather than short-term outcomes. For
instance, if the organization introduction of job allowances and motivational packages to some
of the employees can convince them to stay in the profession and work harder.
The critical analysis presented in this paper shows how transformational leadership style
and transactional leadership style can be an effective tool in tackling issues of quality and patient
safety in hospitals. Transformational leadership style is considered efficient in the sense that it
takes into consideration various views of the stakeholders and how the views can be integrated
into the change process. On the other hand, transactional leadership is based on mutual benefits
that exist between the leader and the subordinate. The egocentric nature of a transactional leader
and the focus on external rewards makes this leadership style inefficient in managing long-term
change in the healthcare sector. Nevertheless, leaders need to have both transformational and
transactional leadership styles to respond to changes that may affect safety of patients in
hospitals.
For example : Medication Error Identified on Transformational leadership style Nursing
staff is retraining and after training working under supervision If me Providing Proper training
Given Training ,

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 8
References
Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/assessment-nsqhs-
standards/australian-health-service-safety-and-quality-accreditation-scheme
Asiri, S. A., Rohrer, W. W., Al-Surimi, K., Da'ar, O. O., & Ahmed, A. (2016). The association
of leadership styles and empowerment with nurses' organizational commitment in an
acute health care setting: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 15(38). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4901399/
Clinical Excellence Commission (2019). Retrieved from http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/
Choi, S. L., Goh, C. F., Adam, M. B., & Tan, O. K. (2016). Transformational leadership,
empowerment, and job satisfaction: the mediating role of employee empowerment.
Human Resources for Health, 14(1). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5131441/
Farokhzadian, J., Dehghan Nayeri, N., & Borhani, F. (2018). The long way ahead to achieve an
effective patient safety culture: challenges perceived by nurses. BMC Health Services
Research, 18(1). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6106875/
Liu, H., & Li, G. (2018). Linking Transformational leadership and knowledge sharing: the
mediating roles of perceived team goal commitment and perceived team identification.
Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079249/
Sfantou, D. F., Laliotis, A., Patelarou, A. E., Sifaki-Pistolla, D., & Patelarou, E. (2017).
Importance of leadership style towards quality of care measures in healthcare settings: A

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 9
systematic review. Healthcare, 5(4). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746707/
Sola, J., G., Badia, G., J., Hito, D., P., & Garcia, D., L., J. (2016). Self-perception of leadership
styles and behavior in primary health care. BMC Health Research, 8(2). Retrieved from
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-016-1819-2
Steinmann, B., Klug, H., & Maier, G. (2018). The Path is the goal: How transformational
leaders enhance followers' job attitudes and proactive behavior. Frontiers in Psychology,
9. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281759/
The Australian Council of Healthcare Standards (ACHS) (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.achs.org.au/about-us