Management and Leadership Issues in Clinical Practice

This essay evaluates management and leadership issues with reference to
recent clinical practice experience. It covers low staff morale and the
effectiveness of the staff recognition scheme in the workplace.
Leadership and management is considering as most crucial part of an
organisation which contribute toward motivating and directing employees toward the
accomplishment of particular goals and objectives. The current report is based on
clinical practice experiences where main focus is put over the management and
leadership issues present within the mental health organisation (Ortega and et. al.,
2014).
This essay is essentially based on the experience of the author, a third-year mental
health nursing student. The study was prepared by the author while he was on
clinical experienced situations involving low morale amongst staff, limited interaction
poor staff attendance, lack of co-operation, and little collaboration. It would be easy
to formulate an argument that working within a mental health unit may be stressful
for its staff. On the contrary, the author eventually worked with mental health patients
for eight years in the custodial field and acknowledged that both management and
leadership play a significant role in ensuring that staff members are instilled with a
positive mental attitude. This in turn, has led to excellent staff attendance records.
Moreover, Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) (2012) has pointed out in their study
that staff recognition schemes aim to reward those organisations wherein flexible
relationships exist among the employers and the employees. Such schemes involve
employment-based conditions that depend extensively on staff suggestions,
exceptional performance, length of service and records of staff attendance.
Furthermore, rewards, cash-based incentives, and vouchers are offered so that good
attendance of staff can be encouraged (Oxford University Hospital, 2012. p.3).
The issues that are presented by authors directly affect the quality of services staff
provide to their patients. Hence, this put emphasis over the major issues within a
mental health organisation in order to present the importance of leadership and
management for such organisation as it crucial for current national policies and
legislation that are formulated for the mental health nursing practitioners which
includes evidence-based practice, eradication of outdated traditional practice and
continuous staff improvement are the major part of professional codes. These codes
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are crucial to be followed by each institute or organisation dealing in providing
mental health related services. Hence, these professional codes can only be
maintained by getting regular guidance from management and direction to
implement by the leaders.
Sullivan and Decker (2009) stated that leaders and managers possess varied
capabilities, which they demonstrate, as well as implement, in the workplace. A
dated romanticised quote that has been provided by Bennis and Nanus (1985), and
which in turn, has been cited by Swanwick and McKimm (2011) is that ‘Leadership is
like the abominable snowman whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere
to be seen’ (p. 23). This quote is emotive and identifies the value of leaders as great
role models. It also sums up the fact that a team’s empowerment is equally essential,
along with enabling managers the power to supervise the whole. Furthermore,
Norman and Ryrie (2009) stated that good leadership presents a positive and
professional attitude towards all workers so that they can achieve coherence and
cohesion. This in turn, encourages ownership by staff and helps in the promotion of
the values of good practice. Corresponding views have been shared by Ellis and
Bach (2015), wherein a leader is depicted as someone who solely tends to
encourage team members to achieve all assigned goals by enhancing their skills. On
the other hand, Huber (2014) opined that managers are hired by an organisation so
that they can organise, coordinate, supervise, and represent the company. Sullivan
and Decker (2009) asserted that managers also have a need for excellent
interpersonal skills, but that their primary roles are in planning, controlling,
accountability, authority, organising, responsibility, leading, and controlling.
Swanwick and Mckimm (2011) differentiated the spheres of leadership and manager,
wherein the former set a definite direction for people to follow, while managers set
out to transform. Ellis and Bach (2015) suggested that leadership is one of the roles
played by managers, but it is not necessary for effective leaders to be managers.
Finkelman (2006) identified leaders as visionaries who use influence in maintaining
peace within the workplace so that trust and achievement can be ensured amongst
employees. Naidoo and Wills (2001) asserted that managerial authority is largely
dependent on rank, while effective leaders have inherent personal qualities that
permit them to influence others. Both leadership and managerial authority are
equally needed to maintain proper balance in a specific unit. Similarly, a mental
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health unit can be easily sustained when managerial skills, along with leadership
capabilities, are implemented properly. Bennis and Goldsmith (1997) as cited by Ellis
and Bach (2015) define a set of twelve distinguishing points which explore
comparisons between the differing roles of leaders and managers:
1. Managers administer; leaders innovate.
2. Managers maintain; leaders develop.
3. Managers rely on control; leaders inspire trust.
4. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
5. Manager’s focus on systems and structure; leaders focus on people.
6. Managers have a short-range view; leaders have long-range
perspectives.
7. Managers have their eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is
on the horizon.
8. Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge it.
9. Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why.
10. Managers imitate; leaders originate.
11. Managers are the classic good soldiers; leaders are their own person.
12. Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing
As is discovered in these comparisons both leaders and managers have equally
important roles to play within an organisation, especially when these two roles are
delivered juxtaposed with each other by skilled staff. Currently, in health care,
evidence-based practice, continuous staff improvement and eradication of outdated
traditional practice are at the fore, and form part of the professional code of conduct
for all nurses NMC (2018). This is because the major issue found by author while
practising as a health nursing student within the clinic that majority of employees are
experiencing low morale while working within the organisation. The main reason
behind this lowering down of morale among employees of mental health organisation
is that working within the unit always remain stressful for the staff members as it
remains very difficult for them to manage and take care of patients that are mentally
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