Nursing Leadership Styles

This essay discusses different leadership styles in nursing and their impact on patient care. It explores autocratic, laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational leadership styles and provides examples of their application in healthcare settings. The essay emphasizes the importance of leadership skills for nurses and their role in guiding and mentoring other staff members.

Running Head: NURSING LEADERSHIP STYLES 0
Nursing leadership Styles
Essay
MAY 11, 2019
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NURSING LEADERSHIP STYLES 1
Nursing leadership Styles
Executive summary
Nurses are the core member of any health care setting and they play a key role in
providing quality care to the patients. Clinical nurse frontrunners are frequently accountable
for keeping their corresponding departments structured in their determinations to attain
successful upkeep results. Thus, they must be prepared with leadership capabilities that, when
joined with applied nursing abilities, permit them to rapidly make hard choices. In the given
nursing practice, examples of the transformation leadership has been made. The
transformational headship style requires nurse leaders to teach or guide their teams how to
turn into leaders in their own workplace by contributing in the progress of accurate solutions
to the logistical matters in their corresponding departments.

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Table of Contents
Executive summary...............................................................................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
A nurse leader requires to work as the person who guides all workers that subsidises
to the wellbeing of the diseased person in a specific nursing unit. For example, nurse
manager has the responsibility to control each and every action that can openly or ultimately
affect the superiority of facilities and care delivered to the patients in any hospital setting
(Tomey, 2009). In this particular essay different leadership styles and their use the Registered
Nurse’s part when leading other staff members in the medical context.
Focused decision-making strength at the topmost of the series of command can be an
active technique for finishing simple responsibilities; instead of getting bogged down by the
conflicting views, autocratic front-runners can make sure that quality care is provided safely
and proficiently, with negligible time wasted on discussion (Moore, 2018). Autocratic leaders
are skilled in their capability to make critical choices in time-sensitive conditions where
retrieving worker input might only serve to confuse matters and consequently, pose a threat
to the diseased person. As such, autocratic medical nurse leaders should be clear, succinct
and direct when uniting employees, and make sure that they obey with their individual
facilities’ typical procedures. Front-runners who practise authoritarian decision-making sort
all the main group decisions and request obedience from the team members (McCutcheon,
Doran, Evans, Hall, & Pringle, 2009). The Authoritarian nurse leaders classically make
choices on their own and express other new nurses what to perform and how to do it. This
method is opposed to the democratic type of style as the frontrunner calls every shot (Tomey,
2008). The Decisions are made in the hospital rapidly deprived of any practice of discussion
with the workforce. Complete the power is focussed at the topmost, and persons at the bottom
can simply follow them. Although this approach is sometimes criticised, on the other hand,
this leadership style might be necessary for emergency circumstances when fast action is

NURSING LEADERSHIP STYLES 4
required. This particular leadership style can help the new nurses about what do in emergency
cases and how to follow the orders of senior or head nurses (Marshall, & Kay, 2017).
Example: A patient with head injury admitted to the St. Steffen hospital, he required
emergency services as he is deteriorating. The bleeding needed to be stopped immediately,
the head nurse named Olivia, quickly call her team of new nurses and asked them to provide
first aid, the fellow nurses were nervous as it was their first case an emergency. However,
Olivia quickly observed the situation and ask the team member to just follow the order. The
other nurses did what Olivia asked them to do, they successfully stopped the bleeding and
helped the physician further in the same case. This case shows the key competency of the
leaders and their working behaviour which strengthen their overall nursing work expertise.
Laissez-faire headship highlights employee freedom, permitting them to perform with
oversight, however little interfering from personnel or rules. Accurately, a laissez-faire
headship approach is highly effective for the fresh clinical nurse front-runners who are in the
responsibility of a group of knowledgeable nurses who have wide experience (Malloy, &
Penprase, 2010). Though these nurse frontrunners might not have obtained sufficient
experience to efficiently make controlling choices, they might develop their headship
expertise by noticing talented experts and giving them feedback when desired. In this
particular style, very slight supervision is used by the frontrunners. They wish to proceeds a
hands-off method to everyday operations. They can rather let individuals do what they
require to do on their own, possibly believing that they are capable to do fine without
direction (Kanste, Kääriäinen, & Kyngäs, 2009). Though it does indorse independent
thinking, this method can have numerous negative significances. Important choices are not
made in the correct time. Little alterations ever take place at the place of work. Quality
developments occur only when the condition requests for it. This leadership style is regularly
used by inexpert frontrunner nurses who are still learning (McCutcheon, Doran, Evans, Hall,

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& Pringle, 2009). It is analysed that all the nurses should focus on using the autocratic
leadership style to make their work more effective.
Example: Helena was a registered nurse in Hamden hospital, who was recently appointed as a
head nurse in the cardiac department. She has been working in an ENT ward for many years
and had no experience in leading others. Although she has built a good relationship with the
experienced team member of her team, and they were helping her to become a good leader.
There was emergency case appeared in the hospital with chronic heart failure, the surgeon
and doctor were about to come in 30 minutes, and Olivia was supposed to lead the fellow
nurses to save patient’s life. She knew that other experienced nurses are well familiar with the
situations, so she asked other nurses to perform their work freely. They followed the order
and provided the patient with lifesaving services. After that, the fellow nurses were thankful
to Olivia for letting them work freely. However, there are other leadership styles as well
which could be used by nurses to strengthen their work behaviour.
The transformational headship style requires nurse leaders to teach or guide their
teams how to turn into leaders in their own workplace by contributing in the progress of
accurate solutions to the logistical matters in their corresponding departments (Doody, &
Doody, 2012). Nurse frontrunners must discuss with patients, co-workers and managers to
recognise which capacities of practice must be refurbished in order to advance the superiority
of care presented by the hospital. To progress this determination, transformational nurse
front-runners must inspire their employees to turn into invested in patient care results. In
undertaking so, they might better engage specific employees in energetically contributing to
the procedure of refining care (Hutchinson, & Jackson, 2013). In training, capable
transformational frontrunners employ the effective communication and interactive
relationship methods to motivate and encourage their groups, progressively building up a
status for honesty at which their staffs can cultivate to depend. These interpersonal

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communication abilities are characterised by a leader’s capacity to provoke collaboration in
groups by enabling a working atmosphere that inspires the respectful sharing of thoughts.
This particular leadership style can help the experienced nurse leaders to build a healthy
relationship with the newly appointed head nurses (Marshall, 2010). This style is used by the
nurse leaders who actually want to enhance the quality of care so that a trust can be built
between the patient and health care setting in which the nurses are working. This enhances
patient satisfaction and improves the image of particular health organisations in the
community (McCutcheon, Doran, Evans, Hall, & Pringle, 2009). This leadership style help to
enhance the knowledge which is shared by experienced head nurses to the new head nurses
with the help of healthy communication. It is required to develop a patient-friendly
atmosphere in which the new nurses can learn a lot of medical procedures from experienced
nurses (Clavelle, Drenkard, Tullai-McGuinness, & Fitzpatrick, 2012).
Example: Alice has been an associate nurse manager in the Mallson-Xavier hospital. Amelia
was her nurse-manager, who knows that Allison is attracted towards the leadership role and
she decided to be her counsellor. Earlier Alice goes on holiday, she asked Amelia to change
her shift for 15 days to be in charge of the particular unit. Alice recommends Emilia to keep a
notepad defining reasons and tactics of making significant decisions throughout her
absenteeism. Studying Amelia’s notepad will permit Alice to strengthen effective decision-
making abilities of Amelia and to recognise areas for education and counselling. By emerging
a creative method to support Amelia advance decision-making services, Alice is representing
one of the features of a transformational front-runner.
Transactional leadership is the behavioural approach where front-runners make sure
that task is finished by either prize or endorsement. Transactional headship emphases on
outcomes imitate to the current structure of the health care setting and process success
rendering to that organization’s scheme of prizes and punishments (Wong, Cummings, &

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Ducharme, 2013). Transactional front-runners have official authority and places of
accountability in a healthcare setting. This type of forerunner is accountable for upholding
routine by handling individual performance and enabling group presentation. A frontrunner
of this kind will attempt to confirm that the staff nurses act in accordance with rules by
introducing a system of recompenses and penalties (Casida, & Parker, 2011). Those nurses
who agree and follow his or her commands and attain the set aims will be compensated
consequently. While those who are unsuccessful to follow and to touch the aims will be
penalised for their wrongdoings. This particular style is resolutely concentrated on the control
of attendants, keeping the healthcare setting running efficiently and refining team
performance. This headship style is effective in handling a disaster and finishing highly
detailed medical cases or emergencies (Curtis, & O’Connell, 2011).
Example: Oxander hospital has been a topmost hospital in elder care for the last 10 years.
Providing the best quality care to the elder patient has been a priority of this health care
setting. Chloe is an assistant nurse in the general ward of the hospital. She has been working
tirelessly to provide quality care to her patient and learned different essential skills in medical
care. During her day shift, she was assigned to provide nursing care to an elder diabetic
patient. He was suffering from this health condition for the last 5 years and no more
interested in the medication provided to him as he thinks the drugs are working for him. He
was not cooperating in the nursing assessment process. Chloe used her experience and built a
therapeutic relationship with the patient by using her effective communications skills. After 3
days of interaction, the patient started cooperating in the treatment process and provided
every health information asked by the nurses. Chloe was awarded for her work and assigned
as head nurses of her ward. After that, she has become more determined and focused on her
client.

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Nurses play an important role in any healthcare setting and providing the best
available care to the patient. Some of the leadership qualities that must be learned by every
registered nurse to guide others in clinical context are Authoritarian/Autocratic Leadership,
Laissez Faire Headship, Transactional, and Transformational Leadership style. Autocratic
leader nurses make choices on their own and guide others. Laissez-faire leadership focuses on
the nurse's freedom to perform freely. Transformational headship required leaders to guide
others to become a leader. Transactional leadership style focuses on rewarding nurses who
follow the order and perform their tasks effectively. All these leadership styles can be used by
a nursing leader or nursing manager to enhance patient care and satisfaction.
Conclusion
All of the example discussed in the essay described that how nursing leaders can
learn leadership styles and guide other to become successful nurse professionals, and new or
assistant nurses to earn form their head nurses or managers. Now in the end, it could be
inferred that transformation leadership style could be used by leaders to strengthen their work
behaviour and efficiently increasing the overall outcomes.

NURSING LEADERSHIP STYLES 9
References
Casida, J., & Parker, J. (2011). Staff nurse perceptions of nurse manager leadership styles and
outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(4), 478-486.
Clavelle, J. T., Drenkard, K., Tullai-McGuinness, S., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2012).
Transformational leadership practices of chief nursing officers in Magnet®
organizations. Journal of Nursing Administration, 42(4), 195-201.
Curtis, E., & O’Connell, R. (2011). Essential leadership skills for motivating and developing
staff. Nursing Management, 18(5) 12-43.
Doody, O., & Doody, C. M. (2012). Transformational leadership in nursing practice. British
Journal of Nursing, 21(20), 1212-1218.
Hutchinson, M., & Jackson, D. (2013). Transformational leadership in nursing: towards a
more critical interpretation. Nursing Inquiry, 20(1), 11-22.
Kanste, O., Kääriäinen, M., & Kyngäs, H. (2009). Statistical testing of the full‐range
leadership theory in nursing. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 23(4), 775-782.
Malloy, T., & Penprase, B. (2010). Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work
environment. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(6), 715-725.
Marshall, E. S. (2010). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to
influential leader. Springer Publishing Company.
Marshall, J. E., & Kay, L. (2017). Leadership and Management in. Myles Professional
Studies in Midwifery Practice, 2(1)11-321.
McCutcheon, A. S., Doran, D., Evans, M., Hall, L. M., & Pringle, D. (2009). Effects of
leadership and span of control on nurses' job satisfaction and patient
satisfaction. Nursing leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 22(3), 48-67.

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MOORE, B. F. (2018). TYPES OF LEADERSHIP. Essential Knowledge for CNL and APRN
Nurse Leaders, 15.
Tomey, A. M. (2008). Guide to nursing management and leadership. Australian Nursing and
Midwifery Journal, 15(11), 41.
Tomey, A. M. (2009). Nursing leadership and management effects work
environments. Journal of nursing management, 17(1), 15-25.
Wong, C. A., Cummings, G. G., & Ducharme, L. (2013). The relationship between nursing
leadership and patient outcomes: a systematic review update. Journal of nursing
management, 21(5), 709-724.