Transformational Leadership in Mental Health Nursing

Introduction
Mental health nursing is a crucial domain of healthcare professional.
Quality mental health and well-being is reflected in the overall physical
health of a person and this helps to increase the outcome of the health-
related quality of life. In order retain and improve further the therapy plan
of the mental health nursing transformational leadership in mental health
nursing is important.
Leadership approach in nursing in mental health
One of the popular leadership approaches in nursing is transformational
leadership. Transformational leadership in nursing is different from
transactional and transformational leadership. It is a process of motivating
followers by appealing with higher ideas and moral values (Doody & Doody,
2012). According to Hutchinson and Jackson (2013) transformational
leadership is effective in nursing profession as it recognised the importance of
rewards
Leadership in Mental Health Nursing
Impact of Transformational leadership in nursing
professional
Idealised influence
Transformational leadership helps to establish idealised influence that helps to ethos
mission statement. Under this parameter of the transformational leadership, the nursing
professionals refine themselves with their values and duties under the nursing profession
while staying updated about their knowledge in the delivery of care (Hutchinson &
Jackson, 2013). This again helps to abide by the professional standards of nursing practice
as per the Nursing and the Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (2016).
Inspirational motivation
A transformational leader provides inspirational motivation which helps to encourage the
nursing staffs to achieve their goals. This approach helps to empower the nursing staffs and
thereby helping to indulge in the therapy and the care plan in an enthusiastic manner as
they feel their opinion also matters (Fischer, 2016).
Intellectual stimulation
Transformational leader in nursing provides intellectual stimulation which encourages
staffs to indulge in innovation and to indulge under challenging situation. Under
intellectual stimulation, the overall knowledge of the employee is increase. The intellectual
stimulation in nursing is mainly done via enlightening the nursing staffs with the concept
of evidence based practice and person centred care plan. This kind of intellectual
stimulation continuously strive to create to paths of executing things and this in turn help
to reduce the staff burn (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013).
Individualised consideration
A transformational nursing leader provides individualised consideration which encourages
the nursing staffs to reach higher level of achievement. Individualised consideration creates
empowerment, one of the fundamental components of transformational leadership
(Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013).
Challenges faced by transformation
leaders in nursing practice under
mental health
Dynamic nature of the organisation
Change in the mental health nursing occurring in day-
to-day practice depending on advancement in research
and changes in the evidence based practice. A
transformational leader in mental health nursing fails
to understand the changing condition of the care plan
employees (Ross, Fitzpatrick, Click, Krouse &
Clavelle, 2014).
Isolation
Leaders can be lonely and he or she cannot exposure
the behaviour of upper management and tarnish the
perception of the employee. This isolation leads to
loneliness and a tendency to avoid conflict and
problems. This results in delayed decision making
skills. (Li, Chiaburu, Kirkman & Xie, 2013).
Communication and operation across the teams
In mental health nursing there are several different
teams like paediatric nursing, adult mental health
nursing and adolescence mental health nursing. This
different perspective needs to be communicated
systematically in order to operate under a
synchronised manner. However, transformational
leaders at times fail to communicate the change in
mission and vision across (Li, Chiaburu, Kirkman &
Xie, 2013).
Recommendation for the leadership development
Distribution of responsibility
In order to develop the overall leadership, a transformational leader must distribute the
responsibilities into different members of the team. This creating avenues for others helps in
the overall development of leadership skills of a leader. As supported by transformational
theory of leadership, distribution of responsibilities helps the leaders to refine their skills in
establishing maximum potential among the team members (Antonakis & House, 2013)
Interpersonal communication skills
In order to develop transformational leadership skill in mental health nursing, it is the duty of
the mental health nursing leaders to work on their interpersonal communication skills.
Practising interpersonal communication skills is supported by the skills theory. According to
situational theory of leadership, a leader must suggest act different under different
circumstances. Adapting different ways of communication under different circumstances or
situations help to increase the competence and commitment of the followers of the leader
(Men, 2014).
Conclusion
Thus from the above discussion, it can be concluded
that transformational leadership is an important
aspect of mental health nursing. Transformational
leadership helps to motivate the mental health
nursing professionals and to increase the level of
empowerment. This in turn helps to decrease
compassion fatigue, burnout while decreasing the
employee turnover of the mental health nursing.
Figure: Important
Leadership Traits
(Source: Doody &
Doody, 2012)
(Source: Doody & Doody, 2012)
References
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nursing, 72(11), 2644-2653. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13049
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Li, N., Chiaburu, D. S., Kirkman, B. L., & Xie, Z. (2013). Spotlight on the followers: An examination of
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charge. Personnel Psychology, 66(1), 225-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12014
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Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). Professional Standards for Nurses. Access date: 12th
September 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines
%20statements/professional-standards.aspx