MPL700: Leadership Theories and Practice with Impact in Healthcare

This report delves into various leadership and followership theories, with a specific focus on transformational leadership and its suitability for managing healthcare systems. It includes an analysis of different leadership styles such as authoritarian, democratic, situational, and transactional, contrasting their pros and cons within a healthcare context. The author reflects on their experience as a Registered Nurse, applying transformational leadership to a multidisciplinary team involved in patient discharge planning. The report also incorporates a critical reflection on the learning outcomes of the unit, providing a comprehensive overview of leadership theories and their practical application in healthcare settings. This assignment is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
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Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Executive Summary:
The report comprises of four sections which includes Task:2, Task:3, Task: 4 and
Task: 5. The report is going to discuss the different leadership and followership theories. It is
further going to throw light on the transformational leadership theory and present a
justification on the selection of the theory as a suitable theory for managing the healthcare
systems. Also, a section of critical reflection within the report is going to present an
evaluation on the learning outcome of this unit.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Task 2:........................................................................................................................................3
Task 3:........................................................................................................................................8
Task 4:......................................................................................................................................13
Task 5:......................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................18
References:...............................................................................................................................19

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Introduction:
This paper has been segregated into four parts namely Task-2, Task-3, Task-4 and
Task-5. This report particularly aims to elaborate the styles of leadership which are seen to
exist in the health care sector, therefore is able to illustrate the form of transformational
leadership which is generally utilised for the purpose of making a positive change with the
concerned organization. Additionally this paper aims to discuss the various styles of
leadership and also present a reflection on the outcomes of learning of the particular unit.
Task 2:
This particular part aims to elaborate the output of the team of professionals in terms
of performance that is seen to be highly dependent on the behavior and attributes of the team
leader. It has been stated by Kumar (2013), the style of leadership chosen in turn reflects the
attitude of the team leader during the process of guiding, mentoring and managing the
respective team. A leader who is efficient enough is able to provide motivation to the team in
order to make them work together and to provide idea which will be helpful for the purpose
of elevating the outcome. Additionally it is also important to note that leaders who are
efficient enough will be able to bring about a change in terms of the welfare which will be
holistic in nature for the organization and also for the employees. Hence it is of high
significance that the important traits of leader must be identified so that the positive and the
negative styles of leadership can be distinguished. According to Kurt Lewin, there are various
styles of leadership which have been identified in terms of the healthcare system. In this
context, it needs to be mentioned that in the field of leadership in the health care sector, the
first study was carried out related to organizational leadership (Bosiok and Sad 2013).
However recently there have been a number of researches carried out. These studies shows
the three different styles of leadership namely includes the authoritarian, democratic and
delegative or Laissez-Faire leadership (Bosiok and Sad 2013). The Authoritarian leadership

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reflects the autocratic leaders who are involved in leading the team through a clear definition
of the role of the various team members in addition to the provision of a clear view of the
expectations associated with the team. This type of leadership reflects the process of
implementing power and command on the members of the team. Similarly it must also be
noted that there is a clear distinction present between the members of the team and the team
leader. It is the team leader who has the authority to take all the critical decisions for the sake
of the team where there is a little or no input from the members of the team. Researches have
shown that for this type of leadership there is no scope for making any creative decision (Al-
Sawai 2013). Additionally this authoritarian leadership is often compared to the factors like
anarchic, controlling and at the same time stagnant making it difficult to shift to another
leadership style. It has been noted that the place arena where this type of leadership can be
implemented is a situation that calls for crisis and there is a very small time frame available
for the sake of decision making process.
The second type of leadership deals with the participative type of leadership which is
also referred to as democratic leadership. This type of leadership has been portrayed to have
yielded the highest amount output from the team. It is the democratic leaders who are
expected to offer guidance to the team members and also involve them in the process of
decision making (Trastek et al. 2014). Additionally it should also be kept in mind that the
democratic leaders are responsible for encouraging the team members to take part in group
activities in order to inculcate a sense of involvement in members of the team in order to
ensure that the members of the team have an equal say during the process of descion making.
As stated by Trastek et al. (2014), the delegative leadership style is involved in
ensuring the minimum group productivity. It is the delegate leader who is responsible for
offering guidance to the team members which is negligible and therefore the members of the
team are largely responsible for the decisions without any guidance. However this kind of

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leadership have also been useful in several cases like while managing a team consisting of
experts who possess excellent education background along with prior clinical experience. In
spite of this, delegate leadership is seen to lack the components like a defined structure with
is bestowed with internal conflicts along with the lack of efforts and the reduced team
progress.
Hence in order to summarize, it might be stated that the authoritarian leadership is
considered to be a negative leadership style due to the fact that there is no openness present in
addition to lack of consideration for the members of the team during the process of decision
making. However this type of leadership also ensures the betterment of the issues like the
compliance of the rules along with discipline and a sense of responsibility. This is in contrast
to the democratic leadership styles where there is a mutual trust present between the members
of the team which in turn is responsible for the strengthening of the team bonding. According
to Allen et al. (2016), a team which works under a democratic leader is often seen to get
chances for taking part in discussions and consultations with the others members of the team
which is highly significant before taking a final decision. Additionally there are other
leadership styles also present like the situational leadership style, the transactional leadership
style and the transformational leadership style, studies on which have been carried out by
various researches.
Another type of leadership is the situational leadership which is largely based on the
context of prevailing environment or a particular situation (Steller et al. 2014). This type of
leadership mainly focuses on the importance of the environment in order to determine the
pattern of leadership. Situational leadership comprises mainly of two categories namely the
leadership style that is based upon the Hersey and Blanchard’s model in addition to the
extension of the Hersey Blanchard’s model which is a second type of situational leadership
(Steller et al. 2014). The first sub-type reflects the significance of the four elements which

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includes the telling style through which the leader tells the team members about what needs
to be done along with the selling style through which the leader is able to convince the team
members how to readily consume the shared ideas. There is also a participatory style which
helps to ensure the members of the team to get involved in the decision making process of the
team in an active manner whereas the delegating style is observed while the leader is
dependent upon the team members to take important decisions and adapts an aloof approach.
Care should be taken of the fact that there is an extension of the model which is based on the
existing skills of the team members that helps to adapt to the lead to the team. The style of
providing support is based on the support that is prompted at every step which is often
marked by the lack of a unique direction and support.
Based on the aspect of consideration of the relationship, the translational leadership
reflects the translational process that exists between the leader and its team members (Nica
2015). This is often regarded as a common type of leadership which is able to determine the
team members as the employees who are able to acknowledge the tasks that can be given by
the team leader instead of a financial compensation. One of the major benefits of this
leadership style is responsible for the clear definition of the job role along with the expected
return which addresses the allotted tasks efficiently. Additionally it is the team leader who
should supervise the members of the team and offer them guidance in order to make the
process of working smooth. However there are certain limitations to this that includes the
barrier imposed on innovative thinking and creativity.
Whereas the transformational leadership can be referred as the leadership style that is
most effective in terms of helping the employees for the promotion and ensuring team output.
As stated by Middleton (2013), it is the one of the most effective leadership styles in respect
to the healthcare sector. This style consists of certain elements like the ability of the leader to
inspire and motivate the team members in order to drive a positive change within the team.

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The attributes of the transformational leadership style includes intelligence, spontaneity,
energy, passion and emotional consideration (Miles and Asbridge 2014). It is the duty of the
team leaders to provide guidance to the members of the team so that better performance can
be acquired and there is an increase in the job satisfaction under the transformational level
(Ellis and Abott 2013; Miles and Asbridge 2014).
The pros of the transformational leadership style includes the factors like promotion
of enthusiasm and motivation within the team members. Additionally there is a spontaneous
establishment of an objective using which the team is able to achieve progress. On the other
hand there are several cons which includes the factors like the complexities that are present
within the organisation as well as in the objectives of the team (Fitzgerald et al. 2013).
As a result of this it is important to state the idea regarding the various forms of
leadership style which will benefit the health care professionals to adapt to the right form of
the leadership which in turn will help the team members in the correct manner. Based on the
evidences present there is transformational leadership which is considered to be the best form
of leadership in the healthcare sector.
Task 3:
Recently I am working as a Registered Nurse in (XYZ) healthcare organization. The
leadership role with which I am involved constitutes the healthcare professionals who plan
the referrals and the discharge. In this context, it is important to state the leadership roles
which expects the promotion of the communication along with an efficient inter-professional
communication that exists between the members of the team. For this I implemented the
transformational leadership style for the purpose of guiding the professional team. For the
purpose of drafting a plan for discharge for the patient which involves the suggestions of a
group of nurse professionals which includes the pharmacist, dietician, occupational therapist,
physiotherapist and the Graduate Nurses who are responsible for taking care of the patient

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during their stay in hospital. In this context the transformational leadership seems to highly
applicable since the plan of discharge needs a consideration from each of the accessory health
care professional’s suggestions which is required in order to ensure the availability of the
delivery of holistic care. Therefore according to this, it is the group of the professionals who
are responsible for accessory care which I am trying to have an impact on the present
leadership role which I am following.
Another type of leadership is the implicit leadership that can be explained using the
cognitive theory of leadership which in turn can operate based on the perception of the
employee that is present regarding the team leader. This idea is in turn associated with the
rationale that is relevant to the individuals who are present within the team who are
responsible for holding a specified perception regarding the team leader along with the leader
who is responsible for the use of the preconceived notion that is associated with the control
and command the team members. Therefore this theory of implicit leadership as is mentions
clearly differs from the nature that is present to another which is based on the style of
leadership which is later followed by the management of the team. There is also a variance
present in terms of the theory that depends upon the task requirement along with the skill or
expertise that is essential for the purpose of addressing the task. During the process of
handing the patient in the emergency department, there is a need to automatically change the
leadership style to the authoritarian leadership style where my team is dependent on me for
taking decisions which are critical in nature so that they are able to move forward with the
intervention of treatment that is required by the patient. In such situations it is the duty of the
leader to be composed and act in an influential way in order to be able to dictate the members
of the team so that they are able to address the emergency in the manner that is mostly
appropriate.

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As mentioned by Leggat and Balding (2013), the concept of followership refers to the
set of actions which are shown by the members of the team who are subordinate in nature.
Widely speaking, it is possible to illustrate the skills of leadership which is required for the
management of the hierarchical organisation. The concept of hierarchy refers to the
distinction in the levels in terms of operations which makes it possible for the workflow to
carry on with ease and thus help the organization to acquire its objectives. In accordance to
Cheng et al. (2016), it is the concept of followership that can be compared to that of the
practice of the subordinates which are intentional in nature in order to ensure the flow of a
smooth communication existing between the team members and the team leader. Care should
be given to the process of followership and leadership that cannot be restricted to that of the
leaders along with the members of the team who are independent of one another so as to
ensure a hundred percentage of the team production. As is argued by Turkel (2014), the
leaders are expected to play a role within the team that is integral in nature and who are able
to set a vision for the purpose of transforming the set vision to reality. It can therefore be
mentioned that both of the factors of leadership along with that of followership is quite
different from one another however still they share a set of competencies that are similar in
nature. Hence in accordance to the words of McDonagh et al. (2014), the idea of follower
reflects an individual whose designated place is below than the team leader when considered
in the hierarchal position. In accordance to Junker and Van Dick (2014), the other kinds of
followership styles which exists within the healthcare sector is seen to include the followers
who are alienated, or are passive followers or sheep, in addition to that of the conformist
followers along with the survivors and followers who are dynamic or effective in nature. It is
also important to note that in this context the situation that exists within a team refers to the
findings which are similar in kind as of the followers who are extremely rare and generally
comprises of a team usually having different kinds of followers.

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The first kind of followers, also known as the alienated followers generally stay aloof
and passive within a team. These followers possess the ability to think critically and take
independent decisions which serve as a positive attribute of the patients. On the other hand,
the distance and aloofness serves as a negative attribute of these followers that weakens team
bonding. When the team leader introduces a change within the group, these followers
respond passively to state their opposition. Hence, while dealing with alienated followers it is
important to ask them personally about their opinion so as to make them feel valued within a
team. Another category of passive listeners within a team comprise of the sheep who are
extremely dependent upon the team leader and the other members for the completion of any
task. According to Epitropaki et al. (2013), it has been mentioned that these followers d noit
possess the ability to critically reason and offer valuable input during the decision making
process. Similar to the alienated followers, upon introducing a change, these followers do not
oppose. An advantage of this category of followers can be mentioned as the convenience of
managing these members within a team. On the other hand, the disadvantage could be stated
as their poor contribution in the critical decision making processes that extensively hampers
team dynamics. Conformists are another category of followers who readily agree to the
decisions taken by the team leader and do not possess the skills of critical analysis and logical
reasoning. Confirmists, however do not involve in any kind of team conflicts that serves an
advantage while dealing with these followers. On the other hand, the disadvantage could be
considered as the lack of the ability of these followers to offer valuable input in the decision
making process at times of emergency. Another type of followers include the survivors, who
prefer to ‘go with the flow’. The negative aspect of the survivors include their withdrawal
from the team at emergency situations and always remaining on the ‘safe-side’ to avoid risks.
Whereas, the positive attribute of these followers can be mentioned as the automatic

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acceptance of any change introduced within the team without the slightest opposition.
According to Foti et al. (2017), the effectors are the most valuable followers within a team.
This is primarily because the followers possess the ability to logically reason and present
valuable input that can make the decision making process extremely easy. In addition to this,
the effectors are disciplined and devote themselves to a self-learning process that is critically
reflected by their attempt to shoulder responsibilities within a team to enhance team progress.
The advantage of having effectors within a team can be explained as their ability to critically
analyse a risk prone situation and offer valuable input that can positively affect the decision
making process. However, the disadvantage can be considered as the assertive nature of the
effectors that could end up causing team conflicts.
Therefore, in this segment I would like to describe my clinical experience based on
the styles of leadership and followership discussed in the previous paragraphs. I had always
been an extremely dedicated care professional and that accounts for the reason why I was
promoted as an ‘Assistant Head Nurse’ within six months of my practice. I was supposed to
manage the night shift. The team that I was responsible for handling comprised of the ‘sheep’
or passive followers as the members were Graduate Nurses who lacked the expertise to
handle patients efficiently. I feel that their followership style was justified due to their
inexperience in the clinical environment. I literally had to teach them everything ranging
from drug administration and patient education to documentation and even drug management.
It was a new experience for me as well, because I had not never directed a team before. I
strongly feel that the leadership style depends largely upon the followership style. As in my
case, I had started leading as an authoritarian leader because my followers were too
dependent on me for everything. Due to the passive nature of the team members, it became
easy for me to conveniently manage them, and they followed my commands without
opposition. However, the leadership style practices by me was not an effective one. With