Challenges to Effective Nursing Leadership Assignment

Assignment Task

Part A

Nursing is a dynamic and challenging profession requiring engaging and inspiring role models and leaders. In today's ever-changing and demanding healthcare environment, identifying and developing nurse leaders is one of the nursing profession's most significant challenges. To me, the nurse leader is one who can Think critically and solve problems, Respect their patient’s and colleagues’ knowledge and ideas, communicate skilfully with patients and staff members and appreciate when another individual is better able to lead the team. 

There are different types of traits that are needed to be an effective leader in my opinion Traits such as being able to motivate, inspire and encourage your colleagues, having compassion and self-awareness of their own knowledge, transparency, focusing on improvement being able to skilfully adapt to different kinds of situations on the spot.

For example, in my previous placement in a small community hospital on the ward, there was one code blue, and another patient was on the verge of met call all the nurses were more focused on the patient that was on code blue, and it was chaotic, the nurse leader came in analysed the situation took charge and quickly assigned the role to the staff and within few seconds the chaotic room became fine organised team where everyone knew what they were doing, and the leader assigned the rest of the staff to another patient, and the team leader was on standby in case they were needed in a different patients room, It inspired me so much as there was chaos nobody could tell heads and tail of what was going on and the team leader came in she assessed the situation and just like that everyone was working as a fine piece of machinery without missing a step. She skillfully showed her problem-solving skills and willingness to adapt to a situation within a matter of minutes she inspired me and showed that u can facilitate any situation given that you are open to suggestions, aware of your surrounding and the need of your colleagues, and patients, and changed my view of clinical practice where I thought it was only about following your tasks for the day, just following your work guidelines and protocols. She inspired me to be more open-minded, be self-aware, know my limits, be transparent with your patients.

Part B

Review the learning materials in Module 3. Once you've completed all the readings, reflect back on your Part A submission and elaborate on the example of an effective nurse leader you described. 

In this module, you will engage with the following processes that characterise effective leadership in clinical workplaces:

• developing teams
• nurturing positive workplace cultures
• motivating team members
• empowering team members
• developing emotional intelligence
• enabling effective change
• Developing teams as the context of nursing leadership

Teams are defined by the mutually agreeable efforts of its members towards achieving a common goal. Members are accountable to each other, and the achievements are a product of their interactions. Individual knowledge and skills and ideas are exchanged and harnessed in achieving outcomes. An important aspect of team behaviour is that of collaboration, which includes members knowledge of and respect for each others roles and backgrounds and capacity to contribute (Sullivan & Garland, 2013).

Leadership is considered vital for effective teamwork (Rosengarten, 2019). A leader enables optimum team function and progress toward goals. However, despite the 'rosy glow' that might be inferred from teamwork and team leadership, the task of developing an effective team, often from a 'group' can be challenging. Rosengarten (2019 ,p. 38) identifies the following characteristics of effective team leaders.

Nurturing positive workplace cultures

We will now turn to culture as a key concern of nurse leader work. Team culture can enable or constrain positive change in healthcare.

Organisational culture has been described as “the shared values, principles, traditions and ways of doing things that influence the way organisational members act” (Robbins et. al., 2018, p. 83). In general terms, it is often referred to as ‘the way we do things around here’. The meaning of culture is complex, and defining culture in any given workplace is often a matter of perspective. However, for leaders to affect change, to motivate staff and to support forward progress of their work unit, an understanding of culture is imperative. Culture is manifested through values, behaviours and the use of artefacts.

To deepen your understanding of culture, the following presentation of Shein’s (2017) 'Model of Culture' is recommended for viewing. Note the way the presenter demonstrates use of the model to analyse the culture of an organisation. While the examples given are not in healthcare, I recommend you draw links to your own practice area as you follow the analysis.

Schein’s model was also illustrated in this presentation by an analogy of an iceberg that places explicit evidence of culture (artefacts) at the topic of the iceberg (the visible part), but the bulk of the culture (values and assumptions) like an iceberg, hidden from sight. The implicit nature of culture that is depicted in this model suggests gaining familiarity with values and assumptions (hidden) may be something of a challenge, especially for outsiders, new workers or consumers.

The nature of organistional culture can have a profound influence on the capacity of the organisation or workplace to accept change. Leaders can develop workplace cultures that are more innovative and receptive to change (Yukl, 2019), although, this is not a simple process.

Motivating team members

Inherent in the leadership definition above is the leader’s influence on the team and its members. A brief explanation of motivation theory is helpful in understanding the dynamics of this influence. There are many theories of motivation in the literature, and no doubt you are familiar with Maslow’s (1943) 'Hierarchy of Needs', or Hertzberg’s (1964) 'Two Factor' theory. These theories present different perspectives on what motivates people especially in their work. The one that we will consider in further detail is Vroom’s (1964) 'Expectancy' theory which has continued to contribute to research about motivation at work.

The following summary of key motivation theories outlines theories based inn meeting needs, and on the way that people are motivated. Do not be concerned with memorising these theories- this video really is a 'crash course'! But try to identify some of the key ideas in motivation theory that are relevant to leadership work. For example, setting goals, ensuring team members have a sense of equity in terms of reward and opportunity, or that their needs for self esteem are being met. Consider what motivates you, and what opportunities are available for you to motivate others. Remember that these are theories or ways of looking at work, and are not intended to be prescriptive.

What rewards can nurse leaders use to motivate other staff? Think back to the case that you described in Module 1. What strategies did the leader use to motivate team members? What motivates you?

Understanding motivation is essential for leadership, as leaders are tasked with the job of influencing the collective effort to achieve patient- centred care.

Empowering team members

Associated with motivation, is empowerment of team members. An extensive body of research has emerged over recent years in relation to empowerment. This is a far cry from the early part of last century when worker welfare was largely ignored or related primarily to payment of wages. Empowerment is also 'missing' from some of the theories we have explored in this unit. Staff empowerment has been associated with retention in particular in relation to nursing work (Read & Laschinger, 2015).

Empowerment is generally considered a positive attribute of a team or workplace. Two forms of empowerment are commonly referred to in the nursing literature. Structural empowerment views practices, policies and structures that are inherent in organisational hierarchies as disempowering, as they support power in a small group at the top. Empowerment involves changing these arrangements so that power can be more evenly spread (Kanter, 1977).

Psychological empowerment refers to individual perceptions or beliefs about power, and to their intrinsic motivation and sense of self determination. Psychological empowerment in nursing is the perception that the work undertaken is valued. This precipitates a sense of autonomy and efficacy in influencing workplace activities (Knol & Van Linge, 2009).

Critics argue that structural and psychological power concepts positions individuals as recipients of power, that is, the organisation or leader acts to give them power, and the individual a passive recipient.

An alternative view has been articulated by Woodward (2019) who defines an empowered nurse as “one who has the ability to choose and perform allowable actions and direct his/her own growth in the desired manner” .(p. 142) and recommends; “we can work as a profession to ensure that the educational preparation, on‐the‐job training, and ongoing mentorship and support are focused on providing individual nurses the tools to set their own goals, practice with autonomy, remain engaged with the aspect of nursing they feel most passionate about, and exert influence on their colleagues, organizations, and communities.”(p. 142) Implications for team leaders then include, rather than handing out power through team roles, supporting team members to become autonomous in their own engagement and efficacious in their capabilities and ability to make change.

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