Leadership Theory In Nursing

According to Simkins (2005), leadership is one of the key factors and in some instances the only factor that determines whether an organization succeeds or fails. However, Clark (2009) states that an effective nurse leader utilizes appropriate leadership theories to guide their actions as well as they are required to apply their knowledge and problem solving skills to develop creative solutions to managerial issues on the ward. On the other hand management is concerned with its five core principles; according to Kannan (2004b) these principles were revised and are now thought as planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling (as cited in Clark, 2009). Furthermore, Clark pointed out that leadership and management often overlap. Therefore,

In order to achieve these goals there has to be an orderly flow of communication in the organization; Roussel recognise that most organizations already have a functioning organizational structure. Furthermore, in the profession of nursing the structure which is most often used is the pyramid or hierarchical type.The hierarchical structure also called a line structure is the oldest and simplest type of management. Its principles incorporate the following “chain of command, bureaucracy and a multitiered hierarchy, vertical control and coordination, levels differentiated by function and authority and downward communication (Roussel, 2013) ”. Hence, the current organisational structure in which the manager operates is the hierarchical structure. The current manager did not acquire any additional educational training or academic qualification to hold the position. However, the position was trusted onto her through experiential learning resulting from

333) ”. Besides, leadership styles are a very important function of leadership; in fact, it consists of various behavior patterns used by the leader to influence and motivate employees. The following are the different types of leadership styles, as espoused by DuBrin: participative, allows members to share in decision making; autocratic, not concern with group members; situational, quick and decisive response to situations; transformational, brings about a change in the organizational culture and subculture; charismatic, the ability to influence others and transactional, reward or punishment is hinged to performance. The most appropriate leadership style that reflects the contemporary nurse manager is without a doubt autocratic. Also influencing leadership is power, DuBrin (2009) states that power has the ability to influence decision making and control resources. To better understand how power influence leaders in the execution of their duties it has been subdivided into five types, they are as follows: the first is legitimate, this type of power is derived from a position of authority; while the second is reward, this is where the leader has control over rewards; the third is coercive, this power gives the leader control over punishment; the fourth is expert and is derived from knowledge, skills and experience; whilst