LEADERSHIP

DEFINITION:

 Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an organized group in its efforts toward
goal setting and goal achievement.
 the ability to provide the vision and motivation to a team so they work together toward the
same goal, and then understanding the talents and temperaments of each individual
and effectively motivating each person to contribute individually their best toward achieving the
group goal.

FORMAL VS INFORMAL LEADESHIP:

 formal leadership has a top-down feel. That is, the leader is at the top of an implied or explicit
hierarchy. Formal leaders have the ability to help or hinder their subordinates’ career progress
through performance reviews, recommendations to management and disciplinary action.
Formal leaders tend to have boss/employee relationships. The hierarchy that exists in formal
settings implies that in any disagreement with the leader, the leader’s view will prevail.
 An informal leadership style relies on camaraderie and shared self-interest. The informal leader
motivates employees by pointing out the fate all employees will share if they work to reach a
goal. Involves employees in the decision-making process

Leadership Principles:

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement – In order to know yourself, you have to understand
your be, know, and do attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening
your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and
interacting with others.

2. Be technically proficient – As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with
your employee’s tasks.

3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions – Search for ways to guide your
organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, as they often do sooner or later – do
not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next
challenge.

4. Make sound and timely decision – Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning
tools.
5. Set the example – Bea good role model for your employees – They must not only hear what
they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see – Mahatma
Gandhi
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being – Know human nature and the importance
of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your workers informed – Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors
and other key people.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers – Help to develop good character traits that
will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished – Communication is the key to
this responsibility.
THEORIES OF Leadership:

1. Charismatic - a leader does not lead with authority or power, but rather with charm and
personality. He will talk with a follower as if he/she is the most important person in the world.
The underlying belief here is that if you join the organization, you are joining the leader.
2. Participative Theories hypothesize that the best leaders take into account what others have as
input. This type of leadership helps to give a sense of ownership to the subordinates with the
intent to garner active collaborative participation within the organization
3. Quantum or Chaos Leadership Theory recognizes the complexity and multidimensionality of an
organization. It notes that very small changes in beginning conditions can result in major
divergence in direction
4. Relational Theory, leadership is defined as a relational process of people together attempting to
accomplish change or make a difference to benefit the common good
5. Vroom and Yetton – this theory address decision making as a social process and emphasize how
managers do rather than should behave in their normative model. It is designed to help you to
identify the best decision-making approach and leadership style to take, based on your current
situation
6. Stogdill - (Trait theory) leadership exists between persons in a social situation, and that
persons who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations. Any
trait's effect on leadership behavior will always depend on the situation.
7. House Mitchell (Path goal theory) The Path-Goal model is a theory based on specifying a leader's
style or behavior that best fits the employee and work environment in order to achieve a goal.
The goal is to increase your employees' motivation, empowerment, and satisfaction so they
become productive members of the organization.

Leadership styles

1. Shared leadership is the practice of governing an organization by expanding the number of

people involved in making important decisions related to the organization, operation, and
policies. In general, shared leadership entails the creation of leadership roles or decision-making
opportunities for everyone
2. Autocratic leadership is the most extreme form of transactional leadership. Leaders have
absolute control and do not allow subordinates to provide input
3. Bureaucratic leadership is characterized by leaders that follow the rules precisely and use
positional power to influence results. Bureaucratic leaders are also transactional as they impose
strict discipline on subordinates and promotions are based on conformity to rules and
performance results
4. Servant leadership is recognized in many ways as a form of democratic leadership. The servant
leader meets the needs of the team (subordinates). The entire team is involved in the decision
making process. This type of leader looks to the people with whom he works and decides how
he can contribute to their well-being. His main focus is on the people because only motivated
subordinates will ensure optimum performance.
5. Transactional leadership in both professional business and educational settings refer to the use
of an authoritative leader setting specific parameters, guidelines, rules and expectations then
rewarding those that follow them and reach predetermined goals and objectives while
punishing those that fail to do so. Transactional leaders focus on the job with production being
more important than treatment of employees.
6. Transformational leadership can be defined as increasing the interest of the staff to achieve
higher performance and developing and revealing the commitment and beliefs in the
organization. The transformational leader focuses on taking care of the employee supporting
the assumption that if the employee is treated well, feels of value to the organization and feels
to be a part of the team then he or she will be more likely to produce desired results.
Principles of Personnel Assignment:

1- Made by the head nurse or nurse in charge for each individual nurse.

2- Based on :

a- Nursing needs of each patient and approximate time required to care for him.

b- The capabilities, skill level, previous experience and the interest of the staff members.

c- Job description.

3- Planned weekly, and revised daily if necessary to assure continuity of care.

4- Take into account all the direct , indirect and unit activities

5- Consider the geographical location of the unit and the assigned duties to save nurse’s time and effort.

6- Must be balanced among nursing staff.

7- Never to assign the same task to more than one nurse.

Characteristics of effective assignment:

It should be :

1. Definite and easily understood

2. Simple

3. Clear

4. Signed

5. Written

6. Posted in advance