Nursing Leadership Theories

Leadership Styles and Theories
Effective leadership is comprised of multiple principles, characteristics, and techniques (Huber, 2014). There are many roles that go into making a great leader or nurse manager. Along with the roles and responsibilities of being a great leader comes knowing how to manage your facility and what management style works best for you and your nursing staff. For this discussion, the topic will be on personal leadership styles, leader and management theory, and key behaviors pertaining to the work environment.
Personal Leadership Style
For healthcare professionals and nurse leaders it is important to be able to recognize individual leadership styles and theories related to their specific nursing practice. When able
When trying to get everyone’s opinion and come up with a plan that all are agreeable on, useful time gets wasted (Huber, 2014). I would say that the assessment of my leadership skills is accurate. I like to be in charge, but also value my peers and colleague’s opinions and input. I implement this style when I am in charge. One of the duties that I am responsible for is making assignments for the oncoming shifts. I will initially do the assignments myself but then I like to have a couple of the other nurses look over it to make sure that there isn’t a better way to utilize my staff. Ultimately I end up making the final decision but sometimes they are able to add something that I may have not seen.
Leadership and Management Theories
Leadership and management theories play a big role in how situations are handled, managed, and resolved. The leadership theories that I tend to utilize the most would be the situational theories. With this theory of leadership, the person tends to adapt to the situation and determines a solution based on the current circumstances. These leaders tend to have personal flexibility and are able to alter their leadership style to fit obstacles that they have to overcome (Huber,
In the short time that I was the director I have since resigned from the position and returned to my previous position. The smaller community environment wasn’t what I was used to and I felt that the standard of care wasn’t the same as I expected. When I raised concerns about safety issues and staffing I was basically told to not discuss this at safety meeting and only tell the CNO and CEO in private. I come from a Magnet hospital where best practice, safety, and good outcomes are what we pride ourselves on and that is what I went back to. To be a Magnet hospital is a gold standard in nursing and is not easily obtained (Huber, 2014). I believe that my leadership style thrives in the environment that I am currently working in. With an ever changing atmosphere you have to be adaptable and I feel as though I have that quality. As a leader some of the skills that I demonstrate are adaptability and good communication skills, which I think every leader needs to have. I have to be able to deal with changing assignments in the middle of a shift, helping a nurse when her patient goes from stable to critical, and I must provide communication between the nurses and the physicians so that everyone is aware of what is happening. Critical thinking is also another attribute that I apply to my job every day, which is very