Effective Leadership

Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing Shirley J. Mitchell University of Phoenix HSC 492 Instructor: Linda Westermann March 12, 2012

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Effective Leadership Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing According to Sullivan and Decker (2009), leadership is influencing others into working toward accomplishing a common goal. Some people are born with an innate leadership quality within them. Others require learning leadership and management skills. It takes a certain personality trait that makes them a natural leader. Intelligence, personality, and abilities are three categories of the trait theory that is a part of the profile of successful leaders (Sullivan & Decker,

2009). I will discuss my personal views of leadership. It will describe how leadership differs from management. Finally, the characteristics of an effective leader will disclose. What are your personal views of leadership? Everyone is a leader at one time or another. A good leader is one that knows just when to pull back from the leadership role and let the team proceed on his or her own. These leaders have a natural ability to guide their team effectively with his or her charismatic approach that the team believes they are well supported. They know when to lead, when not to lead, when to let the team lead, and they know just when to dance. How does leadership differ from management? There is not much difference with leadership and management. In most situations, the terms are used interchangeably but are not the same. A leader is anyone that possesses interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish a goal. A manager is someone who is responsible and accountable for accomplishing the goals of the organization (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). An effective leader may not excel at management, and a manager may not be an effective leader. Managers tend to be problem solvers and use the scientific approach to find solutions to problems. Leaders are more open, communicative, and participative in their encouragement of applying new ideas to solve problems (Toor & Ofori, 2008).

Effective Leadership Characteristics of an effective leader An effective leader can create a working environment that satisfactorily supports the staff members so he or she can productively perform in his or hers assignments. The top three characteristics of an effective leader are the ability to communicate well, fairness to everyone on the team and are knowledgeable in his or hers field of practice. An effective leader must be able to communicate well with others to maintain and promote open communication among the team.

When leaders deal with employee conflict, an effective leader is fair. These leaders motivate their nursing staff to work toward a greater good in creating a positive change (Dunham & Klafehn, 1990). An effective leader should be knowledgeable about his or her leadership role as well as those he or she is supervising. Conclusion Leadership and management are similar; however, have different definitions. Some leaders have an innate ability to learn whereas others may have to learn how to lead. A manager may not be an effective leader. A leader must possess certain characteristics to be effective. Communication, fairness, and leadership knowledge are the top three characteristics of an effective leader.

References Dunham, J., Klafehn, K. (1990). Transformal Leadership and the Nurse Executive.

Effective Leadership Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2324835. Sullivan, E. J. & Decker, P. J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Toor, S., & Ofori, G. (2008). Leadership versus Management: How They are Different, and Why. Retrieved from http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-6748(2008)8:2(61).