Nursing and Transformational Leadership

Type:  Discussion Post

Subject:Nursing Leadership

Subject area: Nursing

Education Level: Undergraduate

Length: 2 pages

Referencing style: APA

Preferred English: US English

Spacing Option: Double

Instructions: Discussion #2

There are multiple parts to this discussion board, please check and include all. The upper word limit for  this discussion is expanded to 750. 

1. After watching the TED talk and reading the articles. React to the following

• Is transformational leadership a good fit for nursing and health care in general, why or why not?
• Have you witnessed or been a part an experience where transformational leadership ( or lack of it ) influenced the outcome? What did that feel like?
• In her TED talk, Leslie Hayes indicates that the transformational leader provides the Why and the team provides the How, Do you agree with that distinc

                                                                  Discussion# 2

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Whether Transformational Leadership Is a Good Fit for Nursing and Health Care In General

As a leadership strategy, transformational leadership creates considerable changes in people’s lives and organizational culture. The leadership approach redesigns organizations and individual values and perceptions and modifies employees’ aspirations and expectations (UCLA, n.d).  Transformational leaders create challenging goals, communicate their vision, and walk the talk. Thus, they motivate and boost their followers’ morale and connect communities to the organization’s collective identity and mission. Transformational leaders challenge their followers to own their work and enhance their productivity. Transformational leaders implement changes, enhance the affordability of healthcare services, and improve patient outcomes (Fischer, 2016). Thus, transformation leadership is integral in enhancing patient safety and performance improvement in the healthcare sector. Transformational leaders are a good fit for nursing and healthcare in general.

In the healthcare sector, transformational leaders envision desired outcomes and focus on improving the quality and safety of care accessed by the patient population. Transformational leaders collaborate with other staff to enhance the health of those they serve. In the nursing profession, nurses work in groups by collaborating with nurse assistants, technicians, doctors, and other healthcare providers to offer quality and safe care. Effective teamwork among inter-professional teams requires excellent collaboration and clear communication. Therefore, transformational leaders in the clinical setting ensure that team members understand their importance in care delivery, roles, and expectations. The leaders also ensure that the employees feel valued by incorporating them in the decision-making process and solving issues that undermine care delivery. The resultant effect is an environment that empowers and engages employees because they are encouraged to challenge the status quo, think critically, and maintain a positive work environment. The impact of transformational leadership on healthcare workers make it  a good fit for nursing and healthcare in general.

 

Whether I have witnessed or been a part of an experience where transformational leadership influenced the outcome?

I have been a part of an experience where transformational leadership influenced the outcome. I was working in a facility that had a problem with preventing and managing pressure ulcers. The patient issue increased hospital stays and became a financial burden to the patient, their families, and the facility. The ICU unit nurse used transformational leadership to advocate for change in practice to minimize the prevalence of pressure ulcers in the ICU unit.  The nurse communicated the change process to all involved stakeholders and urged them to offer their suggestions on the best way to address pressure ulcer prevalence in the facility. His key stakeholders’ involvement ensured that individuals buy into the change process and minimize employee resistance to the change process. According to Schoemaker, Krupp, & Howland (2013), strategic leaders should achieve buy-in and common ground when implementing change.   Accordingly, successful change implementation depends on frequent engagement, trust building, and open communication. The change manager involved all stakeholders and communicated the change process to minimize resistance.

 Additionally, the change leader ensured that the change initiative mattered from a personal perspective. The change affected the ICU team members because it translated to increased responsibilities. For instance, the ICU team was required to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the skin and design a care plan based on the outcomes from a standardized pressure ulcer risk assessment. The change leader addressed individual concerns before implementing the change initiatives. Similarly, he identified change champions from distinct levels of the company. These individuals were instrumental in supporting and motivating others to embrace the changes being advocated. They addressed misinformation about the modifications made in caring for ICU patients. The transformational leader offered training to healthcare workers to facilitate the implementation and the success of the change process. He also held individuals accountable by tracking change implementation success, rewarding and recognizing individuals for their efforts in implementing the recommended changes.  

From this experience, I learned that transformational leadership is vital in implementing change initiatives in an organization. These leaders frame the change process in a manner that organizational members accept. Additionally, transformational leaders make change part of organizational culture. They involve stakeholders in every phase of the change process to achieve implementation success and minimize employee resistance to the change process. Facilitating two- way communications is important to ensure that every affected person is on the same page regarding the implemented changes. 

Whether transformational leaders provide the Why and the team provides the How

Transformational leaders encourage open communication to allow individuals to share their insights and ideas. In this context, transformational leaders provide the why, and the team provides the how.  For instance, transformational leaders might offer suggestions why certain changes in the organization are necessary. The team members will then offer their insights into how the leader should implement those changes to achieve the expected outcome.  The transformational leader incorporates the followers’ views in the implementation of the change initiatives. Team members’ involvement in change implementation makes them own them and work towards achieving organizational goals and objectives.

References

Fischer, S. A. (2016). Transformational leadership in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(11), 2644-2653.

Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential skills. Harvard business review, 91(1), 131-134.

UCLA.(n.d). Using transformational leadership to move health care upstream. https://www.movinghealthcareupstream.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mhcu_transformationalleadership_finalrev3_32917.pdf