Introduction
In modern healthcare, the widely recognized tools for offering effective quality healthcare are evidence-based medicine as well as nursing. Healthcare leadership and management is known as a critical component of strengthening both quality and integration of care. According to Sfantou et al. (2017), leadership describes the relationship between the individual or individuals who lead as well as those who make a conscious decision to follow. Leadership also defines the act of guiding and harmonizing the activities of a team or group of individuals towards a common goal. As a result, there are different styles of leadership identified with the most dominant ones appearing to be task-based, relationship-based, autocratic, laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational leadership styles. There is also another emergent model called servant leadership (Alasmri, 2018). Given this, the current section aims at making a comparison between servant leadership to other leadership styles and models.
Review of the Leadership Styles
Healthcare scholars acknowledge the fact that the attributes of a leader play a key role in establishing the future of an organization within the context of its performance and success. As Alasmri ( 2018) notes, other factors emanating from the internal and external environment affect the organization through its leader, thereby leading to the development of the varied leadership styles and theories. The defining features and attributes of these styles are described I the subsections that follow.
Task-Based Leadership Style and Relationship-Based Leadership Style
As the name suggests, task-based leadership concentrates on the accomplishment of the set goals. A leader who uses task-oriented leadership as the dominant style delegates’ assignments, sets well-defined processes and issues deadlines to make sure that all members of the team stay on course and deliver their part of the task within the given time frame. , the task-oriented leader communicates clear objectives, ensures the processes are simple for all the team members to follow and issues straightforward deadlines. Additionally, this leader offers guidance to the workers besides implementing a reward system. The task-based leader has prioritization, time management, effective communication, delegation ad strategizing as the main strengths. As such, this is leadership style, a healthcare leader who has to complete a task with many objectives on a set deadline.
On the other hand, a relationship-based leadership style, also known as a people-oriented approach, the leader who uses this style believes productivity is a function of the happiness of the team members. By focusing on the people, the relationship-based approach seeks to promote creativity and innovation, unlike their task-based counterparts who give priority to the completion of the task within the shortest possible time. Many leaders incorporate the two leadership styles depending on the goal or the workplace environment prevailing within a given time.
Autocratic and Laissez- Faire Leadership
In cases of emergencies, the ideal leadership style to use is autocratic as the leader makes decisions without taking into consideration those of the staff. Due to the urgency of the matter at hand, the leader may not have the luxury of entertaining dissenting opinions, which might prove costly in the long run. On the other hand, laissez-fair means the leader does not make any decisions with the staff working without the direction or supervision of the leader. Astuti, Aunnurahman & Wahyudi(2019)
the application of these styles yields different results with a democratic style where consensus is usually reached, producing the best results.
Transactional, Transformative Leadership Style
The transactional leader acts as a change manager, makes exchanges with the staff, which leads to improved production. The transactional leader utilizes reward and punishment to garner the support of their followers (Kabeyi, 2018). A significant strength of the transactional leader is to think outside the box in their pursuit to solve problems. On the other hand, the transformational leadership styles are manifested by individuals who stimulate and inspire their followers to achieve outcomes deemed to be extraordinary. As the name denotes, the transformational leader primarily seeks to change or transform their followers, thus ensuring a sustainable self- replicating leadership. The transformational leaders go that extra mile beyond using charisma( force of personality) or bargaining(transactional) to have the followers do their bidding and therefore use knowledge, skills, and vision to transform their followers. A comparison between the two indicates that transactional leadership is responsive, operates within the organizational culture, and manages by exception to maintain the status quo. Likewise, transformational leadership is proactive, seeks to change organization culture through the implementation of new ideas, and uses individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation.
Servant Leadership versus Transformational Leadership Style
To recapture public trust, modern healthcare must embrace and adapt to the current needs of their patients. Servant leadership is touted as one leadership style that can help healthcare leaders achieve this noble goal. This model of leadership was initially articulated by Greenleaf and concentrated on serving the highest needs of others to make them achieve their goals. Its hallmark is to develop the leader through self-knowledge and awareness. Allen et al. (2016) note that while transformational leadership seeks to transform the followers to work towards a common goal, servant leadership concentrates on developing every single individual within the institution. As such, both types of leadership are ideal for healthcare leaders. A comparison between the two styles indicates that servant leaders affect change within the organization by focusing on service to followers, customers, and the organization as well.
On the other hand, the transformational leader will effect change by prioritizing the organizational goals. Secondly, the servant leader exerts their influence by serving the needs of other people while their transformative counterparts impact by modeling. Lastly, the servant leader motivates by ensuring there is autonomy and enough resources while the transformative leader uses charisma to realize the predetermined common goal. In their comparison of servant leadership and autocratic leadership, Zhang, Zhou & Ren(2015)found that it is not always true that servant leadership is the best and autocratic leadership bad. Instead, their findings led them to conclude that leaders should use each one of them depending on the context. For example, these researchers advise that leaders should use autocratic leadership when confronted with a high power distance group and shift to servant leadership if the same leaders are faced with low power distance group.
Assignment 2 Part II of II-Comparison of Personal Model Inventory and My Leadership Style
For this part, I have used theoretical models and referred to particular situations and experiences in order to evaluate my leadership skills. I have considered my reflections at a personal, academic as well as professional level to examine the opportunities for my own development together with career path and outlined an action plan concerning my future. Its completion demanded an insightful assessment of my personal development needs premised on my desires and establish an understanding of the skills I can impart and the ones that I need to work on. In essence, this assessment made me consider scenarios where my leadership traits, styles, and skills have been successfully applied to realize the desired outcomes. After completing the Myers Briggs Personality Type Questionnaire, the results proved that my leadership style tends to gravitate towards transformational leadership. The deduction arises from the fact that I have a strong focus on
compassion, feelings, and values of others and how these can be enhanced to improve the quality of care offered to patients.,
Evaluation of How My Model of Leadership Works In Conjunction with My Leadership Style
To begin with, my career path has entailed working closely with other people making me take an interest in people, be they patients, healthcare colleagues, or other stakeholders. To develop my leadership skills, I have always pursued ways of improving my effectiveness with these interactions, and the rewards have not been disappointing. On leaving school, my first job was a clerical officer in a pharmacy. From my formative years in the healthcare industry when I worked in a pharmacy, then to nursing staff in an outpatient and inpatient acute care organization, people have always fascinated me. Interacting with other people reinforced by training accords me satisfaction in my personal and professional capacity. I have used reflective models like that of Gibbs to enlighten me on how to interpret different scenarios as I interact with others.
My Action Plan
Of the 67 counties in the state of Florida, my action plan targets Broward County. The vision of my action plan is to have a smoke free society in Broward County I which tobacco harm is eradicated. My action plan aims to reduce smoking among young adults to 11 % by 2024 from the 2020 baseline of 15% and to single digit percent by 2028.
To achieve these two objectives, my action plan identifies
three strategic action area namely
decrease uptake of tobacco product use
especially in teenagers and young adults, decrease smoking prevalence levels a decrease exposure to second hand tobacco.
All the while the action plan will promote leadership in tobacco control through leadership and partnership with interprofessionl collaboration team.
Evaluation of Personal Development to Work on Two Areas of Personal Improvement for My Leadership Style
I also used established theory to assess and evaluate my own strengths and shortcomings in the areas of leadership. According to Godwin et al (2017), Fayol emphasized in five common elements of leadership and management which are essential to healthcare leadership today. These elements include coordination of the organizational objectives, being organized, have the ability to predict the future, leading ad lastly controlling all of those elements using the resources at hand. My strong leadership traits include my team values which ensure that I relate well with the others leading to enhanced performance. However, if not managed problem one problematic area is my tendency to avoid conflicts and at the same time become stubborn any time my preferred values come into conflict with those of our organization’s ideals. This stubbornness may hurt my objectivity thus making it the one trait that I have highlighted as one that I need to improve on my journey towards becoming a transformative leader.