LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND TEAM WORKING FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Introduction
In the contemporary world, nursing leadership and management have developed significantly. Because of this development, nurses are now able to become leaders of different units in the health care setting, including consultants, practitioners, or nurse-led units. Effective leadership is essential as it results in motivated and effectual employees in the nursing profession; thus are able to take risks and errors which are common in the profession. Besides, good leadership and management are essential in reducing nurses turnover, reducing patients’ complaints, reduce the rate of sickness among the staff, and it results in improved patient care. In this essay, different types of leadership styles in the Coronary Care Unit and Cardiac Catheter Suite will be identified, and if the styles identified were effective or resulted in conflict within the department and how the ward was managed and the application of team working in the ward.
The term leadership can be described in different ways. For instance, Darling-Hammond (2017 p.295) defines leadership as an approach through which an individual uses towards other team members with a desire to attain an established goal or outcome. On the other hand, Wilson (2016) defines leadership as a procedure that provides direction, control, gives motivation, and provides inspiration towards achieving a goal that is already started. According to Darling-Hammond (2017 p.301), effective leadership is not only about capability, knowledge, or experience as it must also include character, morals, and requirements, which make one be a leader. There are different types of leadership that leaders can use to be able to attain established goals. A good leader should be a role model and an individual of integrity who can inspire other people. During the procedures, I observed an autocratic leadership style from the consultant’s leaders.
Management is a combination of principles that relate to functions of providing plans, finance, direct, and control to utilize the available resources to attain the organizational goals. During the placement, the management style, which I observed, is the participative style, which was demonstrated by the ward manager. On the other hand, teamwork is an important aspect of achieving first-class patient care within the health care sector. During the placement at the local trust, the nurse practiced teamwork management style.
Autocratic Leadership
In the Cardiac Catheter Suite, autocratic leadership was practiced by the consultants during procedures. The rules and instructions used by the consultants were quire rigid, and a priority of consistency existed, with each member performing their roles almost in a similar way. Such consistency resulted in corporate success with the healthcare facility. However, creativity, new processes, and independent thinking comprised as part of the entire leadership style failed to acquire top priority in their execution. According to Dyczkowska and Dyczkowski (2018 p.193), autocratic leadership is a directive kind of leadership that involves making all decisions oneself as a manager, directing the staff to adhere to specific directions, and anticipating that employees accomplish assigned tasks on time. Simply, an autocratic leader adopts a strong, top-down leadership approach, and one person is involved in the management of all major decisions within an organization or a specific group of people while at the same time taking no input or little from the team members.
The consultants in the Cardiac Catheter Suite made all the final decisions, and others provide no pieces of advice or suggestions. The other employees were not consulted when making decisions or solving problems arising from the company. Once the consultants made decisions, the rest of the team members were anticipated to adhere to the final decision. Autocratic leadership embraced by the consultants had the following merits to the Cardiac Catheter Suite and the entire healthcare organization. To begin with, autocratic leadership availed fast crisis management benefits. Laub (2018 p.165) argues that an autocratic leader is well-prepared to deal with a crisis condition. They can easily sustain these problems as they are only responsible for getting to call the shots. The expertise of the consultants was of essential benefit to the entire department and were in a position to promptly correct an issue in virtually any situation. This assisted in resolving the emergencies in the Cardiac Catheter Suite.
Secondly, decisions in autocratic leadership are made faster as compared to other types of leadership styles. Autocratic leaders do not deal with a hassle of various leadership levels (Dyczkowska and Dyczkowski, 2018 p.198). In the Cardiac Catheter Suite, the consultants were not required to wait for the feedback from the senior managers or consulting the leadership team. Being the only person in charge is beneficial in accomplishing projects, meeting deadlines, and removing obstacles that negatively impact the productivity of the department and the entire healthcare organization.
In Autocratic leadership, employees benefit from reduced pressure from their leaders. Although employees were not involved in decisions of Cardiac Catheter Suite, they enjoyed decreased pressure from the consultants. Autocratic leaders eliminate pressure off their staff as they are fully accountable for the decisions made (Laub, 2018 p.185). The other benefit offered by autocratic leadership in Cardiac Catheter Suite is increased productivity levels. The consultants were charged with information movement. They utilized their personal experiences to create rules and regulations translating into step-by-step instructions for the employees. Having a clear direction with a defined path towards success availed to workers helps autocratic leaders to focus on productivity rather than problem-solving (Harms et al., 2020 p.106). Although many people perceive autocratic leadership to have numerous drawbacks, if followed appropriately as per the procedures as in the case of Cath Suite, it portrays less demerits.
Participative Management Style
The Ward Manager who was managing the ward for patients with coronary disorders portrayed participative style which was crucial in coordinating all the activities carried out in the ward. Through the manager’s participative style of management, there has been the involvement of all employees in making decisions that affect the patients who are particularly based in that ward. The Ward Manager has been collaborative with both staff and patients in establishing a conducive working environment for the staff and the patients who are based in the ward. The collaboration of the working staff results in better treatment of the patients’ hence proper patient satisfaction (Park, Lee and Kim, 2016 p.319). This management style can be easily integrated with principles of administrative management in management theory for it has helped the ward manager in planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling which gives a guideline for best management.
The participative style of management portrayed by the Ward Manager has been helpful to the patients and other workers who are operating in the Coronary ward unit. Through the management style, there has been an open-mindedness in the way of carrying out the work as well as making crucial decisions that affect that particular ward activity within the Coronary Care Unit. Through the collaboration of the manager and the other staff, the Ward Manager has been able to make policies and decisions which are acceptable by all the staff since they were involved in making the policies. Through this participative management style, the other staff is given an opportunity to discuss and arrive at a consensus on a certain issue before being passed as a policy or a firm decision being made from it (Park, Lee and Kim, 2016 p.320). The staffs in that ward are given a personal stake in the succession of all the activities which occur within that ward such as changing policies or implementation of new ideas that might be helpful to the ward and patients.
The participative style of management which has been established by the ward manager is helpful to the staff and patient as it improves morale. This is because the voices of the staff and patients are taken into consideration. The staff morale is very important in elevating the level of productivity within the organization as through this there is good service delivery to the patients hence creating a good and conducive environment for the patients and staff (Rolková and Farkašová, 2015 p.1385). This makes the staff be more active hence patient satisfaction is always guaranteed within the ward. The morale experienced by the staff working within the ward helps the staff by encouraging them to give opinions which helps in the creation of solutions that affect the patients within the Coronary Care Unit or opinions which may promote improvements that need to be done on the ward for better service delivery. Through this, the staff is become more creative in improving service delivery to the patients and making the operations of the ward run smoothly and efficiently.
There has been increased employee retention for all staff who are working within the ward which most of them claim to have been contributed by the good management which they have acquired from the leadership of the Ward Manager. Most of the staff has shown high performance and has been active in working within the ward. Increased activeness encourages the growth of the ward through establishment of a good working environment and exemplary service delivery (Nassar, Abdou and Mohmoud, 2011 p.30). Through such collaboration, success of an healthcare facility is shaped. Furthermore, collaboration is increased and competition between the staff decreases.
There has been a collaborative working together system such that the different staff working in that particular ward. The staff has shown good behavior while working together thus the success of the company. Through the participative leadership, the staff develop the tendency of working together to meet the common goal of best service delivery to the patients (Park, Lee and Kim, 2016 p.320). This has created a scenario where the staff does not compete with their co-workers rather they have created a good friendship with one another. However, the participative management style has portrayed some conflicting situations with a staff of other departments, patients, and the Ward Manager. There has been slow decision making which most of the people working in other departments and patients have complained which has attributed to the long channels of establishing policies.
Teamwork
The nurse in charge and the staff demonstrated operative interpersonal teamwork relations. They reflected a commitment by working collaboratively with a lot of commitment to quality work and the organization. The nurse in charge collaborated with the staff by providing necessary assistance and helped them to understand the need for working as a team. He also offered measurable goals as guidance to the team for outstanding service delivery and continually educated the staff on critical skills such as good communication and relations. Teamwork improved employee’s morale and productivity (Mao & Woolley, 2016 p.933). Good team management improves the performance of employees and organizations’ productivity.
The nurse in charge embraced teamwork which helped the employees to have a better understanding of their responsibilities and deliverables which helped them to focus on their work. Working as a team is a creative way of encouraging the staff’s best quality to have quality outcomes from the staff (Van Knippenberg, 2017 p.352). Additionally, working as a team allowed the staff to collaborate with each other every time they needed help. The nurse in charge led the team in promoting unity which prevented conflicts and misunderstandings. He created an effective working environment and helped the team to cooperate, accept one another, and the policies governing the workplace. By demonstrating outstanding morality, ethics, open and sincere team leadership the nurse in charge set a bar for teamwork, conduct and attitude, quality performance, and reduced medical errors.
The nurse in charge fostered an environment that encouraged members of the team to perceive service delivery from the patients’ perspective. He developed a team atmosphere to support customers’ concerns. This practice promotes participation among patients, staff, and the manager hence the positive patient outcome. Moreover, the nurse in charge spent most of the tine with other staff which improved better staff relations. Spending time together forms a strong bond between the staff and the employees and also demonstrates how to rely on each other. A good staff relation improves employee satisfaction which gives staff a better understanding of the importance of teamwork (Valentine, Nembhard, & Edmondson, 2015 p.26). The bonding created a positive atmosphere in the work which is important for the productivity and psychological health of the team. Improved employee relation is essential in establishing a sense of trust among them. Teamwork makes employees satisfied with their work.
There has been enhanced communication. Improved communication between the nurse in charge and the other staff allowed them to connect to produce a quality outcome. The involvement of employees in decision making makes them feel like part of the team. Moreover, allowing staff to communicate their ideas and opinions built trust by establishing reliable empathy. Valentine, Nembhard, and Edmondson (2015 p.28) indicate that empathy and understanding help employees to work as a team to meet mutual goals which assertively leads to affirmative patient effect. The nurse in charge also encouraged common trust and respect which increases flexibility and commitment amongst the team.
The nurse fostered a team-oriented working atmosphere by encouraging the staff to integrate teamwork into their skills groups since every colleague has diverse work values with each career transition. Collaboration among people with different skills helps them to exchange skills that they did not have before. Unlike working alone, teamwork allows team members to discuss new ideas which leads to a better solution in the workplace (Mao & Woolley, 2016 p.938). The ability of the nurse to foster a team-oriented working environment allowed every staff to explore and learn new perspectives. The team management style embraced by the nurse in charge positively impacted staff performance and productivity.
However, teamwork management can be improved through training based on predefined principles such as crew resource management, team plan and tools to improve performance, and genera team training. Training will provide the greatest opportunity for reaching improvement goals in the functioning of the team (Buljac-Samardzic, Doekhie and van Wijngaarden, 2020 p.23). Healthcare organizations can also redesign its structure to encourage team functioning and processes.
Conclusion
During my placement at the local trust, I gained a lot of experience about leadership, management and team work. The experience I gained was based on the leadership style which was applied by the consultants, the management style used by the ward manager and the teamwork approach applied by the nurse in charge. The leadership style applied by the consultants affected the performance of the staff negatively as it did not involve the team members in decision making. The Ward Manager who was managing the ward for patients with coronary disorders portrayed participative style which was crucial in coordinating all the activities which were being carried out in the ward. The team work approach used by the nurse in charge reflected a commitment by working collaboratively with a lot of commitment to quality work and to the organization.
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