Essay on "Transformational Leadership and Change Management in Healthcare"

Essay 17 pages (4556 words) Sources: 15

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Leadership is said to be effective if it helps a company or entity to achieve its goals and realize outcomes that are consistent with the majority. Overall, the qualities necessary to make leadership effective even in a hospital setting has been consistent -- the need to motivate, encourage, support, direction, organization, and to provide access able goals. However, what has been debatable is how leaders acquire these necessary qualities -- the debate centers around whether leadership skills are innate or whether they can be acquired, and which leadership type tends to be most effective in certain environments. The overall body of this paper will examine leadership styles that are present at a hospital nursing unit with a focus on the style of transformational leadership. There will also be a critical analysis of change management and what environments are conducive to different strategies. The analysis will be conducted within the context of the case in s hospital nursing unit with sections outlining strategic management, leadership, and strategy in the healthcare systems.

The analysis will be rooted in formal management theory to explore the types of leaders that exist and are effective in healthcare -- especially transformational leadership, and the necessary skills and talents that leaders should have to develop effective service sectors. The literature surrounding leadership seems to posit that the necessary qualities and skills can either be born with or they are made, the types of leaders that exist seem to show a diverse set of hypotheses. However, what is clear is that the nursing literature views transformational leadership as an important aspect of change management and some authors have identified this leadership style as one of the most effective processes that can lead to efficiency in the long-run. The paper will explore these issues and will highlight how this type of leadership style can be implemented and is practiced within the healthcare sector. The combination of leadership, change management, and related formal nurse management theories provides an excellent platform for examining operations within a healthcare environment.

The issue of leadership and management is closely intertwined however, it is clear that there are many issues that set the two apart, the study below will provide a good foundation to examine leadership at a hospital nursing unit.

LEADERSHIP STYLES and CHANGE Management

According to Sturm (2009), organizational outcomes are usually considered the combination of inherent values and learned mission. The importance of an organization's leadership and management structure is due to the fact that it feeds operational excellence and ensures that strategic objectives are achieved. It is therefore imperative that the leadership be embedded in this critical process, why?

Organizations are living social organisms, and need a link between them to survive; the leadership provides that link,

Organizational outcomes and the leadership of an organization is the fundamental support of an institution and will fail without a strong one,

Sturm (2009) sates that organizational outcomes are critical business strategies, goals, missions, and outcomes.

As stated by Sturm (2009), the leadership styles, whether consciously or unconsciously helps to create, hone, and develop organizational outcomes from their own personal history, nature, socialization experiences, and perception of what it takes to succeed in the market place. Table 1 below presents the four core outcomes that an organization can adapt.

Table 1: Leadership Styles and the Four Core Organizational Outcomes

Type of Outcomes

Brief Description

Control

The outcome is all about certainty. The leadership style exists to ensure predictability, safety, accuracy, and dependability. The leadership develops an outcome that is centered on organizational goal achievement.

Collaboration

This outcome is about synergy. The leadership makes sure that unity, close connection with the customer and is centered on dedication with the customer.

Competence

This outcome is about distinction. The leadership exists to ensure that the development and business strategies are unmatched.

Cultivation

This outcome is about enrichment. The leadership exists to make sure the fundamental goals of the organization are embedded in the corporate structure and business strategy.

Adams (2010) argues that the leadership acts as the strategic driving force that guides the decisions and workers on all levels which has to be integrated with the outcomes of the organization by:-

Identifying credible strategic forces that embrace the leadership style associated with the organizational outcomes,

Prioritizing and analyzing risk associated with each organizational outcomes,

Providing multiple communication channels to meet consumers' needs and help workers and managers embrace the organizational structure.

The types of leadership that exist provide insight into whether leaders are made or born.

Trait theories and contingency theories, relate to leadership theories, stated by McGuire and Kennerly (2006). For the former, it is assumed that individuals possess certain skill or attributes, that are inherited qualities and allows an individual to be characterized as leaders because of those qualities. However, for the latter, environmental or situational factors determine the style of leadership that is best suited.

As stated by Leach (2005), there is a fundamental difference between the two leadership theories, since trait theory posits that, there exist a set of skills, which inevitably make an individual a leader, while contingency theory argues, that different skills are different leadership styles are needed based on the particular circumstance or situation.

Leach (2005) shows that trait theory identifies leaders via personal characteristics, and effective leaders seem to have these common characteristics. Contingency theory identifies the characteristic and style (which absorbs aspects of the trait theory), subordinates expectation and experience, and the nature of the task and environment as being the important elements that defines different leaders.

The necessary leadership theories have also found that the identified traits of leaders were expansive and not uniformed across individuals. In fact, many leaders were found not to have all or majority of the supposed traits that determine if an individual is a 'good leader', according to Atter (2008). Contingency theory on the other hand, defines a leader based on the task or situation, which is usually, defines or hones skills based on the environmental or situational factors

Fiedler's original model of leadership stated that there were two styles of leaders -- task oriented or relationship oriented. Callaghan (2006) used this model was identified as one of the firs contingency models, since it focused on the degree of structuring in the task and the leader's organizational power. Figure 1 below shows the major auspices of Fiedler's model of leadership. Ideally, Fiedler's model shows that the leader's ability is based on the leader's preferred style and the motivation of followers, that is, the effectiveness of the leaders has to do with how well the style of the leader matches the situation. Just as Callaghan (2006) showed the two basic leadership styles are task-oriented, where the focus is on accomplishing assignments and relations oriented or person centered, where good personal relations is the focus of the leader. This was also supported by Cummings, Macgregor, Davey, Lee, Wong, Lo, Muise, and Stafford (2010). The general concept or idea is that the effectiveness of a leader is based on situational contingency.

Figure 1: Fiedler's Leadership Styles and Situational Analysis

The Cognitive Resource theory as presented by Kanste (2008), modified the model of leadership described above by adding traits of the leader, that is, situations are identified under which individuals will use their intellectual abilities, natural skills, and knowledge to solve problems effectively. The overall conclusion from the extension is that, leaders with a higher level of intelligence and experience will outperform leaders who are less intelligent.

McGuire and Kennerly (2006) argue that it seems somewhat puzzling to have a concept of moral leadership, since it is sometimes assumed that morality should be embedded in most if not all leadership traits. However, moral leadership refers to the idea of authority that is standardized against some predetermined ideals of what is considered "good" and the "right way to act." This type of leadership does not have any characteristic or undertakes any action that is in conflict with the notions of morality.

Spirituality in organizational outcomes refers to the idea of an integrative approach to a set of inherent values within an organization that are developed via connectivity with one's emotions, other individuals, and more importantly a supreme being as argued by Ralston (2005). This type of structure usually solidifies an approach that allows individuals to realize their existence via a process that translates the needs of individuals based on the principles of spirituality into actions that guide work ethic.

Moral leadership seems fitting for an organization that embraces spirituality, why? Spirituality whether in religious or psychological terms also integrates or assumes a moral standard that is used to judge actions and/or behavior; as such, the necessary moral leadership standard can be complementary to the overall organizational outcomes. It should be noted that this harmonious union is only applicable, if the necessary values upheld by the practice of moral leadership does not contradict, any noted spiritual outcomes trait that the organization may have. Moral leadership also provides a good foundation on which to fulfill spiritual needs in the… READ MORE

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