What Is Your Predominant Leadership Style?
DISPLAY 2.7 Nine Factors in the Full-Range Leadership Model (as described by Rowold & Schlotz, 2009)
In describing these factors, Rowold and Schlotz (2009) suggest that the first factor, inspirational motivation, is characterized by the leader’s articulation and representation of vision. Idealized influence (attributed), the second factor, relies on the charisma of the leader to create emotional ties with followers that build trust and confidence. The third factor, idealized influence (behavior), results in the leader creating a collective sense of mission and values and prompting followers to act on these values. With the fourth factor, intellectual stimulation, leaders challenge the assumptions of followers’ beliefs as well as analyze
subordinates’ problems and possible solutions. The final transformational factor, individualized consideration, occurs when the leader is able to individualize his or her followers, recognizing and appreciating their unique needs, strengths, and challenges.
The first transactional factor, as described by Rowold and Schlotz (2009), is contingent reward. Here, the leader is task oriented in providing followers with meaningful rewards based on successful task completion.
Active management-by-exception, the second transactional factor, suggests that the leader watches and searches actively for deviations from rules and standards and takes corrective actions when necessary. In contrast, the third transactional factor, management-by-exception passive, describes a leader who intervenes only after errors have been detected or standards have been violated. Finally, the ninth factor of full-range leadership theory is the absence of leadership. Thus, laissez-faire is a contrast to the active leadership styles of transformational and transactional leadership exemplified in the first eight factors.
Leadership Competencies
Just as Fayol (1925) and Gulick (1937) identified management functions, contemporary leadership experts suggest that there are certain competencies (skills, knowledge, and abilities) health-care leaders need to be successful. The American College of Healthcare Executives, the American College of Physician Executives, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the Medical Group Management Association have collaborated to identify leadership competencies, which included leadership skills and behavior,
organizational climate and culture, communicating vision, and managing change (Esparza & Rubino, 2014).
Integrating Leadership Roles and Management Functions
Because rapid, dramatic change will continue in nursing and the health-care industry, it has grown increasingly important for nurses to develop skill in both leadership roles and management functions. For managers and leaders to function at their greatest potential, the two must be integrated.
Gardner (1990) asserted that integrated leader-managers possess six distinguishing traits:
1. They think longer term: They are visionary and futuristic. They consider the effect that their decisions will have years from now as well as their immediate consequences.
2. They look outward, toward the larger organization: They do not become narrowly focused. They are able to understand how their unit or department fits into the bigger picture.
3. They influence others beyond their own group: Effective leader-managers rise above an organization’s bureaucratic boundaries.
4. They emphasize vision, values, and motivation: They understand intuitively the unconscious and often nonrational aspects that are present in interactions with others. They are very sensitive to others and to differences in each situation.
5. They are politically astute: They are capable of coping with conflicting requirements and expectations
from their many constituencies.
6. They think in terms of change and renewal: The traditional manager accepts the structure and processes of the organization, but the leader-manager examines the ever-changing reality of the world and seeks to revise the organization to keep pace.
Leadership and management skills can and should be integrated as they are learned. Table 2.3 summarizes the development of leadership theory through the end of the 20th century. Newer (21st century) and emerging leadership theories are discussed in Chapter 3.
In examining leadership and management, it becomes clear that these two concepts have a symbiotic or synergistic relationship. Every nurse is a leader and manager at some level, and the nursing role requires leadership and management skills. The need for visionary leaders and effective managers in nursing precludes the option of stressing one role over the other. Highly developed management skills are needed to maintain healthy organizations. So too are the visioning and empowerment of subordinates through an organization’s leadership team. Because rapid, dramatic change will continue in nursing and the health-care industry, it continues to be critically important for nurses to develop skill in both leadership roles and management functions and to strive for the integration of leadership characteristics throughout every phase of the management process.
KEY CONCEPT
Management functions include planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. These are incorporated into what is known as the management process.
Classical, or traditional, management science focused on production in the workplace and on delineating organizational barriers to productivity. Workers were assumed to be motivated solely by economic rewards, and little attention was given to worker job satisfaction.
The human relations era of management science emphasized concepts of participatory and humanistic management.
Three primary leadership styles have been identified: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire.
Research has shown that the leader-manager must assume a variety of leadership styles,
depending on the needs of the worker, the task to be performed, and the situation or environment.
This is known as situational or contingency leadership theory.
Leadership is a process of persuading and influencing others toward a goal and is composed of a wide variety of roles.
Early leadership theories focused on the traits and characteristics of leaders.
Interactional leadership theory focuses more on leadership as a process of influencing others within an organizational culture and the interactive relationship of the leader and follower.
The manager who is committed, has a vision, and is able to empower others with this vision is
termed a transformational leader, whereas the traditional manager, concerned with the day-to-day operations, is called a transactional leader.
Full-range leadership theory suggests that context is an important mediator of transformational leadership.
Full-range leaders evolve and adapt their leadership style based on which leadership styles are needed for a given situation but need transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership skills to be successful.
Integrating leadership skills with the ability to carry out management functions is necessary if an individual is to become an effective leader-manager.
The integration of both leadership and management skills is critical to the long-term viability of today’s health-care organizations.
Additional Learning Exercises and Applications
LEARNING EXERCISE