Leadership Interview and Reflection

 

Introduction

            Leadership is the process of controlling or managing people. Leadership as a skill is the ability of an individual to lead an organization, people and teams. Reflection is a thought or a consideration about something. Leadership and reflection include questioning your thoughts and assumptions and knowing whether they are useful to the people around you. To become a good effective leader, it is vital to have good leadership skills. This report includes an interview that was directed to a Nurse Manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and the reason why I chose to interview him is that I believe he takes leadership seriously and is the best at it. The purpose of this interview is to know the meaning of nursing leadership to him and know more about his leadership styles. From the interview, I also want to know what makes him an effective nurse leader and also what has influenced his practice the most. He will also address the challenges he faces as a nurse leader.

Synopsis

            Gender equality is very essential for effective leadership for both employees and other people in general. Having and serving people with the right attitude makes a big difference for leaders. Self-awareness leads to an improved attitude towards other people (Radu, et al., 2017). A good leader should lead and treat employees and other people with compassion and care. Different abilities, skills, attitudes, knowledge, styles, theories, and training are qualities of a good leader according to a nurse leader interview. The interview is composed of a few main questions that help to understand effective leadership. From the interview, different leadership skills enhance your capabilities as a leader they could either be hard or soft skills. Some types of leadership skills can influence leadership negatively. So as a leader, it is important to learn the kind of skills to use for your employees. It is important to discover your employee’s strengths and weaknesses to use the skills that do not affect them negatively. Among the major types of skills are, active listening. This means that as a leader you have to listen to employee’s opinions and ideas and give them your full attention without interrupting them. Communication is another leadership skill that makes a leader effective. A good leader should be able to adapt to situations quickly. Good leadership entails good customer services and creativity. A leader should have the courage to speak and address people publicly. They should be able to make decisions and also include others in the decision-making process. Good leaders should have the power and capabilities to solve problems and conflicts among employees.

            Leadership involves controlling and directing people and so a leader should have good management skills. As a leader, you ought to be organized in everything you do because it is important for planning (Algahtani, 2014). There are different theories used in leadership which include, a situational theory where leaders change their leadership according to the situation. Power influence theory which focuses on the influence of a leader to the employees. Behavioral theory is where employees are influenced by the behavior of their leader. A leader has to know the leadership theory that works best for them considering the employees they are handling and the duties being performed.

            The types of leadership styles include democratic leadership where other members are allowed to take place in decision making. An autocratic leadership style is where the leader does not involve other people in making decisions (Nanjundeswaraswamy, et al., 2014). Transformational leadership is where the leader works with teams to identify the changes needed. The transactional type of leadership focuses on supervising and organizing employees. Charismatic leadership focuses on motivation and convincing of employees as a leader. Bureaucratic type of leadership is where employees follow specific rules and regulations which are made by their leaders. Laissez-faire type of leadership is where employees are not supervised and the leaders believe and trust that they can work on their own. A leader should improve their skills and knowledge by attending conferences and training. Despite having all the leadership skills, theories and styles at their disposal, challenges are also hard to be escaped by the leaders. Most of them are gender-based issues for the employees and the organization as a whole.

                                                           Critical analysis                                                         

            According to Wong and Cummings (2009), a great nurse leader is a person who is capable of inspiring others to work together to achieve a common goal which is quality and improved healthcare. An effective leader is courageous, honest, and resourceful and can control and handle stress. A nurse leader should be creative, have visions, and be involved in the decision making for the patients and also have gender-based equalities. Equality is important for leaders to focus on because it could lead to discrimination.

            The situational approach is a leadership theory that helps a leader to choose the right style to use according to the situation. Leaders should change the leadership styles they use depending on the situation at hand (Mwai, 2011). The behavioral approach focuses on how leaders behave towards employees. In this leadership theory, the leader’s behavior influences how employees perform their duties. Power influence theory assesses the influence a leader has on the employees and other people. The integrative approach is a theory that uses a combination of other approaches, for example, situational, behavioral and power influence.

            Transformational leadership enables a leader to work with teams and develop a vision that will guide the changes needed. Practicing democratic leadership as a nursing leader enables the other staff to be included in the decision-making process. This way the staff feels valued in the process of solving problems (Nanjundeswaraswamy, et al., 2014). Transactional leadership focuses on supervision and performance. Employees have to be supervised for them to achieve their intended goals. Rewards and punishments are given to the employees that do not perform according to their leader's expectations. A transactional leader focuses on job completion and if the rules given for the job were followed. Charismatic leadership is when the leaders come up with a vision and the employees are supposed to follow the vision to accomplish the tasks. This gives room for employees to be innovative and creative. Autocratic leadership is when a leader makes decisions and the employees are supposed to follow them to the latter. Decision making in this style does not involve any other member. Bureaucratic leadership style focuses on the employees to follow the designed company rules. The leaders using this style focus on the policies and rules and not the employees.

            Laissez-faire style is where leaders let employees make their own decisions. This could lead to low productivity since members have so much freedom and they are expected to solve their problems without the help of a leader (Nanjundeswaraswamy, et al., 2014). Sometimes they are not given the needed resources and this leads to a lack of motivation. The benefits of this style are, the group members could be focused and have different valuable skills and this gives them motivation. When the needed resources are provided in this leadership style, focused members can produce good outcomes.

            The qualities of a good leader should be reflected by how they conduct their leadership. The leadership traits of a leader such as their behavior and capabilities contribute to an employee’s ability to make an impact in performing their jobs (Nanjundeswaraswamy, et al., 2014).  A good leader is expected to have character traits to be desired such as courage, being straight forward, openness, and equal treatment of employees and people around them. As a leader, self-awareness is important to focus on because sometimes the job involves a lot of pressure. Taking time to reflect on your emotions, strengths, and weaknesses help you to remain flexible and relevant.

            Nursing leadership influences the beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of other people. This helps to develop a trusting culture that feels appreciated and respected. Practicing servant leadership in nursing enables a leader to value diverse opinions, have great listening skills and be able to serve individuals with humility and respect (Willcox, et al., 2018). To keep up with the changes, nurse leaders need to enhance their knowledge and leadership skills by attending nursing workshops and conferences. Nurse leaders are committed to making healthcare better so keeping up with the latest research enables them to be more updated. Nurse leaders need to take part in community social events and professional nursing organizations to socialize and learn from each other.

Personal reaction and application

           Good leadership skills affect the growth and development of people and the organization as a whole. Having good leadership skills motivates employees to work towards positivity. In leadership, good communication skills enable employees to have a clear understanding of what their roles are. Being able to communicate with your employees effectively leaves no loopholes when work is being conducted (Willcox, et al., 2018). As a leader, listening to your employee’s opinions and considering them makes them feel valued and appreciated. Allowing feedback from people surrounding you makes you as a leader to know what people think and want and also make changes where need be. A good leader recognizes and appreciates their employees and their work and this motivates them to work even harder towards growth.

           Good leadership includes creativity, this means that a leader is not afraid to try out new ideas and thoughts. With the changes happening in our world, new technologies and new information, leaders are supposed to be updated (Hao, et al., 2015). Creativity includes involving other people and teams to share their thoughts and opinions. This creates harmony in the workplace resulting in better outcomes. A good leader should be respectful to the people around them and should be able to earn the respect of others. This is determined by how a leader carries themselves, how they treat their employees and the language they use when addressing them. For a leader to be able to solve a conflict between employees they have to be respected, otherwise, they will not listen to the leader. Good working relationships with employees yields respect and togetherness.

           The different types of leadership styles have taught me that each of them leads to improvement and changes in an organization. The leadership styles involve the leader working with the employees, creating a trusting bond (Hao, et al., 2015). They help a leader to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the staff and more so what motivates them. A good leader is expected to be a role model for the staff, offering mentorship to them is a good way to share your experiences as a leader and as a person. This makes them want to follow your steps and also to improve on their knowledge. I will use these leadership styles to make sure that no employee is left behind and each one of them gets whatever information they would like. I will make sure that as a leader, I will treat everyone equally and avoid discrimination at all costs.

            Gender equality will be a priority to me for the employees and the rest of the people to make sure that each one of them gets an equal treatment that they deserve. By this, teams will be able to deliver with no hindrances or conflicts at all. As a leader, I will make sure that every person’s rights are considered (Hao, et al., 2015). Equality makes people feel safe and this is what I want people to feel like a good leader, safe to speak and attend to their jobs with confidence. When an employee feels confident, they can work even under minimal supervision and produce good results. Self-awareness will help me as a leader to know my strengths and weaknesses and how to control and improve on them. To better my leadership skills I will attend conferences and workshops related to my specialty to learn and improve on the skills.

Conclusion

            Interviewing the nurse leader has taught me a lot concerning leadership qualities and styles. All the skills that I learned have given me a wider and more positive approach to being an effective leader. Good leadership is all about knowing and understanding what the employees need and how to treat them. It is about making people feel valued, motivated and appreciated. A good leader is passionate and loves their job hence treating everyone around them with passion and understanding. Mentoring the young employees who would want to be leaders allows them to learn from the best and emulate them. Good leaders should act as role models whereby their behaviors and success is longed for by others. A good leader always keeps up with the trends and new research to improve their creativity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Algahtani, A. (2014). Are leadership and management different? A review. Journal of       Management Policies and Practices, 2(3), 71-82.

Hao, M. J., & Yazdanifard, R. (2015). How effective leadership can facilitate change in    organizations through improvement and innovation. Global journal of management and   business research.

Mwai, E. (2011). Creating effective leader’s through situational leadership approach.

Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Swamy, D. R. (2014). Leadership styles. Advances in      management, 7(2), 57.

Radu, C., Deaconu, A., & Frăsineanu, C. (2017). Leadership and Gender Differences—Are Men and Women Leading in the Same Way? Contemporary Leadership Challenges, 63.

Willcox, A., Sutherland Boal, A., de Padua, A., Balaski, B., Ens, B., Toye, C. R., ... & MacPhee,             M. (2018). Leadership and Influencing Change in Nursing. University of Regina Press.

Wong, C., & Cummings, G. (2009). Authentic leadership: a new theory for nursing or back to      basics? Journal of Health Organization and Management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix

On 27th February 2020, the leader who is a student interviewed a nurse manager via telephone. The main questions of the interview were,

• As a nurse leader, what are your leadership styles?
• What is the meaning of leadership to you?
• What is required of you, to be an effective leader?
• What are your leadership skills and what has influenced your leadership the most?
• What leadership theories do you use in your leadership?
• What are the challenges in your leadership?

The nurse leader responded to the questions as follows,

• There are a variety of leadership styles which include, democratic, transformational, transactional, bureaucratic and autocratic styles of leadership.
• Nursing leadership is about being caring and compassionate to people.
• An effective leader accepts and asks for feedback from people to know when changes and improvements need to be made.
• Leadership skills include communication, motivation, creativity, responsibility and being trustworthy.
• The leadership theories include situational, behavioral, and power influence theories.
• Challenges experienced in nursing leadership are mainly gender-based equality.