Case Study: Leadership

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Introduction

Throughout the healthcare industry, leadership is crucial in ensuring patient care and

employee happiness. Every representative of the medical team has the competence to lead, and

their approach to leadership should be informed by evidence-based theory. In this research, a

case study method is employed to evaluate the leadership behaviours of a charge nurse and a

nursing student in a realistic context. A detailed inspection of transformative leadership

theories as well as alternative leadership ideologies is conducted. The assignment will emphasize

the need of empowering the health care professionals through a shift in the organization's style

since leadership as well as the notion of power are intertwined. The attributes influencing

morally upright leadership that fosters creativity, competence, and ethical principles. Whatever

gaps in the body of knowledge on clinical leadership are recognized, and suggestions for

appropriate leadership paradigms are made.

Effective Leadership Styles

The research reflects the charge on nurse's leadership approach. He made a distinction

between administrative and inspirational leaders. Government by bureaucrats is governed by

rules and regulations, which results in a labor that is uninspired, unmotivated, and unsatisfied.

It's possible that the charge nurse's resistance to novel concepts stemmed from his lack of

confidence in both his own judgment and the nursing student's suggestions. Leaders must be in

authority in their profession in order to exercise charismatic leadership. A workforce may

become dependent on the unique leader and his or her narcissistic superiority as a consequence

of these leadership. The nurse's refusal to consider novel ideas may be the result of an

overestimation of his own superior ability to that of the people he supervises. The behaviorist

theory of leadership is insufficient to assess the charge nurse's leadership since it only assesses
external behaviour. One of the leadership styles that would suite the case study scenario would

be laissez-faire leadership style.

It is plausible that the charge nurse practices laissez-faire leadership given his frequent

absences and general lack of guidance. Laissez-faire leadership is a bad kind of leadership that

causes disagreement, harassment, and anxiety at work. The authors hypothesized that nurse

leaders frequently practice laissez-faire leadership, which may contribute to nurses' low morale.

There hasn't been any research done on the impact of laissez-faire leadership on workplace

happiness in Australian healthcare settings, though. Since the US and the Australia have different

sociocultural traditions. Therefore, more investigation is required to determine the potential

effects of this leadership style on the Australian healthcare system.

The charge nurse's approach runs counter to what is meant by leadership since he spent

little time trying to understand and come to terms with a plan of action and did not work with

others to advance patient care, which is the most important position in healthcare. Such

leadership goes against the Nursing and Midwifery Council's code of practice, which mandates

that care be provided in accordance with the best available research and that co-workers'

contributions be recognized and valued.

Evidence Based Theory behind the leadership styles

1. Transformational leadership theory

Few comprehensive studies have been conducted on healthcare leadership, and

transformational leadership techniques predominate in the literature. Early theories of

transformative leadership placed a strong emphasis on inspiring and energizing people. By

rewarding or punishing followers based on how well they complete tasks, transformational

leadership by Bass seeks to replace transactional styles of leadership that aim to maintain the
status quo. It has been established that early transformational leadership theory promotes change,

which is essential in the healthcare industry and is good for employee well-being.

Scholars demonstrate that leaders are valiant people with charismatic characteristics who

occupy high managerial roles. Their views are in line with the charismatic leadership paradigm,

which emphasizes the leader's behaviour as a crucial aspect of determining success. Even though

they produce leaders who are socially and directly removed from their followers, these

leadership theories have come under fire. However, most leadership situations call for nearby

leadership, when the leader puts aside disparities of position and power and works closely with

their followers.

Although they rely on a single exceptional leader to persuade followers and because they

are almost completely based on the observation of white, male CEOs, the initial epic

transformational leadership theories are anti-democratic. The Enron financial collapse may

encourage courageous transformational CEOs to ruin businesses in order to effect change by

taking on hazardous endeavours in order to maximize their own potential and influence. While

there is always some risk associated with change, it is crucial that patients come first and that any

risk be assessed against patient safety in the healthcare industry.

Since it fosters individuality, ruthless behaviour, and risk-taking, all of which are

incompatible with the safe, person care provided by health professionals, the emphasis on leader

behaviour rather than leader values in leadership theories has created ethical questions. There is a

growing understanding of the shortcomings of heroic transformational leadership ideas, with a

particular emphasis on the ethical difficulties that should be taken seriously in healthcare

settings. The nursing community has been reluctant to acknowledge the errors in these theories.

Although it may be advantageous to apply the early heroic transformational leadership theory to
the charge nurse's responsibilities, the issues brought up are significant, and another leadership

theory should be used in this circumstance.

Power in Leadership and Importance of empowering members

Since power and leadership go hand in hand, it is helpful to look at how power was used

in the clinical setting. Power, which is defined as the capacity to sway another individual, is

regularly employed to further business objectives. Legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and

referent powers are only a few examples of the five different forms of power that may be

exploited or abused inside organizations. The case study scenario implies that because the charge

nurse was in a position of power, he or she employed legal authority. But coercive authority,

which is defined as the capacity to affect another person's behaviour through punishment or the

prospect of punishment, was also abused.

The nursing student's suggested cure was immediately rejected, even though punishment

was not specified in the case study. As a result, the student was unable to suggest any more

adjustments to the patient's treatment. Use of coercive power should be limited since it may have

unfavourable effects. Although staff nurses frequently work in close proximity to patients and

may provide the most insightful comments about how to improve patient care, it is important to

empower them. A helpless nurse is ineffective and unable to deliver top-notch patient care.

Although there are many ways to empower nurses, organizational structure is one of the most

crucial. According to phenomenological study, empowering staff members, improving

professional attitudes, and improving quality of care were all outcomes of flattening hierarchical

structures in the hospital environment to promote shared decision-making. In a follow-up

research, staff nurses were surveyed about their perspectives on supportive leadership from ward

managers and the effectiveness of strategies to empower nurses.

 While nurse student empowerment has received less research attention, it is nonetheless a

topic of interest. It is unknown if nursing students feel in control during clinical rotations. Failure

to recognize the value of student empowerment might lead to a future workforce that is less

capable of providing patient care. The best way to empower registered nurses, according to the

literature already in existence, is through post-heroic transformational leadership, which lessens

hierarchical imbalances, fosters innovation, and welcomes new team members. Although more

research is needed to determine the best way to empower nursing students.

The most crucial action is to inform all of the facility's leaders about the change. In order

to complete this exercise, a meeting could be set up where nurse leaders would be told of the

anticipated change, the justification for the change, and that their comments or suggestions

would be welcomed in order to make the change successful. The second step is to design a

workable process that would be followed while implementing change, including the

responsibilities and roles that would be assumed during the change implementation process. The

third step is looking for and obtaining all additional needs necessary to make the transformation

process successful, such as coaches for leadership training and development, training facilities,

and well designed policies.

Since a leadership transition is so significant, it will require a one-time effort and should

take three to six months to be fully successful. The nurse will be the first to speak within the first

two months, and her testimony will serve as the primary criterion for assessing the efficacy of

the strategy. Positive changes to the organizational working environment and overall nurse

performance make up the second evaluation approach. For instance, leaders who are aware of all

the responsibilities that nurses have might decrease the likelihood of human mistake.

Conclusion
 The case study describes the actions of a charge nurse who, for both professional and

private reasons, chose a subpar leadership approach on the ward, notably in his interactions with

the nursing student. However, heroic aspects of these models as well as the emphasis they place

on leader behaviour rather than leader ideas have drawn criticism from contemporary corporate

management and medical research. In the nursing industry, early transformational leadership

techniques have been widely accepted. It is important to embrace post-heroic transformational

leadership ideas because they are moral, encourage collaboration and teamwork, and have been

shown to improve patient care and have a good impact on the workplace.

It is advised to employ the engaged leadership model in particular since, in contrast to

other theories, it is more practicable and has a respectable empirical foundation. Noting that

further research in all healthcare contexts will have an impact on future practice, it should be

underlined that post-heroic transformational leadership theories are still in their infancy. People

who do not possess official roles can conduct informal leadership, and businesses can empower

employees by flattening hierarchical patterns.

To improve people, create innovation, and enhance patient care, businesses should invest

in training leaders at all levels. This will help them grow their skill and expertise. To increase

staff satisfaction and patient care, such unofficial, communal leadership should be promoted. The

case study illustrates how the improper use of power may weaken people and harm both nurses

and patients. Power and leadership are closely intertwined, and the case study shows how.

Adopting strategies like engaged leadership is likely to devolve power to every employee,

providing all healthcare professionals including students the chance to participate and put

evidence-based practice into practice to improve patient care.

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