EDEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

SCIENCES
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING

NAME: MWENYA EVANS

ID NUMBER: 2020010533
LECTURER: MR MWAKA CLAYSON SIMOONGA
COURSE TITLE: READERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
COURSE CODE: Nur 5110
ASSIGNMENT: 1
YEAR OF STUDY: 5,1
INTRODUCTION
All leaders, to a certain degree, do the same thing. Whether you’re talking about an
executive, manager, sports coach, or schoolteacher, leadership is about guiding and
impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what
they couldn’t do working individually. In this sense, leadership is something you do,
not something you are. Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders,
and many people exercising leadership have no formal authority. It is their actions,
not their words, that inspire trust and energy.What’s more, leadership is not
something people are born with—it is a skill you can learn. At the core are mindsets,
which are expressed through observable behaviors, which then lead to measurable
outcomes. Is a leader communicating effectively or engaging others by being a good
listener? Focusing on behaviors lets us be more objective when assessing leadership
effectiveness.Effective leaders know that what works in one situation will not
necessarily work every time. Leadership strategies must reflect each organization’s
context and stage of evolution.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
Leadership is a set of behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, to
execute strategic plans, and to continually renew an organization.

FIVE QUALITIES OF A LEADER

1. Integrity: Integrity is an essential leadership trait for the individual and the
organization. It is especially important for top-level executives who are charting
the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our
research has found that leader integrity is a potential blind spot for organizations,
so make sure you reinforce the importance of honesty and integrity to managers
at all levels.
2. Collaboration: The most effective leaders can work with a variety of colleagues
of different social identities, locations, roles, and experiences. As the world has
become more complex and interconnected, good leaders find
 themselves spanning boundaries and learning to work across various types of
divides and organizational silos. When leaders value and embrace collaboration,
whether within their teams or cross-functionally, several benefits arise —
including increased innovation, higher-performing teams, and a more engaged
and empowered workforce.
3. Intelligence: not necessarily knowledge about detailed or highly specialized
matters but good common sense.
4. Learning Agility: Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you
don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar
circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster and
increase learning agility through intentional practice and effort. After all, great
leaders are really great learners.
5. Loyalty: devotion to a cause and also to the persons with whom one works, &
willingness to defend subordinates against external attack.

FIVE COMMON LEADERSHIP STYLES

Becoming a good leader starts with identifying and refining your leadership style.
There are several common types of leadership styles in management, but none are
necessarily better than others. The most effective leadership style largely depends on
you, your personality, and how your team responds to different management tactics.
Leadership styles can range from completely authoritarian to laissez-faire, with plenty
of room in between. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of these
individual styles can help you identify and develop a personal management style that
maximizes the potential of yourself and your team. Here are five of the most common
leadership styles in management:

1. Autocratic: Autocratic or authoritarian leadership is a style of management that

focuses on maximizing efficiency and results through making decisions without
taking any input from other team members. Autocratic leadership is often considered
to be ineffective for many reasons, but primarily due to the fact that it often leaves
employees feeling undervalued and frustrated. Autocratic leaders make decisions on
their own and expect employees to adhere to their directions without question.

Authoritarian leadership can present some advantages. For example, autocratic

leaders often make quick decisions and provide clear directions that make it easy for
employees to understand their objectives. They can also reduce employee stress by
not burdening them with difficult decisions.

2. Democratic: Democratic leadership is often considered to be a more effective

alternative to autocratic leadership. Democratic leaders consult their team members
and listen to their input before making a major decision. While the manager ultimately
has the final say, employees are able to offer their opinions, making them feel more
valued and appreciated. Democratic leadership offers several advantages. It helps
lower-level employees develop leadership and decision-making skills that they will
likely need as they climb up the ladder. It also helps managers make more informed
business decisions as they receive valuable input from employees in specialized
roles. The main drawback to democratic leadership is that it can be inefficient in some
cases as it takes a significant amount of time to organize discussions and collect input
from employees before making an important decision.
3. Transactional: Transactional leadership is a performance-based style of
leadership that rewards employees for the work they do. Transactional leaders value
achieving goals and often set performance-based incentives to motivate their
employees. This may include financial bonuses for hitting certain milestones, or in
some cases, disciplinary actions for employees that don’t complete their objectives.
This type of leadership can help establish clear objectives and responsibilities for
team members, but in some cases, it can encourage employees to only do the
minimum required to achieve their individual incentives.
4. Laissez-faire: Laissez-faire leadership typically involves delegating tasks to team
members and offering very little supervision or direction. Leaders pass authority on to
their team members and trust them to find the best way to perform their jobs and
accomplish goals. This style of leadership can be effective in teams that include
experienced, highly-skilled employees that can be trusted to manage themselves.
Laissez-faire leadership also often instills confidence in employees as they feel
empowered and trusted. On the other hand, it can occasionally lead to inefficiency as
employees don’t have a clear understanding of their roles, responsibilities, or
objectives.
5. Transformational: Transformational leaders are focused on establishing clear
goals and encouraging pushing employees to perform their best. Often,
transformational leaders will give employees goals and milestones that may be simple
at first but are constantly evolving with the intention of pushing employees out of
their comfort zones. This style of leadership is common with growth-minded
managers that want to see what their employees are capable of. These types of leaders
are often delegating new responsibilities and tasks to employees to help them grow
and maximize their performances. While this style of leadership can help you get the
most out of your employees, in some cases, employees may not be equipped to handle
the new roles and responsibilities given to them. With transformational leadership, it’s
important to give employees access to training and other resources that help them
achieve their objectives.
FIVE TYPES OF LEADERS

Charismatic leader: Charismatic leadership is defined by a leader who uses his or

her communication skills, persuasiveness, and charm to influence others. Charismatic

leaders, given their ability to connect with people on a deep level, are especially
valuable within organizations that are facing a crisis or are struggling to move
forward. Every charismatic leader looks a little bit different. However, there are many
key characteristics that most charismatic leaders share, these are:

 Strong communicator
 Empathetic and relatable
 Confident
 Motivational
 Engaging and charming

Traditional leader: Traditional Leadership is a well-established and widely practiced

approach that emphasizes the authority and hierarchical structure of leadership. In this
model, leaders typically make decisions, provide direction, and exert control over
their teams. Traditional leaders are expected to possess expertise and hold decision-
making power. The focus often lies on achieving goals, meeting targets, and
maintaining stability within the organization. Someone exercising a form of
leadership that rests on traditional or customary authority, such as lineage or descent.

 This position is assured by birth e.g. kings

 This is another category to which few people can aspire or acquire
 There are few /no opportunities for traditional leadership at work.

Situational leader: Situational Leadership means adopting your leadership style to

each unique situation or task to meet the needs of the team or team
members.it provides a framework for leaders to diagnose the Performance
Readiness level of an employee or team to perform a specific task. Once this is
determined, they can adapt their leadership approach accordingly.

 The leader’s influence can only be effective by being in the right place at the right
time
 This kind of leadership is too temporal in nature to be of value in an organization.

Appointed leader: The leader’s influence arises directly out of his position e.g.
managers –this is a formal appointment leadership.This position has influence with
legitimate power in the hierarchy & it is a bureaucratic type of leadership

Functional leader: This position is influenced by expert knowledge(power). The

leader secures his position by what he does rather than by what he is. A functional
leader adapts his behavior to meet the competing needs of his situation.
CONCLUSION

In its simplest form, leadership is influencing other people to follow.

Therefore, anyone who can influence people to follow them has leadership
qualities. Leadership happens at all levels within organizations and society, not
just among those who work in defined "leadership positions. "Effective
leadership enables followers to succeed. It sets direction, builds a vision, and
adapts as circumstances require. Leadership is about mapping out where you
need to go to "win" as a team or an organization. It's dynamic, exciting and
inspiring.
References

1. “Leadership in context,” January 1, 2016, Michael Bazigos, Chris Gagnon, and

Bill Schaninger
2. “Decoding leadership: What really matters,” January 1, 2015, Claudio Feser,
Fernanda Mayol, and Ramesh Srinivasan
3. Ulrich, D. and Smallwood, N. (2007). 'Leadership Brand: Developing
Customer-Focused Leaders to Drive Performance and Build Lasting Value,'
Harvard Business School Press.
4. National College for School Leadership (2004). ‘Distributed Leadership in
Action: Full report,’ [online]. Available here.
5. Hamel,G.‘Natural Leadership atW.L.Gore and
Associates,’ [online]. Available here.