Leading and Directing Handout

7/27/2019 Leading and Directing Handout

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Leadership Styles

What is a Leader?

A person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal

A person who guides others, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in

which other members feel actively involved in the entire process

I. Kurt Lewins Leadership Styles

In 1939, Lewin led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership

The 3 major styles of leadership are:

a. Authoritarian/ Autocratic

b. Participative/ Democraticc. Delegative/ Laissez-Faire

A. Autocratic Leadership

Used when leaders tell their members what they want done and how they want it

accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers

Works best when there is no need for input, and when any input would not strengthen the

outcome of the decision

Managers are less concerned with investing their own leadership development, and prefer to

simply work on tasks on hand

In Lewins experiments, he found that this caused the most level of discontent

ADVANTAGES

Enables a quick decision-making process

Leaders will be powerful enough to control member Reduced stress due to increased control

A more productive group while the leader is watching

DISADVANTAGES:

Fear and resentment

Dependency culture

Poor leadership skills

Increase workload for manager

B. Democratic Leadership

Democratic leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over

the decision-making process

Useful in highly competitive and complex industries where it allows the best ideas to rise to

the top, and facilitates the rising and establishment of future leaders within the organization

Normally used when you have part of the information, and your members have other parts

Using this style is of mutual benefit- it allows them to become part of the team and allows

you to make better decisions


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ADVANTAGES

Positive work environment

Creative thinking

Reduced employee turnover

DISADVANTAGES

Lengthy decision making

Danger of pseudo participation

C. Laissez-Faire

This style is to minimize the leaders involvement in decision-making, and hence, allowing

people to make their own decisions, although they may still be responsible for the outcome

While this style can be effective in situations where group members are highly qualified in a

area of expertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and lack of motivation

Based on Lewins experiments, it is the least productive of all 3 groups

ADVANTAGE:

subordinates get all the decision-making power to make decisions so they may feel

motivated

DISADVANTAGE:

subordinates may not be coordinated and that work may be unstructured

II. Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders work by the book. They follow rules rigorously and ensure that their

staff follows procedure precisely

You will often find this leadership role in a situation where the work environment is

dangerous and specific sets of procedures are necessary to ensure safety

Leaders expect the employees to display a formal, business-like attitude in the workplace

and between each other.

Managers gain instant authority with their position

Employees are rewarded for their ability to adhere to the rules and follow procedure

perfectly

Bureaucratic systems gradually develops over a long period of time, and hence are more

commonly found in large and old businesses

Bureaucratic leaders work by the book. They follow rules rigorously and ensure that their

staff follows procedure precisely

You will often find this leadership role in a situation where the work environment is

dangerous and specific sets of procedures are necessary to ensure safety


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POWER

I. Power Defined

POWERis the ability to influence other people despite their resistance.

Using power, one person or group can impose its will on another person or group

The use of power can be POSITIVE, as when the nurse manager gives a staff member an

extra day off in exchange for working during the weekend.

or NEGATIVE, as when a nurse administrator transfers a bothersome staff nurse to

another unit after the staff nurse pointed out a physician error.

II. Sources of Power

There are numerous sources of power. Many of them are readily available to nurses, but some of

them are:

a. Authority - The power granted to an individual or a group by virtue of position.

b. Reward - The promise of money, goods, services, recognition, or other benefitsc. Expertise - The special knowledge an individual is believed to possessd. Coercion - The threat of pain or of harm, which may be physical, economic, or psychologica

Various groups of people in a healthcare organization have different types of power available tothem:

1.MANAGERS - are able to reward people with salaryincreases, promotions, and recognition.

They can also cause economic or psychological pain for the people who work for them

particularly through their authority to evaluate and fire people but also through theresponsibility for making assignments, allowing days off, and so on.

2. PATIENTS - at first appear to be relatively powerless within the health-care organization.

However, if patients refused to use the services of a particular organization, that

organization would eventually cease to exist.

Patients can reward health-care workers by praising them to their supervisors.

They can also cause problems by complaining about them.

3. ASSISTANTS AND TECHNICIANS - may also appearto be relatively powerless because oftheir low positions in the hierarchy.

Imagine, however, how the work of the organization (e.g., hospital, nursing home) would bimpeded if all the nursing aides failed to appear one morning.

4. NURSES have expert power and authority over licensed practical nurses, aides, and otherpersonnel by virtue of their position in the hierarchy.

They are critical to the operation of most health-care organizations and could cause

considerable trouble if they refused to work, another source of nurse power.


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How to increase your expert power:

Participate in interdisciplinary conferences

Attend continuing education offerings

Attend professional organization meetings

Read books and journals related to your nursing practice

Problem-solve and brainstorm with colleagues

Return to school to earn a higher degree

III. Empowering NursesPOWERis the actual or potential actual ability to recognize ones will even against the resistance

of others, according to Max Weber

Empowerment is a psychological state, a feeling of competence, control, and entitlement.

Given these definitions, it is possible to be powerful and yet not feel empowered.

Power refers to ability, and empowermentrefers to feelings.

Feeling empowered includes the following:

Self-determination. Feeling free to decide how to do your work

Meaning. Caring about your work, enjoying it, and taking it seriously

Competence. Confidence in your ability to do your work well

Impact. Feeling that people listen to your ideas, that you can make a difference

Self-determination. Feeling free to decide how to do your work

Meaning. Caring about your work, enjoying it, and taking it seriously

Competence. Confidence in your ability to do your work well

Impact. Feeling that people listen to your ideas, that you can make a difference

The opposite of empowerment is DISEMPOWERMENT.

Inability to control ones own practice leads to frustration and sometimes failure.

Work overload and lack of meaning, recognition, or reward produce emotional exhaustionand burnout.

Nurses, like most people, want to have some power and to feel empowered.

They want to be heard, to be recognized, to be valued, and to be respected. They do not want to feel unimportant or insignificant to society or to the organization in

which they work.


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DIRECTING

I. What is Directing?

Is the issuance of orders, assignments and instructions that enable the nursing personnel tounderstand what are expected of them.

Is a physical act of nursing management, the interpersonal process by which nursing

personnel accomplish the objectives of nursing.

It is the connecting link between organizing for work and getting the job done.

Included in Directing

1. Supervision and guidance - so that in doing their job well, nurses can maximallycontribute to the organizations goals in general and to the nursing service objectives inparticular.

2. Delegation of work to be performed

3. Utilization of policies and procedures4. Supervision of personnel

5. Coordination of services6. Communication

7. Staff development8. Making decisions

II. WHAT IS DELEGATION?

Delegation is the act of giving someone else the responsibility, even the power, to do

something, whether it is a work task or a non-work task.

Effective delegation must be two-way: responsibility given, responsibility received.

-Stephen Covey in First things First.

A. WHY DELEGATION IS REQUIRED?

Delegation is an effective tool in grooming the future managers or leaders.

Delegation helps in time management, when work is in high volume.

Managers can demonstrate professionalism and effectiveness with the help of delegation.

Delegation creates the WIN-WIN situation The manager and organization gets the work

done faster, the member gets sense of accomplishment, trust, opportunity to grow and

recognition

B. WHY DELEGATION IS NOT PERFORMED OFTEN?

Here are the few reasons why managers do not delegate work.

I dont have enough time to delegate properly.

I dont have the skills to delegate well.

Its easier to do it myself than to ask someone else.

The people to whom I could delegate are already too busy; dont have the knowledge,

skills, or experience required; or arent ready to accept this level of responsibility.


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Ive been let down in the past, and if they dont get the job done, Ill end up looking bad.

Risk taking is not encouraged in this organization, and delegation is risky.

C. PRINCIPLES OF DELEGATION?

1. Select the right person to whom the job is to be delegated. (give accountability &

authority)

2. Delegate both interesting and uninteresting tasks. (to bring out the best in them) (Tochallenge)

3. Provides subordinates with enough time to learn. (Expertise can be achieved through

training & experience)

4. Delegate gradually. (They will not assume full responsibility)

5. Delegate in advance. (Describe the specific results expected out of the activities to be

performed)

6. Consult before delegating. (Clarification minimizes problems & promote teamwork)

7. Avoid gaps (Occurs when a job is left out w/ no one taking responsibility) and overlaps (2or more people have responsibility for the same job).

D. What Cannot be Delegated?

1. Overall responsibility, authority and accountability for satisfactory completion of all activitiesin the unit. (They will loose trust to mgr)

2. Authority to sign ones name is never delegated. (Whoever performed the task will be the

one to sign it)

3. Evaluating the staff and/or taking necessary corrective or disciplinary action. (Due process)

4. Responsibility for maintaining morale or the opportunity to say a few words ofencouragement to the staff especially to the new ones. (boost morale & build up self

confidence)

5. Jobs that are too technical and those that involve trust and confidence. Hot potato

(It will cause clinical nurses to assume that mgrs are incompetent to handle these concerns)

III. SUPERVISION

Is providing guidelines for the accomplishment of a task or activity with initial direction and

periodic inspection of the actual accomplishment of the task or activity.

It is the active process of directing, guiding, and influencing the outcome of a personsperformance of an activity.

A. FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SUPERVISION

1. Quantity and quality of work performed (How many? What is the result?)

2. The time within which the work is accomplished (Meet deadline)

3. The proper and economic utilization of resources(Cost cutting)


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4. Highly differentiated work positions or role change

5. Disagreement over policies and procedures

6. Competition for scarce resources (Insufficient resources).

7. Poorly expressed relationships including unfulfilled expectations. (Diff. perception of the

events by supervisor & manager.)

B. Types of Conflict

1. Overt and Covert

a. Overt Conflict - Obvious or unconcealed

b. Covert Conflict is more dangerous because it is not what it appears on the surface. Itresults in harbored feelings that drain both physical and psychological energy.

2. Vertical and Horizontal

a. Vertical conflict Differences in opinions between superiors and subordinates are caused mos

often by:

Inadequacy in communication

Opposing interest, and

Lack of shared perception and attitudes..

b. Horizontal or line or staff conflict

arises as a common struggle or strife (Trouble) between departments or services whereinthe degree of interdependence and collaboration determines the success in achieving sharedgoals and objectives.

3. Conflict can be viewed from both BEHAVIORAL and PROCESS standpoints.

a. Behavioral it is a perceived condition that exists between two parties.

Individual or Group or Department due to goal incompatibility & opportunity for interfering

achievement of the other.

b. Process conflict can be defined as what occurs when real or perceived conflict exists in goalsvalues, ideas, attitudes, beliefs, feelings, or action of two or more parties.

1. Intrapersonal occur within one individual

2. Interpersonal occur between two or more individuals

3. Intra group occur within one group

4. Intergroup occur between two or more groupsi.e Difference in opinion

C. Conflict Resolution


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1. Avoidance - method commonly used by groups who do not want to do something that mayinterfere with their relationships.

Neutrality is maintained at all cost

The participants never acknowledge that a conflict arise

2. Accommodation - Self-sacrifice. The person neglects his own needs to meet the goals of theother party. It is appropriate when:

The person is wrong

The opponent is more powerful

The issue is more important to someone else.

It is used to preserve harmony and gain social credits that can be used later.

Focus on minor problems but the real problem still exist & need to attend to.

3. Collaboration This is the most effective method of conflict resolution.

Inspires mutual attention to the problem and utilizes the talents of all parties. (Sharing ofopinions to solve/address the problem)

It focuses on problem-solving to find mutually satisfying solutions. (Building 1 goal w/c is tosolve problem)

Problems are identified, alternatives are explored, and threats are considered untildisagreements are resolved.

4. Competition exertion of power at the subordinates expense. (By Supervisor or Manager)

It is expressed through suppression of conflict through authority obedience approach. This

enforces the rule of discipline.

It is an assertive position that fosters conflict resolution on the part of the subordinates.

5. Smoothing where disagreements are ignored so that surface harmony is maintained in astate of peaceful co-existence. This is accomplished by:

Complementing ones opponent

Downplaying differences

Focusing on minor areas of agreement, as if little disagreements exist.

This method maybe appropriate to solve minor problems but issues also remain unresolved &

may later resurface

6. Withdrawing

one party is removed thereby making it possible to resolve the issue.

It produces the same results as smoothing.

7. Forcing method that yield an immediate end to the conflict but leaves the cause of the

conflict unresolved. (The superior may issue orders but the subordinate will lackcommitment)

It may be appropriate in life or death situations but is otherwise inappropriate.

Some of the basic rules on mediating a conflict between two or more parties are:


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1. Establish clear guidelines and make them known to all.

2. Do not postpone indefinitely. Select a time that is best for all parties. (Set a specific date totalk & arrange & fix the concern)

3. Create environment that makes people comfortable to make suggestions. (Open forum tovoice out other concern)

4. Create a two-way communication. (Interaction Verbal or written)

5. Stress a peaceful resolution rather than confrontation. Build a bridge of understanding.

(Focus on issues & not on personality, establish & protect self-respect)

6. Emphasize shared interests. Examine all solutions and select the most acceptable to bothparties. (Develop a plan for successful resolution)

7. Follow-up on the progress of the plan. (Give feedback to participants regarding their

cooperation in resolving the conflict)

Conflict management keeps conflict from escalating, makes work

productive, and helps translate conflict into a positive or constructiveforce.

Documents

Leading and Directing Handout