LEADERSHIP

Introduction:

Leadership is the ability to influence an individual or group in order to attain the

group’s goal, at the same time maintaining the morale of the group. As a leader,
he/she is a change agent. Change is all about leadership, and nursing must
change to keep up. The head nurse stimulates his/her staff to observe
possibilities for improvement in patient care, helps them decide what they want
to do and gives encouragement every step of the way, by and large, leaders are
democratic, they set an example in their attitude towards patients, families,
personnel and they plan ahead.

A nurse manager coordinates and manages a nursing staff and he/she ensures
the staff. Leadership represents an abstract quality in a man. It is psychological
process of influencing followers or subordinates and providing guidance to
them. Thus, the essence of leadership is followership. It is the followers, who
make a person as a leader. An executive may get subordinates, because he/she is
in authority, but may not get a follower unless he/she makes the people to
follow him/her. Only willing followers can and will make an executive a leader.

Definition:

Leadership is defines as the process of influencing others towards a goal.

Bennie and Nanas.

A leadership may be defines as the influence, the art or the process of

influencing people so that they still strive willingly towards the achievement of
group goals.

Chester Koonts and O’Donnell

Leadership refers to the quality of the behaviour of individuals nearby they
guide people on their activities in an organization.

Bernard.

Leadership is regarded as the form which the authority assures when it rafters
into a process.

Mooney and Recley.

Leadership is the ability to influence other people.

Lansdale.

Concepts of leadership:

Leader is a part of management and one of the most significant elements of

direction. A leader may or may not be manager but a manager must a leader. A
manager as a leader must lead his subordinate s and also inspire them to achieve
organizational goals. Thus leadership is the driving force which gets the things
done by others.

Leadership represents an abstract quality in a man. It is a psychological process

of influencing followers or subordinates and providing guidance to them. Thus
the essence of leadership is follower ship. It is the followers who make a person
as leader. An executive has to earn followers. He may get subordinates because
he is in authority but he may not get a follower unless he makes the people to
follow him only willing followers can and will make him a leader.

Types of leadership:

A) Intellectual leader: He is one who possesses rich knowledge and technical

competence. All his subordinates listen and follow his advice because of his
specialized intellectual authority. e.g.- financial advisor, legal advisor, etc
B) Creative leader:

Creative leader uses the technique of ‗circular response‘ to encourage ideas to

flow from group to him and vice versa. He draws out the best in his followers
and controls them with zeal to attain the goals.

C, Persuasive leader:

He gains faith and confidence from his followers. He possesses a magnetic

personality which attracts followers which helps to get work done by them
effectively.

D, Institutional leader:

When a person becomes a leader by virtue of his position, he is called an

institutional leader. e.g. - the principal of a college, managing director of a
company

E, Democratic leader:

A democratic leader is one who does not lead but is lead by his followers. In
other words, he follows the opinion of the majority of his followers and
delegates most of his power to them.

F, Autocratic leader:

He is one who dominates and drives his group through coercion and command.
He institutes a sense of fear among his followers. Such leaders love power and
never delegate their authority.

Theories of Leadership:

Trait theory/great man theory:

This theory suggests that leaders have some inborn traits. They have certain set
of characteristics that are crucial for inspiring others towards a common goal. A
successful leader is supposed to have the following traits- good personality,
tirelessness, capacity to read other‘s mind, ability to make quick decision,
courage, persuasion, intelligence, reliability, imagination.

The trait approach arose from the “Great Man theory” as a way of identifying
the key characteristics of successful leaders. It was believed that through this
theory critical leadership traits could be isolated and that people with such traits
could then be recruited, selected, and installed into leadership position. This
theory was common in the military and still used as a set of criteria to select
candidates for commissions.

Advantages of Trait theory:

 It is naturally pleasing theory.

 It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual
can be assessed.
 It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the
leadership process.

Limitations of the Trait Theory:

There is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded

as a good or successful leader.

There is also disagreement over which traits are the most important for an
effective leader.

Style theory:

This focuses on what leaders do in relational and contextual terms. The

achievement of satisfactory performance measures requires supervisors to
pursue effective relationships with their subordinates, while comprehending the
factors in the work environment that influence outcomes.
Transactional / transformational theory:

This theory describes the relationship between leaders and followers. New
concepts such as empowerment, inspiration motivation and social learning are
present. This refers to a process whereby the leader attends to the needs and
motives of followers so that interaction raises to high levels of motivation and
morality.

Situational theory:

This theory believes that leadership effectiveness depended on the relationship

among the leaders task at hand, their interpersonal skills and the favourableness
the work situation. This theory considers the challenge of situation and
encourages an adaptive leadership style to complement the issue being faced.