Andrea Beatrice D.

Molina BSN 4C
NCM 119

Leadership in Nursing: Theories and Models

Theorist Theory Fundamental Concepts

Thomas Carlyle (1795- Great Man Theory This theory assumes that
1881) the capacity for leadership
is inherent, that great
leaders are born, not
made. These theories
often portray great leaders
as heroic, mythic and
destined to rise to
leadership when needed.
The term Great Man was
used because at the time,
leadership was thought of
primarily as a male quality.

Trait Theory of Leadership People inherit qualities and

traits that make them
better suited to leadership.
A leaser has:
1. Positive traits –
bring people to
progress
2. Negative traits –
they destroy rather
than build
Individual Characteristic
Traits determine whether
or not a person can be an
effective leader. These
people have innate
characteristics that made
them great leaders.
Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) Leadership Styles He categorized leadership
styles as authoritarian,
democratic and laissez-
faire.

Field Theory of Human He believed that people

Behavior act the way they do
depending on self-
perceptions and their
environments. To
understand a leader’s
behavior or of that follower,
one must look at the
totality of the individuals’
experience.

He proposed that change

undergoes in three stages:
Unfreezing – It involved
overcoming the inertia and
dismantling the existing
mind set; Change Occurs
– The old ways are
confusing to replace with
new ones, yet may be
 ready to accept new roles;
and, Re-freezing – The
new mind set.
Chris Argyris (1923-) Ladder of Inference When communicating, one
needs to communicate not
just subjective conclusions,
but also reasoning process
and assumptions that
underlie the conclusions.
At each step, there is bias
in the process depending
on one’s experience.

Double Loop Learning The focus of this theory is

on solving problems that
are complex and ill-
structured and which can
change as problem-solving
advances. In Nursing, it
would mean questioning
the age-old ways of doing
things that never works
anyway but are continued
for many reasons.
Alvin Toffler (1928-) Third Wave “Society needs people who
take care of the elderly and
who know how to be
compassionate and
honest. Society needs
people who work in
hospitals. Society needs all
kinds of skill that are not
just cognitive; they’re
emotional, affectional. You
can’t run the society on
data and computers
alone.”
Rensis Likert (1903-1981) Likert’s 4 Types of 1. Exploitative-
Management Systems Authoritative –
Responsible for
organization’s goal
is at the top; goals
are established
through orders;
least effective
2. Benevolent-
Authoritative – Staff
are occasionally
consulted for
problem solving;
manager is
condescending to
staff.
3. Consultative –
Responsibility for
setting goals is fairly
general.
4. Participative –
Organization is very
well oriented and
very well informed
about decision
 making; most
effective.

The Linking Pin Model

Linking Pin Model highlights the necessity of
robust and transparent
communication for
achieving organizational
goals—it emphasizes the
need for open channels of
communication.
Dr. Robert Blake and Managerial Grid Model Concern for task or
Dr. Jane Mouton production – This leader’s
focus is on achieving
results and productivity.

Concern for people – This

leader cares about little
productivity and operates
wholly from a desire to be
loved and approved of.
Paul Hersey and S1 to S4 Leadership Styles Directing (S1): High on
Kenneth Blanchard directing behaviors, low on
supporting behaviors.

Coaching (S2): High on

both directing and
supporting behaviors.

Supporting (S3): Low on

directing behavior and high
on supporting behaviors.

Delegating (S4): Low on

both directing and
supporting behaviors.
Fred Fiedler Fiedler Contingency Model Fiedler’s Contingency
Theory states that, for a
leader to be effective, their
leadership style must fit
the situation. Using this
model, you’ll identify your
own leadership style,
assess the situation that
requires leadership, and
determine whether you’re
the right leader.
1. Leader-member
relation
2. Task structure
3. Position power
Victor Harold Vroom and Participative Decision- It provides a decision tree
Yetton Making Model that leaders can use to
determine the most
effective decision-making
style based on the
situational factors. The
model recognizes that
different situations call for
different levels of follower
participation in decision-
making.
 A leader can choose to
decide on their own, and if
necessary sell their
decision; consult some
staff, gather ideas and
make decisions
themselves; consult staff
as a group, gather
suggestions, but still make
decisions themselves;
facilitate meeting and uses
consensus approach to
make decision; and,
delegate decision-making
process to team or
responsible individual who
makes the last call.
Robert House Path-Goal Theory of The leader can affect the
Leadership (Introduced in performance, satisfaction,
1971, revised in 1996) and motivation of a group
through rewards,
clarification of paths to
goals and removal of
obstacles in work
performance. The leader
adopts a certain leadership
style:
1. Directive
2. Supportive
3. Participative
4. Achievement-
Oriented
Max Weber (1864-1920) Transactional Leadership The leader functions as
caretaker and sets goal for
the followers. They focus
on the maintenance and
management of ongoing
and routing work. This
leader motivates the
followers by appealing to
their own self-interest. It is
a competitive, task-focus
approach that takes place
in a hierarchy.
James MacGregor Burns Transformational 1. Promotes employee
(1918-2014) Leadership development
2. Attends to needs
and motives of
followers
3. Inspires through
optimism, influences
changes in
perception
4. Provides intellectual
stimulation and
encourages follower
creativity
5. Uses role modelling
6. Provides sense of
direction and
encourages self-
management
Robert Greenleaf (1904- Servant Leadership Servant Leaders
1990) emphasizes the leader’s
role as steward of the
resources such as human,
financial and otherwise
provided by the
organization. A true
servant leader is a servant
first, according to
Greenleaf. It encourages
leaders to serve others
while staying focused on
achieving results in line
with the organization’s
values and integrity.
Daniel Goleman (1946) Emotional Intelligence in Leadership in Nursing
Nursing Leadership demands emotional
stability. It requires the
ability to relate to others if
the leader truly wants to
achieve the desired
results.

It outlines five components

of EQ: self-awareness,
self-regulation, motivation,
empathy, and social skills.
Howard Gardner (1943) Multiple Intelligences in Multiple intelligences
Nursing Leadership focuses on how different
intellectual leadership. He
proposed 8 different
intelligences to account for
a broader range of human
potential:

1. Linguistic
2. Logical-
mathematical
3. Spatial (picture
smart)
4. Bodily-kinesthetic
5. Music smart
6. Interpersonal
(people smart)
7. Intrapersonal (self-
smart)
8. Naturalist
Porter-O’Grady and Quantum Leadership The elements are:
Malloch discovering, authenticity,
passion, creating
relationship, inquiry and
fiscal astuteness. In
Nursing, it is a new
leadership for new age.
They think most leaders
are neither fully prepared
nor equipped to change
outmoded models because
the foundations of their
leadership concepts are
based in the past. Control
is not the issue; rather,
change dominates the
climate.