Lecture notes Contexts of Care (SHN169)

SHN169 – Understanding Styles of Leadership


Understanding styles of leadership

Introduction
 Student leadership academy
o Applications are now open (Human and Health Hub)
o Looks at helping you developing your leadership skills
 Going above and beyond normal duties

Aim and Objectives
 Aim – Understand styles of Leadership including Compassionate Leadership
 Objectives:
o To remember and recall leadership styles and major theories
o Apply leaderships traits to leadership theories

Defining Leadership
 Variety of perspectives – evolving
 Most definitions agree that leadership is concerned with a shared aim, vision,
purpose or goal and the ability of the leader to persuade others to work towards this
(Kirkham, 2020).
 Northouse (2018) states that some researches define leadership as a trait or a
behaviour, others from a relational perspectives

Defining Leadership Theory
 A concept to explain how and why certain individuals become leaders
 E.g. Winston Churchill
o Great Wartime leader – then fell out of favour – then re-elected
 ‘Good leadership in nursing is likely to draw on different theories according to the
task at hand’ – Nursing Times
o No simple answer to the complex question of what makes good leadership in
nursing
o Evidence shows that it can have a positive impact on both patient experience
outcomes, and nurse satisfaction and retention
o Different approaches are needed according to what leaders set out to
achieve. One thing is certain: success hinges on good relationships between
leaders and teams – Maxwell, E. (2017), ‘Good Leadership pin Nursing: What
is the most effective approach?’ Nursing Times [online]: 113: 8, 18-21

Clinical Leadership
 Traditional hierarchical structure
 Clinical Leadership – recent term. Facilitating evidence-based practice and improving
patient care at a local level.
 Leadership and management often used synonymously 0 distinct. Management is
mostly about processes. Leadership is mostly about behaviour
 See ABC of Clinical Leadership

Evidence and Rationale


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, SHN169 – Understanding Styles of Leadership


 Francis-Sharma (2016) found that many nursing students interpreted leadership as
referring to a single charismatic leader with natural qualities that enabled them to
lead, rather than comprising a set of skills they could learn and develop as a newly
qualified nurse

Primary Leadership Theories
 The Great Man Theory
o Great man = born leader
 Leaders considered in terms of being a male quality (in particular
military/political leaders)
o Leaders have a number of personal qualities
o Daniel Goleman influenced personal qualities
o Big 5 personality
 Extroversion
 Neuroticism,
 Openness to new experiences
 Conscientiousness,
 Agreeableness
o Personality: extroversion, consciousness, emotional stability, openness,
agreeableness, Myers-Briggs type indicator preferences for extroversion,
intuition thinking and judging
o Some examples:
 Winston Churchill
 Barrack Obama
 Nelson Mandela
 Horatio Nelson
 Ghandi
 The Trait Theory
 The Behavioural Theory
o Leaders are made not born
o Behaviourism
o Actions of a leader
o Learn through teaching and observation
o The opposite of The Great Man Theory
o Behaviour of the Leader – 2 kinds of behaviour
 Task Orientated Behaviour
 Relationship Behaviour (people orientated)
 The Transactional Theory
o Transactional v Transformation
o Exchange that occurs between leaders and followers
o Leadership Style
 Team members agree to obey their leader
 The ‘transaction’ usually involves the organisation paying team
members in return for their effort and compliance
 The leader has a right to punish team members if their word does not
meet an appropriate standard
 Clarifies everyone’s roles and responsibilities
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