Nursing
<Student>
Abstract
While it is obvious that various cultures and even various groups of people may have different concepts of justice and the way it is exercised, there is probably no such thing as the universally accepted concept of justice. Nevertheless, people tend to respect those who stick to the vision of right and wrong, that is shared by the vast majority of the group. If someone tends to violate those principles, he or she deserves criticism or even punishment. On the other hand, a person who knows, understands and accepts the rules of the game, deserves respect and recognition. A wise leader knows the rules that are in play, and does not hesitate to demonstrate that no one, including him or herself, is above the law. This form of behavior cannot be imitated, as people happen to be very sensitive about such things, and corruption of principles results in the loss of trust for that person (Lawton et al., p. 645) . As a consequence, a proper leader can easily demonstrate all the respective honesty in the decision making process, as he or she does not have anything to hide or cover up for anyone within the group.
Ethics have always been an integral part of proper leadership. Unethical management can easily turn into dictatorship, serving the interests of the few, but disregarding the common good. This is the reason why an individual who chooses to be a leader in any aspect of activities, be it public service, business or healthcare, has to develop understanding of the ethical backbone of his or her activities, and stick to it (Johnson, p. 13).
While there are various kinds of ethical principles of leadership, most often they are separated into five major groups (Shin et al., p. 48):
Respect for others;
Service for others;
Showing justice in action;
Manifestation of honesty;
Bulding up a community.
While it might be tempting to take just two of the mentioned elements of the ethical code of a leader and apply them to a certain situation in nursing, it would be more effective to separate them into two distinctive groups – internal principles (just and honest behavior) and external ones (those oriented at the served community). Each of the two stem principles require a more detailed explanation, both of general and professional nature.
Internal principles are a reflection of the person’s own moral code which may allow him or her to become an effective and respected leader. External principles are the extension of inner code and demonstrate the practical result of leadership role and respective behavior (Demirtas et al., p. 61).
Application of ethical principles to leadership
In order to comprehend the ethos of leadership, it would be better to srart with the internal principles, as it is commonly acknoledged that power to win comes from within.
While it is obvious that various cultures and even various groups of people may have different concepts of justice and the way it is exercised, there is probably no such thing as the universally accepted concept of justice. Nevertheless, people tend to respect those who stick to the vision of right and wrong, that is shared by the vast majority of the group. If someone tends to violate those principles, he or she deserves criticism or even punishment. On the other hand, a person who knows, understands and accepts the rules of the game, deserves respect and recognition. A wise leader knows the rules that are in play, and does not hesitate to demonstrate that no one, including him or herself, is above the law. This form of behavior cannot be imitated, as people happen to be very sensitive about such things, and corruption of principles results in the loss of trust for that person (Lawton et al., p. 645) . As a consequence, a proper leader can easily demonstrate all the respective honesty in the decision making process, as he or she does not have anything to hide or cover up for anyone within the group. On the opposite, the higher the status of the leader and other high-ranking members of the group, the more important it is to stick to the principle of justice and honesty. In any culture, in any society leadership position is always assessed through the magnifying glass of the public control.
External principles include service and respect for others, as well as the building up the community. There is no need in a leader who only cares about keeping his or her position, instead of making society a better place. A responsible, reasonable leader tends to leave the organization in a better shape than he or she received it. Strengthening formal and informal connections, enhancing the material base, increasing the professionalism of employees- these are merely a few examples of how a proper leader may contribute to the common good.
Ethics and leadership concerns
While it is natural for a decent leader to question his or her effectiveness and usefulness to the community, ethical principles are capable of resolving the possible concerns and provide a well-balanced assessment and feedback mechanism.
If a leader is concerned about legitimacy of his or her position and desires to realize whether the actions and plans are in compliance with ethics, he or she needs to address to the concepts of justice and honesty that are commonly applied within the target group. In case if there are certain fluctuations of public opinion, the leader can refer to the moral code as a justification of respective actions. The extent of honesty that would be appropriate in a given situation, may also be determined based on the behavioral code within the group, as well as past precedents.
It is not enough, however, to stick to the purely theoretical ethics, as any leader is dealing with a challenging and ever-changing process, and decisions and measures need to be in the best interest of the people that depend on the leader. Serving and helping others, building up the community would not be possible without the ability of listening to the opinion of all the stakeholders, and modifying behavior and leadership style, respectively.
Both internal and external ethical principles of leadership, if used properly, allow to create a complex, yet efficient, system of checks and balances, which help a leader to realize his or her potential to the fullest extent.
Incorporation of ethical principles into own leadership style
It is beyond any doubt that ethics are extremely important in medicine in general and in nursing, in particular. Leadership in this field is far from following a set of formal duties and routines, as nursing involves coordination of efforts among various groups of stakeholders, including but not limited to doctors, administrators, patients, community members, governmental representatives etc (Blais, p. 44).
Internal ethical princiles of leadership in nursing are directly relevent to both official and unwritten guidelines. There are official rules, do’s and don’ts, description of all major and minor procedures and emergencies. Apart from that, there are traditional values of nursing that have been shaped throughout centuries, side by side with the evolution of the Western medicine. Finally, there are universal concepts of good and evil, of right and wrong, of truth and deception, that every qualified nursing professional needs to comprehend.
Nursing involves a wide range of professional and social duties (Makaroff et al., p. 17). While many routines have been recently replaced by automated labour, a nurse is not merely a mute assistant. He or she is a light of hope for the patients, the human factor in a better meaning. Humanity, cordial participation in patients’ lives, concern about their well-being – all these factors, apart from mere execution of medical duties, contribute to helping and serving others. The community depends on nurses in the most direct and straightforward manner, so the factor of service and building up the community are not merely figures of speech. In case of nursing, this is the objective reality.
There is a certain discrepancy between formal and genuine leadership in nursing. The former may be a result of a hierarchical structure or official orders from above. It involves compliance with official regulations, and the key performance indicators n this case would be deriving from the ability of the administrator to follow the letter of the rules. True leadership, however, may and normally does include elements of formal adherence to rules, yet it involves a far more complex and fragile concept of human relations. There is always a balance of interests that needs to be maintained, as a proper nurse never serves just a formal employer. He or she serves the people, the given community and the society in general. Without a human factor, a transparent and understandable principles of ethican nature, it is merely impossible.
References:
Johnson, C. E. (2013). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Sage Publications.
Shin, Y., Sung, S. Y., Choi, J. N., & Kim, M. S. (2015). Top management ethical leadership and firm performance: Mediating role of ethical and procedural justice climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(1), 43-57.
Demirtas, O., & Akdogan, A. A. (2015). The effect of ethical leadership behavior on ethical climate, turnover intention, and affective commitment. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(1), 59-67.
Lawton, A., & Páez, I. (2015). Developing a framework for ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(3), 639-649.
Blais, K. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson.
Makaroff, K. S., Storch, J., Pauly, B., & Newton, L. (2014). Searching for ethical leadership in nursing. Nursing ethics, 0969733013513213.
