Even though management and leadership focus on achieving the goals of an organization, in a sense, both are two different things. While management focuses on the bottom line as how to accomplish the activities of different units in the best way toward achieving the goals of the organization, leadership focuses on the top line which is about having a view about the functioning of the whole organization. In other words, if management is concerned about improving the efficiency in stepping up the ladder of success, leadership is concerned about determining if the ladder is positioned alongside the right wall (Covey, 1989). Even though management and leadership have slightly different roles, future nurses need to have both skills to counter the challenges in healthcare field. For example, to be competent a nurse needs managerial skills to manage the resources available at his or her disposal, both personal and financial, while sticking on to the rules and regulations toward meeting the organizational goals. At the same time, a nurse leader needs to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills besides risk-taking and motivating so as to influence and empower fellow nurses and patients.
I feel that both managerial and leadership skills are equally important for a nurse practitioner. Nursing professionals, on entering service, learn day to day managerial skills which gradually motivate them to develop trusting relationships at the workplace. Self-confidence and a positive attitude about the work and the surroundings graduate them to transformational leaders who motivate fellow team members and influence the patients (Criscitelli, 2013). Many nursing professionals become leaders without any formal training on leadership or higher education: instead, they acquire analytical, conceptual, emotional and spiritual skills to become seasoned leaders. Nursing leaders significantly influence the diverse facets of future nursing and health care including patient outcomes, satisfaction of fellow staff and the monetary status of the organization.
Reference
Covey, S. (1989). The seven habits of highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Criscitelli, T. (2013). Smart Management: Build your staff's leadership skills. Or Nurse, 7(6), 8-11.
