Nursing is a people-centered profession in which healthy interpersonal relationships and a people-sensitive leadership style are central to achieving the best healthcare outcomes for patients. Of the three leadership styles (democratic, authoritative and laissez-faire), this write up will discuss authoritative style of leadership as exhibited by a nurse leader.
Dunford James is a nurse leader who works at Vitas Hospice as a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). His leadership style is authoritative. Towards this end, he exercises his authority over his subordinates by passing direct orders and directives which the nursing staff members are not allowed to question. He makes all decisions without consulting with his subordinates, or soliciting feedback, even when it is clear that the decisions affect the nursing personnel directly. Moreover, when a member of the nursing team he leads fails to complete a task as directed, he does not give them a chance to explain, but rebukes them immediately in front of other employees.
As a nurse leader, I find James’ leadership style inappropriate. As such, I would not integrate his way of doing things in my leadership, except issuing reasonable instructions and directives. Instead, I would seek my subordinates’ ideas and suggestions prior to making any major decisions, as well as welcome feedback on my directives (Azaare and Gross, 2011, p. 672). As Christmas (2009) and Azaare et al. (2011) note, an authoritative leadership approach is unhealthy in the nursing profession, because it causes discord, and reduces the employee motivation and job satisfaction of nursing subordinate staff, which in turn jeopardizes the nursing care delivery efficiency. The result is poor quality healthcare and patient outcomes (All Nurses, 2012; Landry, 2013). A participatory, democratic leadership should be preferred because it cultivates rapport and trust among the entire nursing personnel, including the nurse leaders, leading to realization of the best healthcare outcomes (Landry, 2013; Azaare et al., 2011).
References
All Nurses. (2012). Nursing Leadership Styles (Part I): Authoritarian Leaders. Retrieved 29
Azaare, J. & Gross, J. (2011). The Nature of Leadership Style in Nursing Management British
Christmas, K. (2009). 2009: The Year of Positive Leadership. Nursing Economics, 27(2): 128-
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Landry, C. A. (2013). Clinical Nurse Leadership and Performance Improvement on Surgical
