Leadership Theories in Practice: Key Insights on Leadership

Defining Leadership

Needs peer response for the content below: Leadership Theories in Practice There are many definitions one may find on leadership, but I feel leadership is a word that describes specific individuals who have a set of skills to lead a team of people. Leaders bring people together for a common goal needing to be obtained with a vision that they make a reality by empowering and influencing others to help them accomplish it. They build a trusting relationship by supporting others, communicating effectively while really listening to others, and leading by example. They are part of the team they lead to show teamwork. It takes an open-minded, knowledgeable, and motivated person to be in this role and, at times, will not be an easy role to fill as there will be difficulties along the way. Still, a leader can handle anything that arises maturely and professionally. Leadership theories and styles play a part in how well someone leads a team and how healthy a work environment will be. Key Insights on Leadership Leadership Theories Many leadership theories help explain why some individuals become leaders, some more common than others. There is a theory that strong leaders come from watching other strong leaders to another concept that leaders are born with the traits to lead. I found the Great Man theory, also known as the trait theory, a fascinating concept. In this one, it is believed that the skills needed to succeed cannot be learned from others or taught (WGU, 2020). You are just born with the talent to lead. There is controversy on this theory type because if one is born with these traits, they do not need to put in work or effort to get to the leadership role and does not suggest that others who put in the work could become leaders. This theory is compared to the Behavioral theory, where it is believed that leaders are not born; they are made. It is believed that the skills needed to be a leader are learned in some way or another. But either way, a person is incapable of succeeding if they do not relate to their team (Broome & Marshall, 2021), regardless of the theory. Leadership Styles When looking at the impact of leadership behaviors on the work environment, someone's leadership style is big. The style that a leader uses can affect the success of the goals, the environment in which they work, and the team's relationship with each other. Transformational leadership is one of the most common ones seen in organizations. It is based on building trusting relationships, with the main focal point being to motivate and engage others (Collins et al., 2020) to reach a common goal. The other one often seen is the Democratic Leader, who encourages full participation from the team. They keep the line of communication open and rely on the team to contribute to decisions. Success and failures are based on systems instead of an individual (Duquesne University, 2020). Both styles add to making a healthy work environment, and each leader needs to find the style that works best for their organization. Leadership Experiences My current organization's leadership, including my own, as I am the Nurse Coordinator, the overall style used within our practice is the Transformational Leadership style. Our company has a vision and mission to follow, and they do so by continually finding ways to motivate staff to work together and accomplish it. They show loyalty and respect to all the staff, always listen to what we have to say, and encourage us to improve ourselves. Management is never too good to come down to our level to help when needed. They look for ways to meet the agency goals and assist in improving their employees' lives. A few examples are that they offer ten thousand dollars a year on tuition assistance, a large amount of personal time off, and in-house training for free to keep us updated on the latest information. We have an impression system where we get to write notes on a community board to see when someone does well or goes above and beyond. They acknowledge and praise us for all we do. When it comes to my type of style, I tend to use a little of both. I have built strong, trusting relationships to help work on a common goal. Still, I also have open communication with staff and want to hear other nurses' ideas and thoughts regarding some aspects of decision-making. I feel I use a healthy mix in my leadership. The effectiveness of the styles we use, I feel, is excellent. We have a low turnover rate on all staff even though we are nonprofit and not the best pays around. The nurses and clinicians I supervise often come to me and praise me for all I do. Having respect and teamwork in a workplace makes for a smoother workflow and better patient care because we all work together and are there for each other."