Leadership Practice

Part 1: After completing the reading in Northouse and Huber, and viewing the leadership PPT Part II, answer the following questions:
1. Reflect on your own leadership style, ability, and skills.
Leadership has got to do with the ability of an individual to influence others and provide direction. Leadership does not have an assigned definition – meaning that there are many definitions of leadership. In essence, leadership could be a trait, ability, skill, behavior, relationship, or a process of influence. There are many leadership styles and skills a leader could project. In my opinion, I could be a good leader because in addition to having good communication skills, I possess the ability to inspire and motivate others. I am also a good listener, honest, respectful, confident, and proactive. I am convinced I would treat everyone equally and listen to other people’s opinions before making decisions. In seeking to provide guidance and direction to my staff, I intend to be accessible to my staff via the adoption of an open door policy. I am of the opinion that to be an effective leader, I will need to develop the relevant leadership abilities through hard work and the involvement of all. If and when I assume a leadership position, I would want my staff to be involved in the entire decision making process. This is a move that would further enhance my relationship with staff members.
I am most compatible with the democratic leadership style. Democratic leaders give credit to followers for participating in various efforts in a collaborative setting. It deems all participants as equals and has no specific reference to seniority. Democratic leaders try to guide followers and give suggestions without necessarily giving orders. They ensure everyone’s opinion is accounted for. Further, they listen to followers and promote communication between groups. It is also important to note that democratic leaders also attempt to advance member satisfaction and commitment, while at the same time ensuring a friendly work environment and involving members in group decisions (Northouse, 2018). According to Fiaz et al. (2017), democratic leaders focus more on people and interaction within groups. Leadership functions are shared with more than one person in the group. The principles of democratic leadership are inclusive of friendliness and helpfulness. Democratic leaders rely on group decision making and member involvement. They attempt to involve all members of the team in deliberations.
2. In two to three paragraphs, identify the qualities or traits you believe an effective leader possesses; comment on those qualities/traits that you have.
To be an effective leader, some of the traits one must have include integrity and confidence. Being a confident leader is of great relevance. This is more so the case given that you would want followers to have the confidence to accomplish their goals. Followers perform best when led by a leader who does not second-guess himself. Having confidence is inclusive of being reasonably certain of your success.
The leadership traits that I possess are confidence and integrity. For instance, whenever I make a decision about giving a vaccine to a patient, I do not second-guess myself. I always check and recheck the relevant details so as to ensure I’m giving the right vaccine. I’m always confident when engaging parents on the need and relevance of vaccines. Further, I always review the chart beforehand so I know what a child needs.
Yet another trait I possess is integrity. This effectively means I’m always honest and trustworthy. I take full responsibility for my actions. Staff members can trust what I say because I always make follow-ups. I am also loyal and dependable. I ensure that staff members are aware they can trust me as this happens to be an excellent relationship builder. According to Dempsey et al. (2016), having trust and empathy are important in the work environment. Trust builds integrity, loyalty, and responsibility between staff members. Consistency and empowerment help build trust between colleagues. Leaders who show empathy for patients and caregivers promote respectful and considerate treatment in all engagements. In essence, “this empathy and trust for each other and the organization must be embedded within the culture of the organization for it to be tangible in the care for patients” (Dempsey et al., 2016).
3. Do you believe in the traits model that says leadership traits are innate and not developed, or do you feel the process/skills models where a leader develops their competencies over time and with experience is a better model of leadership?
I believe leadership skills are developed over time and through diverse experiences. Skills could be learnt by taking the relevant classes, via practice and experience, or from on-the-job learning. In basic terms, a person can become a good leader from learning, teaching, and observing. According to Dyess (2016), if young nurses lack guidance and coaching, they may not partake in leadership roles as a consequence of their lack of proper exposure. Towards this end, they could end up being convinced that leadership roles are not based on their personal values and beliefs. Thus, “the future of nursing leadership could be in jeopardy if their decision is to just say no” (Dyess et al., 2016).
4. Comment on the three domains of leadership skills (administrative, interpersonal, and conceptual); which do you feel is most important to effective leadership, and why?
There are three domains of leadership skills. These include administrative, interpersonal, and conceptual. Administrative skills help a leader accomplish important aspects of leadership. This is to say that administrative skills carry out organizational purposes and goals. They comprise of four different sets that are divided into three skills: managing people, showing technical competence, and managing resources. The next domain, i.e. interpersonal skills, is inclusive of people skills which are the abilities that help a leader work with peers and followers. Interpersonal skills are divided into three parts: showing emotional intelligence, managing conflicts, and being socially perceptive. The last domain is conceptual skills, which has got to do with working with concepts and ideas. Conceptual skills involve cognitive thinking. The skills for leaders on this front can be decided into three parts: creating a vision, strategic planning, and problem solving.
I am of the opinion that the most important domain of leadership skills to have is conceptual skills. This is more so the case given that a leader with these skills is able to communicate ideas and learn how to solve problems. Problem solving skills are of great relevance for a leader. Leaders should be able to identity the problem, generate an alternative solution, select the best solution, and then implement the best solution. Also, a leader should have good strategic planning abilities so as to achieve the relevant goals. According to Van Graan et al. (2017), nurses need to have the knowledge, skill, attitude, and values to demonstrate competency. As the authors further point out, “the conceptual framework emphasized knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which enhance higher order thinking skills through the interplay between the learning facilitator, the nursing student and the clinical nursing environment, including the patient as the context” (Van Graan et al., 2017).
Part 2: After viewing the video on The Biggest Mistake a Leader Makes, answer the following questions:
1. Identify what you believe are the one to two biggest mistakes made by a leader, and state why.
I think the two biggest mistakes a leader can make is betraying his or her follower’s trust and not being self-reflective. As a leader, it is important to review your own behavior, learn how to develop yourself, and assess how your behavior affects others. Towards this end, you ought to assess what effect your leadership approach has on others and attempt to make the relevant modifications. The worst leaders make mistakes and do not look back. Not learning how to fix your mistakes or become a better leader can affect others. As a leader, it is important to cultivate honesty if you want staff members to trust you. Trust enhances loyalty and dependability. A nurse would not want a leader who is not trustworthy and cannot follow-up on promises.
2. In two paragraphs, discuss one or two of the mistakes and refer to specific examples.
The biggest mistake a leader can make is betraying trust. An example in this case would be when Bill Clinton lied under oath and maintained he did not have an affair with Monica Lewinsky. He was impeached by the House of Representatives and later on acquitted. The president severally appeared on national television during the ordeal and continued to proclaim his innocence. Americans felt that the president had violated his responsibility as a leader when it was revealed that he might have lied when he gave his speech on television. Clinton’s integrity as a leader was in tatters.
Part 3: Specific requirements for this paper.
1. Your final paper should be between 500–750 words in length.
2. Follow APA 6th edition for style requirements. Ensure that citations and references are in correct format.
3. Cite at least two leadership references in your responses. Make sure your citations were published within the past five years, and use peer-reviewed scholarly articles.




References
Dempsey, C. & Reilly, B. (2016). Nurse Engagement: What are the Contributing Factors to Success? The Online Journal Issues of Nursing, 21(1).
Dyess, S., Sherman, R., Pratt, B. & Chiang-Hanisko, L. (2016). Growing Nurse Leader: Their Perspectives on Nursing Leadership and Today’s Practice Environment. The Online Journal Issues of Nursing, 21(1).
Fiaz, M., Qin, S., Ikram, A. & Saquib, A. (2017). Leadership Styles and Employees’ Motivation: Perspective from an Emerging Economy. Journal of Developing Areas, 51(4), 143-156.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (4th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
Van Graan, A., & Williams, M. (2017). A Conceptual Framework to Facilitate Clinical Judgement in Nursing: A Methodological Perspective. Health SA Gesondheid, 22, 275-290.