A healthcare organization setting is a challenging one. As a result, it demands qualifying leaders that will promote continuous quality improvement and provide patient satisfaction. Effective leadership is the basement of the development and progress of any healthcare establishment. It means that a leader should be ready to have his/her model of behavior, patterns of communication and management style to act in any problematic situation while operating in healthcare setting.
Theories of Influence and Power
Leaders of healthcare organizations should rely on the following approaches of influence and power such as management theory and relationship theory. According to the management theory, there are three major leadership styles: a manager leader, architect leader and visionary leader. A visionary leader should define the further priorities of progress and predict possible challenges in a healthcare organization. It is crucial to administrate healthcare to the diverse population. In the role of the architect, a leader should build an efficient healthcare system that will provide its medical services to everybody. A manager leader should be a part of a team and organize all possible activities for problem-solving. He/she should serve to others as an exemplary leader.
According to the relationship theory of influence and power, a leader should be in good terms with other employees and patients. There are many barriers to maintaining relationships with people who have been diagnosed with mental diseases. For example, there is a lack of understanding when a nurse persuades a patient to take medicine. Some ill people have feelings that medicine can poison them. They have different fears, negative emotions, panic and manic depression. Patients with mental disabilities do not trust doctors and nurses; therefore, it is difficult to keep friendly relationships with them. It is evident that healthcare employees should be good speakers and pick up the necessary words in the similar situations.
The Constructs and Leadership Behaviors
The constructs and leadership behaviors in the healthcare setting are forming under the influence of many factors like the contact with sick people, fostering medical aid, providing qualitative services and promoting equality among diverse employees and patients. Nursing leaders should be socially constructed and sensitive to the political and legal regulations as they can have an impact on the healthcare organization. Leadership in healthcare organizations demands fostering culture, quality, and provision of services corresponding to patients’ needs, availability of human, financial and technological resources and high performance (Alldredge, Johnson, Stoltzfus, & Vicere, 2003).
One becomes a leader through the development of personal and professional qualities for fulfilling general priorities and objectives. After the integration of a leader in the healthcare setting, he/she can see the cooperation, team spirit, and creativity. The contribution of the healthcare leader should rely upon implementing community-based treatment strategies, as well as advocacy activities that benefit sick and poor people and development of healthcare organizations, in general.
Leadership behaviors are related to showing constant desire for learning and developing, motivating (stimulating, encouraging, and inspiring) and struggling with obstacles and difficulties. A healthcare leader should not be afraid of obstacles and difficulties, as he/she always finds the ways of overcoming them. He/she should also address the potential to fighting against discrimination of AIDS and poor people in healthcare environment. The main principles of healthcare leader are fairness and equality in relation to every patient.
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The Effectiveness of the Theories in a Health Organization Setting
The management and relationship theories of power and influence can be efficient in a health organization setting. However, it depends on the healthcare organization and a leader who runs a company. The management theory fosters good quality. However, to provide this, one demands the financial aid. The management theory also presupposes the increase of the numbers of healthcare organizations and nurses. The efficiency and usefulness of this approach can be achieved through learning and training. Improving the quality of care also depends on nurses and attitude to their job. Healthcare will be good only in case when it will avoid harm, follow moral duties and obligations, and assess the consequences of actions, respect patients’ beliefs and values. All nurses should work in a way to be able to help their patients and not bring harm to them (Alldredge, Johnson, Stoltzfus & Vicere, 2003).
The relationship theory can be efficient only if the healthcare employees will be in good terms with each other and patients. In order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings in nursing, one should communicate effectively. The primary attention should be paid to relationships between patients, nurses, caregivers and co-workers. Communication techniques will be effective for nursing only in case there is an interpersonal connection between people. There are two communication styles in nursing: biopsychosocial and biomedical. The biopsychosocial style is a patient-centered communication that has an impact on patient outcomes. The biomedical style gives specific information about patient’s condition. Both styles prove that communication and interpersonal relations are the key concepts of nursing practice.
Quality Leader Communication
Communication is one of the ways to find a common language with patients and satisfy their individual needs. The purpose of a healthcare leader is to help and take care. Communication develops mutual understanding and trust between a healthcare leader, patients and employees. For example, telling the truth to a patient is always a hard thing to do. However, it does not mean that nurses should keep silent; they should communicate with patients, in order to support them and show that nurses are not indifferent to patients’ health issues. The role of a good leader is to encourage his/her employee staff to communication and right decision-making process. Communication is realized with the help of interaction with patients, reporting on diseases, and assessing the consequences of actions. A good leader uses these aspects not only for statistics but for avoiding the possible failures in future.
A good leader should always assess the results of his/her activity and think in advance about the bad consequences. In assessing the consequences of actions, the main role belongs to communication. Healthcare leader should be autonomous, free, and self-determining. He should not be influenced by the patients and employees. Autonomy means freedom from interference of other people, but they should be always open for communication and interpersonal relations. Running people presupposes taking into consideration other people’s interests, but this does not mean that one should forget about his/her own. An employee does not demand from a leader to devote too much time to communication, but a polite short conversation can show sympathy and care. It is evident that choosing any kind of communication one should use it for developing of a good quality of care (Alldredge et al., 2003).
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that healthcare leadership has its peculiarities. Leadership is based upon such approaches as management and relationships. According to the management theory, there are three major leadership styles: a manager leader, architect leader and visionary leader. According to the relationship theory of influence and power, a leader should be in good terms with other employees and patients. The role of a leader presupposes the development of personal and professional qualities for fulfilling general priorities and objectives. The efficiency of both approaches of power and influence depend on the healthcare organization and leader. Communication is a key quality of a healthcare leader, as it determines the relationships with employees and patients.