Final Project Coursework: Transactional Leadership

Leadership theories
Name
Institution
Leadership Theories
Introduction
Leadership is one of the crucial factors that establish whether an organization will succeed or fail. Nurse leaders are constantly called to utilize all their knowledge as well as problem-solving abilities to come up with imaginative solutions to challenges facing the healthcare sector. There are varied leadership theories that the nurse leader can employ in various situations to bring about better outcomes. This is especially true for individuals in DNP programs who are constantly called to put the existing knowledge into practice. Applying the right leadership theories helps the nursing leader to take charge of situations for better institutional, personal, and patient outcomes.
A nursing leader should be able to come up with new solutions to intricate problems and utilize the mind and skill to relate the appropriate theory and concepts. The changing environmental trends in the contemporary world have made nursing leadership a prerequisite. As nursing conditions and the world itself become more intricate, so does the role of being a leader also become complex. To act as a nursing leader calls for the nurse to become familiar with the numerous theories and types of leadership. As a DNP degree holder, I have realized that I do not have to be formally appointed as a leader for me to lead. The major reason for this is because each day presents unique opportunities that call the nurse to apply leadership in order to save the patient’s life. This reality demands that each nurse be fully aware of the various leadership theories that guide the nursing profession (Burke, et al 2006).
Transactional Leadership
One of the leadership theories that are employed in the nursing profession is transactional leadership. This kind of leadership entails giving rewards to others in return for conformity. This kind of leadership is seen as one of the best ways to ensure that there is a positive effect on follower’s contentment and performance (Mahoney, 2001). In most cases, transactional leaders are more concerned with the management tasks and do not easily identify with the shared values of the team. This kind of leadership is more focused on the task and is more useful when there is a deadline to meet. In the nursing profession, transactional leadership is ideal in handling emergencies such as when there is a case of cardiac arrest. This kind of leadership is not the best for nurses in DNP programs like me since it brings about a non-holistic patient care due to its focus on the task that needs to be completed instead of the patient as a whole.
In the world today, most autocratic leaders are individuals that use transactional leadership approach. This kind of leaders are domineering, power minded and are not easy to change their mind once they set their mind to achieve a certain goal. Such kind of leadership demands total obedience, faithfulness and strict devotion to the guidelines. However, this might grow into affection once the followers see the end results. Although autocratic leaders might not be well liked by the team, they usually operate well under them. Research has shown that leaders that are well liked are not as efficient as leaders that are disliked (Grimm, 2010).
Transactional leaders are efficient since they create good structures and define what needs to be done. They offer rewards for conformity but punish disobedience. Such leaders are however abusive and instill fear among the staff and also make decisions without referring to the team. Followers operating under such a leader tend to depend heavily on the leader and are therefore prone to underperforming in the leader’s absence. Although nurses are supposed to be accountable for their actions, the transactional leader takes all the accountability. This transfers all the stress on the leader while the followers operate under no stress. While some transactional leaders intervene in situations before they become problematic, others wait until problems emerge before they can take charge of the situation (Grimm, 2010).
In most cases, poor performance is not addressed in situations where leadership is weak. This gives rise to poor patient outcomes and unacceptable behavior being allowed to take root. While this kind of leadership is common among many nurses, it is not applicable in the DNP programs since under this program nurses work together to bring results to practice. Instead of being set on a single outcome, DNP individuals are keen on working together to establish the practices that can produce the best outcomes. This means that the program has to experiment with different approaches before determining which the best one is. The transactional leader would however find this to be a waste of time since he has a well defined plan that he wants to follow to get a certain outcome (Feather, 2009).
Transformational Leadership Theory
Transformational leaders realize the potential that their followers have but will go a step further to satisfy their higher needs as defined by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In most cases, transformational leaders inspire their followers to stretch beyond the call of duty and function as mentors. Leaders are supposed to be visible role models and empower followers to act as leaders. The major reason for this is because leaders demonstrate the skills needed to create successful relationships with followers in a climate where both leaders and followers strive to meet the institutional goals that are ideal in fulfilling the vision of the entire team (Rolfe, 2011).
In the course of my DNP program, I have been called to apply transformational leadership severally. Even before I joined the DNP program, I witnessed transformational leadership at work. This was in the case where I met a health professional at a workshop who taught me about the DNP program and the potential that it had in changing the nursing profession. Even though I always knew what role and change I needed to bring in the nursing profession, the talk with the health professional left no doubt as to the course that I needed to pursue. This health care professional had turned me into a DNP disciple and from that point onwards I knew that this was the course that I needed to pursue. This is a clear example of transformational leadership at work.
Transformational leaders show a clear, persuasive vision of the future. Such leaders also motivate leaders intellectually, spot personal differences, and help followers to build their strengths. Transformational leaders are responsible for offering inspiration and motivation that is necessary for helping other individuals within the team to follow the team’s vision. Wherever followers feel that their input into the vision is valued, they feel valued and the bond between the leader and the follower is augmented. This motivates the followers to build a sense of ownership of the team’s vision and take the necessary steps towards attaining this objective something that raises morale. Followers gain the motivation to develop their individual leadership expertise (Rolfe, 2011).
Ideally, transformational leadership is ideal in most nursing scenarios as it advocates for the use of the available resources to bring changes into practice. The major objective for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) leaders is to create skills that will enhance the nurses’ capability to lead efficiently through intricate challenges. In the contemporary nursing environment, such challenges include working within lean budgets, coming up with health care policy alterations to help in eradicating health discrepancies as well as enhancing the health care outcomes at all levels of care. Even though DNP individuals employ some other types of leadership in their work, this form of leadership is the most ideal in leading through complex issues that emerge at the workplace (Bassett, & Westmore, 2012).
One thing that I have learnt in my leadership journey for the DNP program is that DNP nurses face unique challenges that call for the need for innovative advances to leadership and change management. At a period of rising complexity, the function of a leader involves far more than bringing in results and ensuring that the numbers tally. To bring about change, DNPs must be able to present a clear purpose and organizational values as well as develop a shared vision, and develop institutions that depend on the skills of communication, partnership and collaboration, in addition to efficient decision making (Bach, & Ellis, 2011). On top of this, DNP leaders like me must be able to procure the engagement of those who are below them.
There are various types of transformational leaders that nurses in the DNP program can emulate. Inspirational motivation is the scenario where leaders persuad...