Analysis of Nursing Leadership and Management Styles

Running Head: Health and Medicine Analysis of Nursing Leadership and Management Styles Name: Institution: Tutor: Date: Nursing Leadership and Management Styles To many people, leadership and management mean the same thing. While it may be true that a leader needs to be a good manager and vice versa, the two terms according to scholars are very much different. Leadership according to Mahoney (2001) is defined as the process of identifying a goal and directing as well as motivating other people to act towards achieving that particular goal. Leaders are thus envisioned as visionary, having plans and strategies and being able to direct other people. As such, leaders should be dynamic, motivating, result-oriented and passionate. Management on the other hand is about tasks and the ability to ensure that they are done effectively (Mahoney, 2001). Nevertheless, the two often go together. There are various nursing leadership and management types. These include transactional leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership and authentic leadership. A transactional leader is more interested in creating a sense of duty for goal achievement in the team with rewards and punishments. A transformational leader is interested in the team itself seeking to reach goals by encouraging teamwork and self-development. Situational leadership changes depending on the situation and as such a good leader is one who is able to effectively adapt to situations and to changing team needs (Mahoney, 2001). According to Mahoney (2001), the best style is the one that borrows from each of these four individual leadership styles. Effective leadership and man...