Kaylee King

Sandi Lane
HCM 4630
11 September 2015

Leadership Theories, Models, and Styles

Its not how I can always do this right thing myself, but can I
provide for this right thing to always be done. Florance Nightingale is
an inspirational leader with many attributes and qualities that I inspire
to be like myself as a leader. But she didnt become that great leader
overnight. Achieving good leadership is more of a journey then a
destination and even though I may not have much experience to be a
great leader right now, I know the leader I want to become. My fervent
passion for people and humble personality have lead me to believe
that the servant leadership theory, transformational theory and
situational theory will be most useful in shaping me as healthcare
leader.
Leading others effectively and efficiently is a big responsibility,
especially in the fast paced healthcare industry today. To become the
well-respected and proficient leader I hope to, will require me to show
unconditional selflessness concern for others as well as be willing to
serve. The servant leadership theory aligns closely with these qualities
and has become a popular model amid leaders in the healthcare field.

Servant leadership is meant to replace command and control models

and focus on the needs of the employees.
Servant leadership was first manifested by Robert Greenlead in
1970. The theory states that leaders put their followers first and there
selves last, which was very different from the traditional autocratic
styles so prevalent at the time (Parris). Today many leaders have
adopted the servant style placing an importance on the growth and
well being of the people.
I want my colleagues to understand that I am just as devoted to
them as I am to the company. Being a servant leader is imperative to
me because I want others to understand I am more than my title in
that I want to do more than just lead, I want to serve. Following a
servant leadership model will help me hold myself up to high standards
as it demands one to think harder about how to respect, value and
motivate those reporting to them.
Leaders that are servants also tend to lead by example and
ensure their followers that they have not forgotten what it was like to
be in a lower position. Actively demonstrating beliefs and visions
instead of just talking about it will get the attention and respect of
others. Servant leaders also strive to build a sense of community and
share powers.
Research has shown that servant leaders are said to be effective
and yield high performance in the workforce (Parris). Followers feel as

if they are looked after and in return will strive to perform their best.
Creating environments where employees are happy will ultimately
drive customer satisfaction up, which is a primary goal in the
healthcare industry. Favorable employee and customer outcomes are
not solely a product of servant leaders though, as they are also a result
among the transformational leadership theory.
Transformational leadership styles favor the servant leadership in
many ways, but also brings forth other components, making it a nice
balance between the two. This theory was first brought to life by the
author James Burns. Transformational leadership has four basic ideas
for a successful leader, which are idealized influence, inspirational
motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration
(Dixon). These components focus on the importance of investing in
workers to motivate them to perform. I like this concept a lot about
the theory because it will require me to really understand my followers
strengths and weaknesses. And then from that I can align appropriate
tasks with suitable employees to enhance their performance.
Another component of the theory I am an advocate for is that it
allows for the followers to stimulate their intellectual abilities Leaders
encourage opportunities that require their followers to learn new
things. In doing so the workers wont get bored of repetitious tasks,
which could result in them yearning for a new job. A transformational
leader also articulates a clear vision to the workers and inspires them

to become just as passionate as they are about it (Dixon). But they also
encourage followers to be creative and share their own ideas and
vision for the company, fostering supportive relationships among the
team.
Transformational leadership ultimately transforms the
organization and cultivates a proactive work environment. Followers
will inspire to go above and beyond their responsibilities leaving a
long-term imprint on the company (Wheatley). Transformational
leaders have high expectations for their workers but with adequate
support and encouragement employees well exceed expectancies,
yielding positive outcomes. The transformational leadership theory
shows a strong correlation with empowered and self-guided staff, which
is exactly the kind of people I want to have working for me. Of course
everyone is different and will present diverse needs and skills, in which
a good leader will be able to adapt leading me into another useful
style, the situational leadership theory.
The situational leadership theory, developed by Paul Hersey and
Ken Blanchard, proves that leaders can adapt their leadership styles
based on the followers needs and capabilities and conduct efficient
outcomes based on situational context (Keenan). Much like the
servant and transformational leaders, situational leaders will support
their staff to help them grow and mature.

The model consists of four styles, which are telling, selling,

participating, and delegating. Telling entails specifically directing
people who may lack the skills to achieve a task, and/or the maturity to
handle it. Moving to selling, the leader will sell the idea and give the
follower the independence to achieve the idea in a way he/she sees
fitting, depending on their level of persuasion (Keenan). The third style
is participating, which is where the leader shares their vision and then
gives individuals the opportunity to voice their opinion about it. The
last style is delegating, where the leader completely trusts an
individual to carry out a delegated tasks without much instruction,
leaving it in their hands to figure out how to best achieve it.
I like the situational model because there is no one size fits all
approach. Every situation is different and it takes a good leader to
identify the most appropriate style, from those mentioned previously,
that will be an appropriate fit for a given circumstance. Leaders must
also consider two important factors when utilizing the situational
theory, based on followers maturity levels, and that is relationship
behaviors in comparison to task behaviors. Once it is clear where each
person lies on the model, for instance low task but high relationship
behaviors, the leader can decide on how to better handle a situation,
such as use a participative style in this example.
This style will be very useful to me as a healthcare leader
because every situation and person is different. No amount of

schooling can prepare me for every situation I will eventually face in

the healthcare field. Having this model to go off of will give me
guidance to ensure an appropriate leadership style is utilized,
depending on an individuals maturity level, capabilities and skill level.
The situational leadership theory along with transformational and
servant leadership theory are all practiced in healthcare industries
across America today. One CEO in particular focused his organization
around the transformational leadership approach and has proved great
success from it.
George Barrett is the chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health,
which is a fortune 500 health care service company based out of Ohio.
The company specializes in distribution of pharmaceuticals and
medical products where they serve over 100,00 locations (Crockett,).
George was promoted to CEO in 2009 and cultivated his company
through transformational leadership practices. It is important to him
that he has a team that can execute day-to-day tasks, but also look to
the future making sure they are prepared and know how to handle
change and stay competitive. He focuses on all four of the
components of transformational leadership as he expects a lot of his
staff but encourages them to work as a team and contribute their own
ideas and visions. His transformational leadership style has resulted in
happy employees and a successful business, as Cardinal Health is $100
billion company!

Everyone has his or her own ideas about what it means to be a

leader. For me the best approaches to becoming a successful leader
involves utilizing the servant leadership theory, the transformational
leadership theory and the situational theory. I stand behind the belief
that having a noble and motivating attitude will get you far in life, and
these three theories agree with me. I realize I have a lot more to learn
before I can become CEO of a multi billion-dollar company, but I know I
am on the right path!

References
Crockett, Roger. "Leadership: Healthcare CEO on Transformational
Leadership." Roger Crockett Corporate Leadership Mobile
Technology Blog RSS. N.p., 14 June 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.
Dixon, Diane L. "The Balanced CEO: A Transformational Leader and a
Capable
Manager." The Healthcare Forum journal 41.2 (1998): 26-9.
ProQuest. Web.
10 Sep. 2015.
Keenan, Mary J., et al. "Situational Leadership for Collaboration in
Health Care
Settings." The Health care supervisor 8.3 (1990): 19. ProQuest.
Web. 10 Sep.
2015.
Parris, Denise Linda, and Jon Welty Peachey. "A Systematic Literature
Review of Servant Leadership Theory in Organizational Contexts."
Journal of Business Ethics 113.3 (2013): 377-93. ProQuest. Web. 10
Sep. 2015.
Wheatley, Bernard A. "Leadership Styles of Healthcare Executives:
Comparisons of
Transformational, Transactional, and Passive-Avoidant Styles."
Order No.

3425264 Northcentral University, 2010. Ann Arbor: ProQuest.

Web. 10 Sep.
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