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Running Head: THE TRANSFORMATIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE LEADER 1

The Transformational and Collaborative Leader

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 400 Nursing Leadership

Reneé Smallwood

Spring 2018
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE LEADER 2

The Transformational and Collaborative Leader

As with every career, strong leadership and management are vital. Excellent management

and leadership set the stage for whether a company succeeds or fails. Communication amongst

all relationships in nursing is likewise imperative. “The power of effective nursing care is

strengthened and enriched by good communication” (Sheldon, Barret, & Ellington, 2006). Team

management and building, understanding staffing needs, a nurturing personality, trust, strong

critical thinking skills, clinical, organizational and delegating skills, in addition to many other

vital aspects produce a strong nursing team. Active managers and leaders enhance lifelong

learning and improvement goals. They can play the role of not just a leader or manager, but also

a mentor and coach all at the same time. The collaborative and transformational leader enhances

overall care for patients, which stems from a solid knowledge base and strong leadership.

I am considered a leader by many people and through integrity, the need to perfect my

job, and my strong personality, have allowed me to be placed in leading positions. This leading

position allows others to look to me for guidance. I have excellent organizational skills, love

people, naturally work as a team player and believe there is power in numbers. I think the best

outcomes result from a collection of people coming together, brainstorming and attacking a task

through different roles.

When given the opportunity to become a nurse leader, I will base my leading theories on

that of a transformational and collaborative leader. As with all leadership styles, one must always

integrate teamwork, but as a collaborative leader I will not deem it necessary to emphasize a

hierarchy, but instead recognize and step in when the leader must assume actual direction like in

emergencies or when staff is falling below their level of expectations. “Transformational leaders

stimulate their subordinates to share a vision and use goals as inspirational motivation” (Lin,
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MacLennan, Hunt, & Cox, 2015). With this, I will promote growth and a high standard of care

through the idea of working towards an ever-changing goal for success including huddle

communication boards where goals are addressed and targeted daily. “By applying

transformational leadership, leaders can confidently deal with a complex and rapidly changing

working environment” (Lin et al., 2015). I plan to create workshops and competency skill

assessments to build on teamwork and effective autonomy. I plan to organize small groups of

same level nurses who come together monthly to constructively criticize each other, an essential

part of growth as a nurse. To ensure the lines of communication are open and comfortable,

regular and as needed discussions will be held allowing staff to feel more comfortable coming to

me with concerns. Communication is critical in collaborating with other nurses in management

and healthcare administrators.

With the understanding I am the link between the nurse and administrator; the needs and

desires, opinions, and perspectives of the nursing team will be met and defended when

appropriate. This is a vital aspect because, “ administrative support is needed to access the

resources, provide the support personnel, and sanction the necessary changes in policy,

procedures, and practices” ( Marquis & Huston, 2009).

To maintain quality skills and relate to the nursing team my goal is to remain

knowledgeable, and a physical expert at the tasks and duties set forth by the job, without

engaging in micromanaging or dictating that will negatively affect the entire team. Incorporating

these changes at all times will enable me to master specific management skills such as strategy,

action, organizational justice, character, and development of lifelong learning and others.

A significant role that nurses, whether they practice on the floor or are in management, is

that of a patient advocate. With the expectation to handle patient complaints about unsatisfactory
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situations, the exchange of information, feelings, and concerns is vitally important in therapeutic

relationships in health care” (Germain & Cummings, 2010). Now, people skills with the ability

to maintain professionalism, empathize, relate, listen, and problem-solve are important. I will

listen to my patients and ensure that their issues are handled accordingly as well as advocate for

my nurses as I am their voice of reason in discussions and in if a situation was to occur. As I

prepare for the world of leadership, I look to words such as trustworthiness, team-work, growth,

and change. “Nursing managers and leaders may enhance their nurses’ performance by

understanding and addressing the factors that affect their ability and motivation to perform”

(Germain & Cummings, 2010).

The roles of managers and leaders are very similar, yet different. One significant

difference is a leader possesses the adjective tense of the word versus being in a position. Their

authority comes from the ability to lead and organize their team while maintaining a level of

respect and concern for others. According to Finkelman, “nurse leaders do not even have to be in

formal “management positions” with management titles” (2016). Key traits include the ability to

be persuasive and convincing to other nurses, to make changes, and improve care to name a few.

These characteristics influence others to get the job done by the nurse in management who is not

a leader.

Leaders ask questions that promote change and upward mobility, take necessary risks

needed to accomplish a goal or task and take whatever steps needed to improve care and work

production. Leaders tend to build a relationship with their team by celebrating their work and

showing appreciation for the roles that they play. “Both formal and informal leaders are

important to the profession and to healthcare delivery” (Finkelman, 2016). A leader is always a

leader with or without the title. “There is no doubt that managers are different in not only what
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they do, but also in how they do their work in the authority they hold” (Finkelman, 2016). Most

managers are in their current positions due to credentials only.

The science of improvement is “an applied science that emphasizes innovation, rapid-cycle

testing in the field, and spread to generate learning about what changes, in which contexts,

produce, improvements” (Finkelman, 2016). The quality of healthcare provided is paramount to

the health systems reputation and patient-trust relationship, but also important to the patients’

health and experience at a compromising time in their lives. Nurses are vital to the

implementation and standard of high-quality care. “Nurse performance is vital to quality patient

care outcomes, and nursing leadership behaviors have been linked to nursing performance”

(Germain & Cummings, 2010). Staff nurses provide most of the bedside care and interaction

with patients, and it is the impression that they often leave that sets the tone of their experience

while in care.

Change is essential to success in every industry. As the world evolves, certain adjustments

should be made to remain in compliance with the demands and expectations of healthcare, as it is

one of the major systems that affect human existence and health. “Change has become the norm

for all healthcare providers…” (Finkelman, 2016). Encouraging strong bedside nursing is a

significant key to patient advocacy.

Nursing is a rewarding and highly-demanded profession. Nurses hold matters of life and

death in their hands. At times nurses find themselves being mothers and fathers, friends,

counselors, caretakers, mentors, as well as their already set-out roles of being a healthcare

provider. Nurse and client relationships are built on trust, empathy, and quality care and one may

say the same about nurse/manager relationships. “The quality of the decisions that leaders-

managers make is the factor that often weighs heavily on their success or failure” (Marquis &
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Huston, 2009). Active and successful leadership and management set the tone in a healthcare

setting.

The ability to lead has the potential to build dependable, caring, cooperative, and well-

informed nurses with a variety of leadership and management styles today. It was once believed

that a person is born a leader or with leadership skills compared to being taught or trained.

“There is greater emphasis on engagement of staff, teams, communication and collaboration, and

the work environment and organizational culture” (Finkelman, 2016). With the help of

Finkelman, four stages helped develop the leadership theories known currently like those of the

transformational and collaborative leadership theory that I plan to instill and carry with me as I

grow as a nurse.
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References

Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality

care. (3 ed.). Pearson.

Germain, B., & Cummings, G. (2010, May 18). The influence of nursing leadership on nurse

performance: a systematic literature review. Journal of Nursing Management, 4, 425-439.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01100.x.

Lin, P.-Y., Maclennan, S. J., Hunt, N., & Cox, T. (2015). The influences of nursing

transformational leadership style on the quality of nurses' working lives in Taiwan: A

cross-sectional quantitative study. BMC Nursing, 14-33. doi:10.1186/s12912-015-0082-x

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:

Theory and Application (6 ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Lippincott Williams &

Wilkins.

Sheldon, L. K., Barrett, R., & Ellington, L. (2006). Difficult communication in nursing. Journal

of Nursing Scholarship, 38(2), 141-147. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2006.00091.x

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