Writing Assignment Content

1.

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After reading chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7- Please answer the following questions below. 

As we have learned in chapter 4 [pg 74]:

Since the beginning of time, human beings have sought out companionship. We have a need for human connection and social interaction. We are social by nature. It is well known that babies who are deprived of human contact fail to thrive. Agrawal (2018) suggests that “we were literally born in community attached to someone else” (p. 16). Individuals who are made to feel welcome, acknowledged for their contributions, and invited to participate in decisions that affect them feel a sense of belonging. Clarke tenders that respect, community, and connectedness are all essential for a sense of belonging to exist (Clarke, 2019). Cultivating a sense of belonging allows individuals to feel like their authentic selves without fear of alienation or rejection. Individuals who enjoy their work believe they work closely with someone who cares about them as a person (Mann, 2018). Nurses recognize the importance of belonging and work diligently to foster relationships that are affirming, nurturing, and supportive with patients, colleagues, and the communities in which they live.

In healthcare, individuals are asked to come together and align around a common mission and vision and embrace a set of values aimed at caring for others. We are often asked to set our personal needs aside to focus on meeting the needs of those whom we serve. Yet, there are as many ways of interpreting how best to carry out the mission and values as there are people. Leaders are often challenged to create communities. This chapter offers behaviors, strategies, and novel techniques that nurse leaders can use to foster collegial relationships and promote a feeling of genuine belonging and community.

Chapter 6:

RL is “positive” leadership, grounded in optimism, integrity, building positive emotions, and employee growth and development, a driving force behind nurse engagement and HWE. The links to ethics, positive change, purpose, growth, and social connection are all part of who we are as nurses and nurse leaders. The leader–follower relationship is vital, and the subsequently engaged workforce and healthy practice environment provide the foundation for positive patient outcomes. The Future of Nursing 2020–2030 report (Wakefield et al., 2021) recommends implementing structures and systems to ensure nurses’ health, well-being, and competency in interprofessional teamwork to advance health equity. Relational leaders are well-positioned to influence these imperatives. At times, nonrelational styles may be needed to advance organizational needs.

TL, authentic leadership, and SL are the most frequently studied relationship-based styles found in nursing literature. Transformational leaders are visionary and convincingly communicate that vision to followers. TL practices of modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart can lead to positive staff, patient, and organizational outcomes. Authentic leaders are anchored by inner core values, with attributes of self-awareness, moral courage, balanced processing, and relational transparency. Authentic nurse leadership builds on historical models and adds a domain of altruism with caring, a nursing metaparadigm concept, as an important attribute. AL correlates with HWEs and workforce engagement, which is foundational for positive patient outcomes. Servant leaders put people first, prioritizing and nurturing the needs of followers in their professional development. Through sharing power, SL also produces favorable outcomes and enhances morale. The impact of organizational culture on leadership and outcomes is recognized, as depicted in Figure 6.2.

FIGURE 6.6:

Intersections among transformational, authentic, and servant relational leadership styles.

There are more similarities than differences in these styles (Figure 6.6). All are relationship-based, share power and decision-making, and influence work environment and workforce outcomes. Authenticity and a general sense of high character are shared between AL and SL, as well as self-awareness and caring (in the ANL model). The transformational leader is known for vision and charisma. It is not suggested that a leader should limit oneself to one or the other; characteristics of all styles in this chapter, and those not even covered, may be demonstrated by a leader along the continuum of one’s career. The differences are about what drives the leader—in TL it is the vision for change, in AL/ANL it is values-driven, and in SL it is people first.

Leadership development is a lifelong journey and nurses need to be prepared for leadership roles at every level. Programming based on transactional functions will not develop a leader’s relational competencies. Structured curriculum, peer support, self-reflection, experiential learning, coaching, mentoring, and supportive practice environments are all needed. Leadership learning is recognized as necessary from the core nursing curriculum through advanced practice and into the future of nursing.

For this week’s writing assignment answer the following questions.

Provide a brief description of 
each of the eight various leadership styles outlined in your readings and videos for this week and describe what type of characteristics are associated with each and which healthcare environments each of the 8 would be best suited to.

Make sure to adequately support your discussion with sources. Using the tool located on the following website (see below), answer the questions truthfully and describe 
what type of Leadership the tool identified for you. 

Expand on the leadership style and describe if the tool was accurate in describing your type of leadership style (what Disney character would you be?) and why or why it was not (provide detail and supporting evidence). 

What leadership style or styles do you find essential for nurse leaders, explain your rationale with supporting evidence. Why is leadership style important to nursing leadership? 

https://www.mindtools.com/azr30oh/whats-your-leadership-style

This assignment is to be submitted as an essay- with an introduction, questions developed at the graduate level, and a conclusion to summarize and synthesize key points. APA must be strictly followed. Minimum 4 references should be utilized to validate answers. Please note the grading rubric. The submission should be minimally 4 pages not counting the cover page and references.

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