Leadership in Nursing

There is a great deal of concepts that people working together must learn to abide by. Leadership and management are one of the many. Although they may sound relatively similar, they differ from one another in many ways. Leadership exerts more of an idea of authority and using influence to affect others, while management refers to being able to control situations in a general aspect. Leadership is having the ability to influence others and enabling them to do well. Management, on the other hand, is in charge of getting everything together and organizing. 

Although the two concepts seem similar yet unique in their own ways, there are situations where they come together and are used effectively still. The two concepts overlap in areas such as giving advice or orders in where a situation should be headed, or specific actions that one should take. Management may also help feed their opinion and provide influence the way a leader might, but it would be aimed towards keeping everything organized and strategic, since their goal is to direct and control. Management will use their control through expressing specific commands that need to be done.

Leaders may not be as direct as management but may exert just as much control through their actions seen and their words heard through helping others and getting their own work done. Leaders and management are essential in a workplace in order to effectively carry on with day-to-day activities. Leaders must learn to act and think very quickly, and most of the time, on the spot. According to Glenn Llopis’ article, “The Most Successful Leaders Do 15 Things Automatically, Every Day”, “…leaders can make several important decisions about an issue in the time it takes others to understand the question.” Leaders must be able to think about their next steps before others can even comprehend how to answer the question given. They might also experience more pressure because they know that their followers will be looking up to them, or simply looking to them for their next steps.

I believe that in any position, influence can be shown and followed, whether it is in a good or bad way. Naturally, people who work together mostly try to work peacefully and positively together, creating a comfortable environment for everybody. As a nurse leader, I do believe that professional development will help me to expand my influence in order to create change by taking advantage of the leadership-management overlap. Influence can be shown through different words and actions, and can work very effectively, either positively or negatively in the environment around you. According to Carlin Flora’s article, “The Art of Influence”, “Whether you’re lodging a complaint or trying to change the world, begin by considering the impact of your goal on someone- or some cause- beyond you.” The first step of executing any plan is to first have a plan. If I wanted to influence the nurses at work, I would first think about what specific goal I would intend to set for them, and how I would go about actively pursuing it. For example, I wanted the nurses to work harder, and with more passion in their daily activities instead of trudging around with an exhausted or bored look drawn across their faces. By taking advantage of the overlap of management and leadership, I would use the influence and authoritative feel of leadership, while also portraying control through management, and combine those in meetings and in my own daily work so that the nurses would be able to catch on and improve their work effectively.

Everybody holds their own position in the workplace, and although everybody’s job my differ from the next person, an effective environment wouldn’t exist if everybody wasn’t doing what was expected of them.  

References

Flora, Carlin. (October 24, 2012). Psychology Today. Retrieved from: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201109/the-art-influence

Llopis, Glenn. (February 18, 2013). Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/02/18/the-most-successful-leaders-do-15-things-automatically-every-day/