Transformational Leadership free essay sample

Transformational leadership encourages staff empowerment (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). It is thought that if staff feels empowered then they will work harder by collaborating with each other instead of competing, which will produce efficiency in the organization and it will be contagious to others (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Transformational leadership allows everyone to be involved in the decision making this helps everyone feel like they are part of the team (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Transformational leaders are ready to adapt to any situation that is presented to them good or bad (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Transformational leadership has four components. The four components are management of attention, management of meaning, management of trust and management of self (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Management of attention relates to having goals. Management of meaning relates to being a role model to others by encouraging commitment. Management of trust relates to staff knowing that they can always trust that person to do what is right. The last component is management of self, which is when the leader knows their strengths and skills and uses them (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Literature Review Literature Review #1 A comprehensive literature review was conducted on transformational leadership styles. According to Thyer (2003), transformational leadership may help reduce the nursing shortage (Thyer, 2003). Nurses who are being managed under a transactional style do not want to stay in the profession according to Thyer (2003). Nurses want to be involved with the decision aking on their units because this is what they are used to when providing patient care (Thyer, 2003). According to Thyer (2003), transformational leadership encourages communication and encourages an overall long term change because staff feels empowered by being part of the decision making process (Thyer, 2003). Transformational leadership allows the organization to become more flat allowing for shared governance amongst nurses (Thyer, 2003). Autonomy is expected. It improves accountability because nurses are not just being told what to do they are expected to be accountable and responsible (Thyer, 2003). According to Thyer (2003) if nurses are employed in a transformational leadership environment, it will increase their satisfaction and they will want to stay (Thyer, 2003). Literature Review #2 In Newton (2010), it discussed the importance of transformational leadership and its retention of nurses. Retention of nurses remains a huge problem to most nurse administrators globally (Newton, 2010). Increasing nurse satisfaction remains a priority according to Newton (2010). Rehiring of nurses who leave to dissatisfaction in the work place is costly. It can cost facilities almost two times the amount of one nurse’s salary (Newton, 2010). In addition when nurses are not satisfied it increases sick calls which are also costly that can lead to overtime expenses (Newton, 2010). Transformational leadership can provide an environment that nurses want to work in (Newton, 2010). This leadership encourages nurses to work to their highest potential, which then promotes the whole team to do the same (Newton, 2010). It has been shown according to Newton (2010) that nurse retention is directly correlated with a managers leadership style (Newton, 2010). Transformational leadership builds confidence amongst the team (Newton, 2010). Literature Review #3 According to Gardner (2010), transformational leadership consists of four styles, which can help improve nurse retention. The styles are individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence (Gardner, 2010). Individualized consideration is when the leader considers each individual and gives them 100% of their attention. They listen to their ideas and validate their opinion. They recognize the individual’s strengths and weaknesses (Gardner, 2010). Intellectual stimulation is a leader who encourages their staff to identify conflicts and come up with solutions to solve the problem. These leaders push their staff to think outside of the box and bring their ideas to the table (Gardner, 2010). Inspirational motivation leaders give their staff inspiration to motivate them to work to their full potential. They encourage them to help the organization grow and advance into the future (Gardner, 2010). Idealized influence leaders are there to be the role model of the team. They have characteristics that are very distinct characteristics (Gardner, 2010). They are positive and confident (Gardner, 2010). In Gardner (2010), the study they conducted shows that nurses will stay if they feel they have a good manager. Their study showed that nurses who worked for transformational leaders have an increased level of job satisfaction (Gardner, 2010). Nursing Administration Issue A known issue that has been in nursing for a long time is nurse retention. Nurse retention is a problem across the United States (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). It is costly to recruit nurses and is far less expensive to keep them (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Retaining nurses is not only less expensive but improves quality of patient care (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). According to Roussel Swansburg (2009), nurses leave because of organizational cultures not because of wages. Nurse retention is directly correlated with transformational leadership styles (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Rational For Effective Leadership Style According to the literature, reviews that I have conducted and discussed transformational leadership styles can help retain nurses (Gardner, 2010). By using transformational leadership techniques, nurses will feel empowered and want to stay (Thyer, 2003). Nurses want to feel like they are valued. Transformational leadership styles accomplish this (Roussel Swansburg, 2009). Transformational leaders influence nurses to be part of the team within the organization, which in return promotes nurses to make positive changes for the future of the organization. It allows them to feel like they are making a difference. They will want to go to work every day because they will feel that their opinions are being validated (Thyer, 2003). Other styles of leadership have not been as successful as transformational leadership (Gardner, 2010). In conclusion, transformational leadership styles appear to be superior to various other leadership tactics. Transformational leadership will solve a multitude of issues in the workplace. It is the only type of leadership that really empowers the individual to work to its maximum potential. I would agree that this would be the answer to solving nurse retention. Hopefully as more information about this style comes out managers and administrators will encourage this style of leadership. In the end, it will save the facilities money, as it will promote nurse retention.