Leadership in health and social care

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Social Work

Document 1

Leadership is among those roles that need to be fulfilled by a manager. Hence, a subcategory of management. Virtually, many organization both the small and large are concerned about the difference between leadership and management and hence believe it is essential (Gray, Field, and Brown 2010). The concept of leadership has different definitions. Most theorists argue that leadership is a process that entails a social influence and occurs among members of a group. This implies that only a few selected individuals have the ability to achieve greatness (Chemers 2000). The trait theory posits that leaders possess certain traits that differentiate them from followers (Chemers 2000). The contingency theory focuses on the context of leaders and argues that there lacks a better way of organizing a corporation, making decisions or leading a company.

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The situational theory claims that effective leadership changes based on the current situation. The behavioral theory views leadership based on the behavior and actions of the individual (Chemers 2000). With this theory, the sole aim of the leader is to go beyond his self-interest. Here, the leader desires to win the trust, loyalty and admiration of his followers. As a result, the followers tend to be both emotionally and rationally inclined to perform beyond their expectations (Northouse 2018). This kind of leadership focuses on the need to inspire followers using a strategic purpose as well as engage them with both their minds and hearts. From a relational point of view, the transformational leadership is based on the way leaders choose to interact with those around them.

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Hence, it is difficult to teach or train this style of leadership. Secondly, transformational leadership has a great possibility to be abused (HAWKINS 2011). It is highly effective in terms of the leader’s vision thus becoming undemocratic. The true purpose of the leader may go highly unchallenged and most leaders may easily misuse their power or influence (BĂRBÎNȚĂ, DAN, and MUREȘAN 2017). One of the best examples of how leaders have misused authority through this style of leadership is Adolf Hitler’s case. Transactional leadership Transactional leadership is a style of leadership that is focused on the exchange process between a leader and his followers. It is focused on control or the possession of the leader and what the followers’ desire in exchange for the services they provide.

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In this theory, a leader should recognize the needs of the followers and be able to transact with them (Vecchio, Justin, and Pearce 2008). In the healthcare setting, such style of leadership is connected to the accomplishment of the organizational goals like attending to the health of local community. Strengths One of the strengths of transactional leadership lies in its effectiveness in the motivation of team members to increase productivity. Team members in this case may only maintain their focus on the tasks that have been assigned to them. Thirdly, this leadership style focuses on the consequences rather than the rewards. For instance, even though rewards may be set in place, the general attitude of such an environment is that workers are being rewarded to work in a certain manner.

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Opportunities This style of leadership presents an opportunity for continuous improvement of services offered to patients. Since, it has techniques that rely on ways of managing followers, transactional leaders may support workers to develop and sustain improvement efforts. One of the tenets of an effective leader is the ability to be knowledgeable and demonstrate the concepts of teams and teamwork. This type of a leader demonstrates an understanding of the elements of both teams and teamwork. An effective leader creates synergy by inspiring among their followers a commitment to achieve success and improve their performance (GRINT 2005). They concentrate on the energy of their workers and enable them to accept their responsibilities for the group product. Another tenet of an effective leader is to have the ability to think and act in a strategic manner.

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Also, the leader should define the performance component to the teams through discussion as well as the mutual definition of behaviors and practices that the leader and his subordinates need to have. The act of mastering small group decision-making is also a tenet of effective leadership. Leaders commit their time developing their sense of team and building skills for a productive teamwork. In order to build a team, an effective leader should be able to master small group decision making (Hartley, Martin, and Benington 2008). Most groups of workers portray specific skills and traits that merge their members together and the processes they adhere to in order to make decisions that help them fulfill the purpose of their groups. An effective leader should also implement a systematic way of evaluating a policy.

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The relationship between a leader and his followers is founded on the ability to implement a systematic way of evaluating a policy. As an effective leader, one should anticipate periodic feedback on policy results and potential policy amendments as needed. A leader should have the ability to allocate his energy and time appropriately. This enables him to be at the right place and at the right time. Analysis of own leadership style. Throughout time, I have identified that my leadership style is predominantly servant leadership. With this style of leadership, I serve my followers by ensuring that their needs come before mine (Heyler, and Martin 2018). It allows me to pay attention to my spiritual meaning of my role in the health and social care environment.

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My style allows me to actively listen to my followers as I empathize and solve their issues. This is a critical tenet of my leadership that I need to improve on. For me to be valued as a servant leader, I need to demonstrate great communication and decision-making skills. Thus, I should commit myself to listening to my followers and listen receptively to their problems and concerns. This act of listening also entails being able to interact with my inner voice and seek to understand how my body, mind and spirit and communicating. Persuasion is a leadership personality that I will need to improve on. Therefore as a good leader, it is important to understand the tenets of good leadership that will enable a health and social care organization to perform well.

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Because, the lives of elderly individuals depend on it. An analysis of transformational leadership shows that it is critical for such an organization. This style of leadership will steer the right change among employees and drive them to good results. A transformational style of leadership will respect the needs, values and morals of these patients while according them the maximum care and attention. Available at: http://165. 96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch. ebscohost. com%2flogin. aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbth%26AN%3d127291686%26site%3deds-live (Accessed: 17 January 2019). Gray, I. , Field, R. and Brown, K. Effective leadership, management and supervision in health and social care. Learning Matters. Coventry, Institute of Governance and Public Management, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick. HAWKINS, P. Leadership team coaching developing collective transformational leadership.

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