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Good thoughts Kayler and understanding of the leadership role. Yes, there are clear distinctions between a visionary leader and a good manager. I am sure that we could all identify a manager who always 'had a handle on things' and was well-organised but was very uninspiring and on the other hand, a leader who is exceptionally inspiring but hopeless at operationalising anything. Most nurse manager roles have this dualistic expectation of being both a leader and manager, and juggling both roles can be very difficult. Sue 

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Good thoughts Kayler and understanding of the leadership role. Yes, there are clear distinctions between a visionary leader and a good manager. I am sure that we could all identify a manager who always 'had a handle on things' and was well-organised but was very uninspiring and on the other hand, a leader who is exceptionally inspiring but hopeless at operationalising anything. Most nurse manager roles have this dualistic expectation of being both a leader and manager, and juggling both roles can be very difficult. Sue 

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Thanks for your comments, Trish. I think most people woudl agree that respect and kindness is likely to result in better outcomes and engagement from staff. Sue 

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Thanks for your comments, Trish. I think most people woudl agree that respect and kindness is likely to result in better outcomes and engagement from staff. Sue 

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I don't think it is available on line, Caeli see my comment below. The library may photocopy relevant pages for you. You could 'Ask a Librarian' via the library website. They are very helpful and supportive. I can also advise from perosnal experience that the 24 hour Library Chat line works. Sue 

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I don't think it is available on line, Caeli see my comment below. The library may photocopy relevant pages for you. You could 'Ask a Librarian' via the library website. They are very helpful and supportive. I can also advise from perosnal experience that the 24 hour Library Chat line works. Sue 

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I am not aware that the book is available on line. It is a text that you may have to purchase although I do aim for eBooks most times. This is a really good text, which will stand in good stead. The Unit Outline contains details of where it can be bought. See my comment to Caeli above about asking the library if they will photocopy relevant pages for you. Sue

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Sounds like 'avoidance issues', Una! I used to work with a very intimidating nurse manager and every time she was around, typically, I made mistakes. (Hence, I then engaged in 'avoidance' behaviours). One day, I decided that this situation could not go on so I started making a concerted effort to take my breaks at the same time as she did. We had a very small tea room just off the ward. At first, we barely spoke but after a while, we did start communicating and in the end she revealed some significant personal issues that were impacting on her. While living in a significantly powerless position at home, she was making up for it at work. This didn't condone her leadership style, but at least I understood it and perhaps talking about it helped her as her behaviour did seem to moderate after that. Sue 

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Sounds like 'avoidance issues', Una! I used to work with a very intimidating nurse manager and every time she was around, typically, I made mistakes. (Hence, I then engaged in 'avoidance' behaviours). One day, I decided that this situation could not go on so I started making a concerted effort to take my breaks at the same time as she did. We had a very small tea room just off the ward. At first, we barely spoke but after a while, we did start communicating and in the end she revealed some significant personal issues that were impacting on her. While living in a significantly powerless position at home, she was making up for it at work. This didn't condone her leadership style, but at least I understood it and perhaps talking about it helped her as her behaviour did seem to moderate after that. Sue 

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Yes, the leader has responsibility towards the team in the way that they exhibit respect and role modelling in the work place. You can see how this ties in with human flourishing and supporting people to grow and develop. Sue

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Yes, the leader has responsibility towards the team in the way that they exhibit respect and role modelling in the work place. You can see how this ties in with human flourishing and supporting people to grow and develop. Sue

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Thankyou for sharing your vivid experience of both good leadership and an example of what seemed to be poor leadership, Harpinder. The impact on staff retention is a significant issue and can translate into considerable cost to an organisation. Sue 

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Thankyou for sharing your vivid experience of both good leadership and an example of what seemed to be poor leadership, Harpinder. The impact on staff retention is a significant issue and can translate into considerable cost to an organisation. Sue 

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My thoughts and reflections on the leadership grid 'Team leader' . Kayler Fox

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My thoughts and reflections on the leadership grid 'Team leader' . Kayler Fox

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I agree that the team leader seems to be the best leadership style, because of the leader’s commitment to both team members and production. However, I do not feel this style of leadership is suited to every situation or practical for every day.

Different situations call for different kinds of leadership. There are days at work when staff moral maybe low such as when we lose a child, or we maybe have been having a frantic period of short staffing and high acuity and staff are feeling burnt out. On those days when our leaders are able to step back from focusing on production and increase their concern about staff, take time to empathise and connect with staff, then staff can feel heard, reenergised and motivated.

An example of this in my own practice occurred the other day when we miraculously had a quiet day and were over staffed, a leader committed solely to production goals perhaps would have sent a staff member relieving.  Instead our managers told us we deserved a break, they recognised that staff are fatigued from constant short staffing and high acuity and simply let us be over staffed for the shift.

It also can go the other way, in some situations there is need for an outcome/production driven approach. For example in a MET call, whilst the team leader needs to possess some awareness of how staff are coping, there is also a need for an authoritative approach to direct staff and try ensure the best outcome for the patient.

I would also add what good is a leader who is committed to staff and production, but lacks their own vision? I feel the best managerial leaders are those who are able to relate and motivate staff, are focused on meeting organisational goals/ production but also have their own vision or direction in which to lead their team, this vision hopefully fits with the team and organisations goals or can be used to better the organisation.

Lastly I would point out that as health professionals we may all at times experience things such as compassion fatigue, burnout, or disinterest whilst focusing on our personal lives, we also have times of enjoyment and passion for our jobs. I think it is unrealistic to expect a leader to remain in the team leader mindset for years on end. They are only human too, and will face their own periods of disillusion, disheartened and motivation, or personal life crisis, and this may affect or result in fluctuations in  their leadership style.

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Patricia Mair The  reinforcement theory is unethical , as it is used to manipulate
employees. Do you agree with the statement.
Yes I do think it is unethical and somewhat immature. We all respond to kindness even when we make a mistake.
Avoidance reinforcement and punishment are not ways to encourage staff to improve. These methods are demoralizing and in my opinion create no positive outcome.
Even with my students, positive reinforcement , encouragement when things go poorly and treating people the way I would like to be treated are far more successful in bringing out the good, not killing it.

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I had to get the book from the library as I could not access on line. Maybe Sue can tell us how to.Book only available for 3 day loan also but can get out for total of 3 loans which is 9 days all up

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I agree totally with the claim by Lussier and Achua (2015) that the team leader is the best style of leadership. To be a successful manager you must have concern for both production and people. This style of leadership gives the manager the ability to challenge their staff and support them to be their best. In the health care setting there can be a culture to get through the shift with neither satisfied or dissatisfied staff. I have worked i ward areas were the shift is very task based with no room to challenge or look for the best practice. The end result is to get to  the end of the shift with the person in your care well and tended to.
There is growing evidence that the team leader style of management encourages staff to grow through high standard of expectation and constant support. I have been able to apply the leadership grid to my current manager and I can see that he may tend to be a country club
leader. There are some longterm staff would are not challenged which leads to a dictorial style between colleagues. This in turn leads to high turnover of very experienced staff.
I have  found this a very interesting topic and one that has enabled me to reflect on my own work enviroment.
Catherine Maher

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Leadership styles.

I agree with Lussier and Achua (2015) on the leadership
grid. However, thinking about my management team, I do think the leadership
styles changes every now and again. To illustrate, some days I see my manager bringing
in a lot of patient admissions and not considering that more staff are
potentially needed or even to keep back the ward assistants for an extra hour
if possible, to manage with the load of patients (despite nurse to patients
ratios still within what is perceived normal levels). Then other days it could
be the opposite, where the ward is staffed for the expected admissions as well the
patients currently on the ward. I like to think that my unit has 5.5 middle of
the road leader. This grid is a great tool to identify what kind of leader I
am. I would like to be 9.9 team leader and many cases I think I am. However, I
must ask my colleagues. I would think that every leader is different. So after
reading Jessica great example, I wonder if you have different leaders from each
type of grid, would you try to only work shifts with these great team leaders,
hence maybe avoiding your nurse unit manager (who only works AM’s Mon to Fri)
as she/he had a dictatorial style of leader? Therefore, every staff member has
a different perception of how the unit is lead. It is a very interesting topic. I enjoyed Kerry idea that you tend to rise above your leaders style of leadership (impoverished and authority compliance) and focus on your clinical work. I do that too and find sometimes working weeks of nights gives me a break from these types of leaders.  Thanks Una

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Leadership styles.

I agree with Lussier and Achua (2015) on the leadership
grid. However, thinking about my management team, I do think the leadership
styles changes every now and again. To illustrate, some days I see my manager bringing
in a lot of patient admissions and not considering that more staff are
potentially needed or even to keep back the ward assistants for an extra hour
if possible, to manage with the load of patients (despite nurse to patients
ratios still within what is perceived normal levels). Then other days it could
be the opposite, where the ward is staffed for the expected admissions as well the
patients currently on the ward. I like to think that my unit has 5.5 middle of
the road leader. This grid is a great tool to identify what kind of leader I
am. I would like to be 9.9 team leader and many cases I think I am. However, I
must ask my colleagues. I would think that every leader is different. So after
reading Jessica great example, I wonder if you have different leaders from each
type of grid, would you try to only work shifts with these great team leaders,
hence maybe avoiding your nurse unit manager (who only works AM’s Mon to Fri)
as she/he had a dictatorial style of leader? Therefore, every staff member has
a different perception of how the unit is lead. It is a very interesting topic. I enjoyed Kerry idea that you tend to rise above your leaders style of leadership (impoverished and authority compliance) and focus on your clinical work. I do that too and find sometimes working weeks of nights gives me a break from these types of leaders.  Thanks Una

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Hi Caeli, I have the book so not accessing it online, not sure if there is a link maybe someone else knows, Una

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Hi Caeli, I have the book so not accessing it online, not sure if there is a link maybe someone else knows, Una

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Hello, I'm having trouble locating an online copy of this text. Could someone please post me a link?

Caeli

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I agree on some level with the claim Lussier and Achua (2015) make  that the team leader is the best leadership style, however I think leadership is broader than this. There is a flexibility with leadership where leaders can change according to the situation. Within the leadership grid the team leader style is described as a high-high leader who has concern for both production and people. Although this style sounds like a good leader to work alongside, I think there could be conflict at times for the leader when operating from so many positions that are high-high. Although there is evidence that this leadership style supports an improved performance and high employee satisfaction, I think you could possibly achieve this without a 9,9 leader also. There seems to be a continuum with these styles and some may work in some situations and not in others. They are a good guide to reflect on. My own experience of recent has been two styles of leadership. I have a team leader who is currently an impoverished leader and a senior manager who is an authority compliance leader. All very interesting!

I tend to rise above this aspect of my work environment most of the time as my focus is on my clinical work. I also tend to have a number of supportive colleagues from other teams that buffer the times when it can be difficult. Kerry M.

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Share board activity 2 - leadership grid 

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Share board activity 2 - leadership grid 

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Personally I agree with the claim from Lussier and Achua (2015) that within the leadership grid the team leader is the best leadership style.

Within the leadership grid the team leader style is described as a leader who is the most effective, who encourages contribution and is committed to the organisation and also the employees. Evidence shows that this leadership style promotes a cohesive team environment , satisfied and motivated employees. All organisations have requirements and employees form part of a team that helps achieve them, I'm order to achieve these goals staff need to have motivation and feel satisfied to be at work, through having a leader who's' style embodies trust, mutual respect, commitment and encourages empowerment ultimately is as Lessier and Achua (2015) state is essential for a motivated team.

I personally In the workplace have had experiences with the dictatorial style leader (9,1) who focuses on production matters and little on the needs of employees, and as depicted in the leadership grid lead to dissatisfied staff and a high rate of turnover, the environment was not productive, no staff members were motivated to promote change and this was the reason I left this place of employment. Currently however I think I am part of a team that has an effective a team leader style of leadership (9,9) and I do honestly believe that because trust, respect and commitment are modelled to us we then model the same styles in our work, in turn influencing others. I agree with Lussier and Achua (2015)  that because my team leader models this the environment we work in is productive and the team is cohesive.

Thank you

Jessica Moussa

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I disagree with the statement posed in Lussier & Achua (2015) that the ‘reinforcement theory in unethical because it is used to manipulate employees’.  From a young age the way we conduct ourselves as shaped by both positive and negative reinforcement by those around us. I believe that is important that when used correctly reinforcement of behaviours and actions can help shape and individual or team to work to the best of their ability. As discussed in Lussier & Achua (2015) positive reinforcement is by far the most effective as praise helps boot self-esteem and inspires growth and achievement. On the ward that I work on we have semi-regular huddles where all the staff on for the day get together with our NUM to chat about the ward. Our NUM regularly praises the team and individuals during this informal meeting which lead to a positive shift in the mood particularly during that shift. Negative reinforcement through either punishment or extension also has its purpose. Unsafe and non-professional behaviours cannot be tolerated as patients’ lives are effected by our conduct. However, I believe that even when providing negative reinforcement, it should be constructive and have a positive component as this allows for growth and self-development.
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2015). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.     Harpinder Jammu

Emily Kelso.

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I disagree agree with the leadership style Team leader (9,9).
Lussier & Achua (2015), found that, in this leadership technique, the
leader is highly involved in having the job done but at the same time, also
concerned about employee’s satisfaction. However, Lussier & Achua (2015)
also mention “The Country club leader”, where the leader is more concern about their
team than the production. Which, I think Ultimately leads to good outcome. 

 

Here I would like to use my personal example, where my Nurse
unit manager use to go around in the ward and ask the staff if there is any
concern, always tried to understand staff’s issues and solve them in timely
manners.  And in return, staff always felt
happy coming to work, tried their best and gave 100% job performance, which was
proved by winning the best team and 100% care awards three years in a row. 

 

However, that NUM was the permoted to Director of nursing
role, so she left the job and new manager was appointed for the ward. But this
new manager did not really interact with the staff and if ever asked for
something, her answer was always “No”. Or try to do it yourself.  In result 90% of the staff left that ward gradually.


 

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2015). Leadership:
Theory, application, & skill development (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
Learning.

 

 

Harpinder Jammu

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I disagree agree with the leadership style Team leader (9,9).
Lussier & Achua (2015), found that, in this leadership technique, the
leader is highly involved in having the job done but at the same time, also
concerned about employee’s satisfaction. However, Lussier & Achua (2015)
also mention “The Country club leader”, where the leader is more concern about their
team than the production. Which, I think Ultimately leads to good outcome. 

 

Here I would like to use my personal example, where my Nurse
unit manager use to go around in the ward and ask the staff if there is any
concern, always tried to understand staff’s issues and solve them in timely
manners.  And in return, staff always felt
happy coming to work, tried their best and gave 100% job performance, which was
proved by winning the best team and 100% care awards three years in a row. 

 

However, that NUM was the permoted to Director of nursing
role, so she left the job and new manager was appointed for the ward. But this
new manager did not really interact with the staff and if ever asked for
something, her answer was always “No”. Or try to do it yourself.  In result 90% of the staff left that ward gradually.


 

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2015). Leadership:
Theory, application, & skill development (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
Learning.

 

 

Harpinder Jammu