Introduction
Effective nursing leadership is a manner through which patient and nurses’ needs can be
fulfilled. The effectiveness of the service delivery offered by nurses depends on the style of
leadership that the nurse leaders use in diverse situations. Leadership in clinical environment has
been known as vital feature in modern era. In reference to Mannix, Wilkes and Daly (2015),
more emphasis is given to transformational leadership as the preferred style of choice for
organizational performance and nurse efficiency.
Transformational leadership
Organizations have reinforced the importance of clinical leadership programs mainly for health
care professionals (Mannix et al., 2015). Transformational leadership is one of the most widely
accepted and effective leadership styles in healthcare setting. Most nurse leaders prefer
transformational leadership behaviors as compared to other leadership styles for nurse job
satisfaction and patient quality of care (Muenjohn, 2015).
It is imperative to identify a suitable style of leadership to engage nurses in practice and ensure
the needs of both nurses and patients are well catered for. By giving special consideration to
nurses the transformational nurse leadership builds quality and mutual relationship with their
staff nurses. Staff nurses feel valued and recognized through receiving special treatment
(Muenjohn, 2015).
Transformational leadership is effective in different types of healthcare work environments.
Transformational leadership comes from personal values and beliefs of nurse leaders, not in an
exchange of favors between nurse leaders and staff nurses. A transformational leader is a role
model for all the followers with his/her personal qualities, principles and beliefs (Gousy &
Green, 2015). Transformational leaders have ability to unite both the followers and to change
follower’s views and how they perceive their work. This leadership style has produced higher
level of employee achievement and organizational performance among individuals. Several
writers have confirmed that the transformational leadership is related to nurse performance, extra
effort at work and effectiveness (Muenjohn et al., 2015).
Transformational leaders influence on nurses
One nurse leader that has utilized transformational leadership at my health facility is Mrs. Rice.
Rice ensures that the entire nursing unit is sufficiently motivated. She achieves this by ensuring
close contact with each and everyone of us. She has personal goals, ambitions and understands
the needs of staff nurses. As a nursing unit, we are all involved in decision making process and
work towards fostering cooperation and teamwork. Mrs. Rice ensures that we are all inspired by
developing strategies, organizing resources and empowering every individual in the unit.
References
Mannix, J., Wilkes, L., & Daly, J. (2015). Aesthetic leadership: its place in the clinical nursing
world. Issues in mental health nursing, 36(5), 357-361.
Muenjohn, N. (2015). Transformational leadership: The influence of culture on the leadership
behaviours of expatriate managers. International Journal of Business and information,
2(2).
Gousy, M., & Green, K. (2015). Developing a nurse-led clinic using transformational leadership.
Nursing Standard, 29(30), 37-41.
