Upon completion of the interview, analyze what you have learned in the context of leadership theories.Develop a PowerPoint Presentation with a maximum of 10 slides. Excludes any title or reference sli

Manager Role

A leader refers to a person who influences a group to achieve a specific goal. They motivate others by leading by example. A leader who is considered as being great tends to move people into action and instill confidence in them. Leadership involves the ability to encourage, communicate, persuade, as well as inspire people to take productive and meaningful actions. A manager, on the other hand, refers to a person who is usually in charge of a given group of tasks or people (Salmela, Koskinen, & Eriksson, 2017). There are different ways in which managers can shape their teams and workplace culture. To be successful, managers need to have a diverse set of skills as they play both leadership and administrative roles. The management styles for different leaders and managers tend to differ. Leaders and managers need to be guided by various nursing theories to make decisions. Nursing theories can help in the creation of supportive frameworks for patient care (Smith & Parker, 2015). This paper discusses some of the concepts that I learned about being a manager after interviewing a nurse who was in a managerial position.

Highlights of the Interview and the Nurse’s Management Style

I got the opportunity to interview a 32-year-old female nurse who holds a managerial position in the organization that she was working in. Due to the busy schedule of the nurse manager, I conducted the interview through SKYPE. The nurse had been in the managerial position for two years and was delighted to serve as a nurse manager in the organization. The interviewee worked as a senior nurse manager in the emergency department. From the interview, I was able to learn about the qualifications needed for one to qualify for the position. One is required to acquire a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited college or university to become a nurse manager. One is also required to receive a nursing license after passing a board exam that is referred to as NCLEX-RN. To be a nurse manager one is also required to acquire the necessary experience in the form of direct patient care from an acute care setting such as a hospital. According to the information provided by the interviewee, the duration of the experience can vary. Still, most organizations require a person to have at least five years of experience for one to qualify as a nurse manager. For one to be a nurse manager in the organization, she works. However, it is optional; it is essential for one to also acquire a Master of Science in Nursing or Masters in Healthcare or Business Administration. Two certifications that are required for this position are certified nurse manager and leader and certification in executive nursing practice (Gunawan, &Aungsuroch, 2017).

What the nurse likes best about this position is that she impacts the health outcome of patients and ensure that they receive quality care as she provides training to other nursing staff to ensure that quality is enhanced. This makes her aspire to be a manager of a higher-level role. On the other hand, what she least is the ethical dilemmas that she faces as she is expected to make an informed decision in such cases for the benefit of the patients. According to the interviewee, her future professional goal is to expand her professional knowledge and training. She believes that learning never stops, and therefore she intends to expand her level of expertise by attending more training programs and workshops.

Management Style

The management style that is exercised by this nurse manager is the democratic management style. Managers that use this style usually consider the input of employees when making decisions, although they are responsible for making the final decision. The type of communication style that is used in this management style is both bottom-up and top-down (Ülgen, Sağlam, &Tuğsal, 2016). According to the interviewee, she believes that making the team take ownership and involving everyone helps a manager to make an informed decision, which leads to positive outcomes. This management style motivates the employees, increases their productivity, and also makes them feel valued (Amanchukwu, Stanley, &Ololube, 2015). This, in turn, increases the level of patient safety and satisfaction, which leads to better health outcomes (Gunawan, &Aungsuroch, 2017).

It was evident that this manager uses the democratic management style when even faced with challenging situations. One of the challenging situation that the manager had encountered is the problem of nurse shortage in the intensive care unit. To overcome this challenge, the manager communicated with the nurses who were available and requested them to give their opinion on how to handle the issue as she was still in the process of ensuring that more nurses are hired. This made the nurses feel that their input was valued, and hence they easily agreed to work overtime before the hiring of more nurses. The way the manager handled change was also evidence of a democratic management style. In case of any change that needs to be implemented, the interviewee said that she ensures that all the staff and employees are informed about the change in advance. They are also educated on the importance of the change. The input of the employees is also put into consideration during the implementation of the change.

The leadership theories that are most exemplified in the management style of this nurse include the participative theory considering that she involves other people in the decision making process. According to this theory, a suitable leadership style is one that puts into consideration other people’s input (Amanchukwu, Stanley, &Ololube, 2015). Another theory that is exemplified in this person’s management style is the relationship/transformational theory. This theory focuses on the connections that are formed between followers and leaders (Amanchukwu, Stanley, &Ololube, 2015). Managers who depend on this theory inspire and motivate people by assisting group members in understanding the importance and higher good of a given task. For example, the nurse manager identified the need for using electronic health record systems and educated other health providers on the importance of change.

In conclusion, nurse managers should ensure that they acquire the necessary qualifications requirements for that particular role. Nurse managers should focus on ensuring that the safety of the patients is enhanced and that they receive quality care. There are different management styles that nurse managers can possess, such as democratic management style. Some of the management theories that a nurse manager can use to guide his/her practice include participative theory and relationship/transformational theory.

References

Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J., &Ololube, N. P. (2015). A review of leadership theories, principles, and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), 6-14.

Gunawan, J., &Aungsuroch, Y. (2017). Managerial competence of first‐line nurse managers: A concept analysis. International journal of nursing practice, 23(1), e12502.

Salmela, S., Koskinen, C., & Eriksson, K. (2017). Nurse leaders as managers of ethically sustainable caring cultures. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(4), 871-882.

Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.

Ülgen, B., Sağlam, M., &Tuğsal, T. (2016). Managers’ personality traits over management styles and decision-making styles. International Journal of Commerce and Finance, 2(1), 125-136.