Leadership Reflective Paper (1)
My Personal Leadership Style(s)
Uvbi Osatohangbon
School of Health and Community Services, Fleming College
NRSG 73-248359P – Nursing in Community
Professor Melissa Sherrer
Mon. Sept. 25, 2023
Leadership in nursing means being able to identify a problem that may require change and bring about change while influencing the people around to take action. Which means providing, facilitating and promoting the best possible care to the public (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2006). According to the College of Nurses of Ontario, leadership in nursing is something that occurs daily and is not limited to nurses who are placed in formal leadership positions. To develop and maintain leadership, a nurse must understand one’s beliefs and values and know how personal behavior can affect those around them (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2006). In addition, a nurse must have effective communication and listening skills, the willingness to take risks, the ability to work from a foundational moral framework and the characteristics of resilience and persistence (Sherrer, 2023). As Sherrer stated in her slideshow, a nurse must also be respectful, trustworthy, comfortable with uncertainty and complexity to be able to successfully expand on and manage personal leadership skills. There are multiple leadership styles that can help with performance as a leader. In the slideshow “Leadership, Community Health Nursing and Health Promotion” the key leadership styles highlighted are Democratic, Autocratic, Laissez-faire, Servant, Transformational, and Bureaucratic (Sherrer, 2023). The presentation explains what each style means starting with Democratic, used by a leader who makes the final decisions but considers the team’s input. Followed by the Autocratic style, which like in the Democratic, the leader will make the final decision with the difference being that the team’s input is not considered. Next in the slideshow, the Laissez-faire is introduced as the style where the team is allowed to make decisions for themselves. Subsequently, the Servant which is specifically about the ability to serve is defined as the style that includes sharing of power, putting need first and the value of team input. While the Transformational style is explained to consist of a team motivated by a shared goal and primarily focused on the ability to step out of the comfort zone. Lastly, the Bureaucratic style is stated to be all about following rules and policies that have already been laid out.
Out of the six key leadership styles I find that the Democratic, Servant and Bureaucratic styles resonate most with my personal values and styles. Although, the leadership style I find myself using most often is the Servant mixed with the Bureaucratic style. One thing all these styles have in common is that they all value team input. When working in a team setting, I believe it is important to work together and consider everyone’s opinion to ensure a better chance of achieving