The Directing Process in Nursing Management

introduction  

           Every head nurse who holds a leadership position in his field of work has his own distinctive leadership style                A leader is first and foremost a human being with personal qualities and characteristics on which his own leadership style is built Accordingly, every head of nursing staff can build and develop her leadership style using the elements and components of effective leadership and the framework of different leadership styles

What is it Leadership

It is the process of influencing the activity of individuals and groups and directing that activity towards achieving a specific goal or purpose

Note

• The concept of leadership in nursing work is to direct the activity of the nursing team and coordinate the efforts of its members in a way that ensures the achievement of the work goal and raises the efficiency among workers and the level of nursing services
• It is influencing the behavior of others to achieve a specific goal

·       It is working with others to achieve a goal

·       It is the use of one's skills to influence others to perform to the best of their abilities and skills

·       It is the interaction between individuals within an organized group towards achieving a goal

• It is a process that aims to influence the behavior of individuals and coordinate their efforts to achieve certain goals
• It makes you a leader for others - influential over them - Distinct from them - they obey you

What is effective leadership?

Effective leadership is the process of creating a vision, formulating a goal, setting a strategy, achieving collaboration, and mobilizing action

A successful leader is one who

• Formulates visions for the future, taking into account the legitimate long-term interests of the parties concerned

• Develops a sound strategy for moving toward those visions

• It ensures the support of its main power centers, whose cooperation, agreement, or work with it is essential to accomplish the required action

The importance of leadership

·     It is the link between employees and the organization’s plans and future visions   

·     Strengthening the positive forces in the organization and reducing the negative aspects as much as possible

·     Control and solve work problems, resolve disputes and weigh opinions

·     Developing, training and caring for individuals as they are the most important resource of the organization, and individuals take the leader as a role model

·     Keeping pace with the surrounding changes and employing them to serve the institution

·     It facilitates the institution to achieve the set goals

·         It is the link between employees and the organization's plans And its future visions

·         It works to unify the efforts of workers towards achieving the set goals

·         Controlling work problems and drawing up the necessary plans to solve them

·         Developing, training, nurturing and motivating individuals

The difference between leadership and management or Leader and Manager

The management focuses on four main processes

•        Planning, organizing, directing and supervising, controlling

Leadership focuses on three main processes

·       Determine direction and vision

·       Rallying forces under this vision

·       Motivation and encouragement

o  Leadership focuses on emotion while management focuses on logic

o   Leadership is concerned with the whole (choosing the right action) while management is concerned with the details (choosing the right way to work)

o   They share in defining the goal and creating the appropriate atmosphere to achieve it, then ensuring that the required is accomplished according to specific standards and foundations

The leader

He is the person who uses his influence and power to influence the behavior and attitudes of the individuals around him to achieve specific goals

How to make a leader

A leader is made by a leader

A leader can be found through effective training that depends on

1)Knowing the characteristics of individuals (knowledge, skills, and behavior) to determine their training needs in the art of leadership

2) Encouraging individuals to express their feelings, thoughts, and decisions

3 ) Training individuals to interact with others in order to influence their behavior

4) Training individuals to take responsibility

5) Providing advice to individuals when necessary

 6) Praising and supporting them when they achieve

Leader qualities

·        A leader needs to be smarter than the group he leads

·        The leader must have the ability to distinguish as well as initiative (and start actions that others do not think of)

·        Creativity The ability to create new ideas and methods that are productive and helpful in solving problems

·        Sensory maturity, direction, perseverance, dependability and objectivity, energy, drive and good health are essential for long working hours, overcoming difficulties and maintaining continuous achievements, self-confidence

·        Communication skills are important for a leader A leader needs to be able to distinguish the meaning of the message he receives from others and to speak and write clearly

·        A leader uses persuasion to gain the approval of his followers

·        Not to be biased in favor of any individual or individuals

·        A leader needs to be acutely aware to distinguish between friend and foe (adversary) and put his subordinates in the right places

·        The leader participates in social activities by treating individuals with friendship to gain the trust and loyalty of others in a way that makes people willing to cooperate

Formal and informal leadership 

Leadership is simply the most effective form of influence or impact that an individual exerts on a group This impact can be from a person who holds an organizational position that makes him a leader, and here we call him the formal leader, or from a member of the group who does not hold a position or have formal authority, and here we call him the informal leader

Official leadership

Or the appointed one, who is chosen by the administration and given official authority to work with

Official leadership  It derives its authority from its presence in an official administrative position or center in the organizational hierarchy This type of leadership has the right to make decisions, delegate, direct and supervise others

informal leadership

An informal leader is a leader who gains the authority to lead others because he has an influential personality and is accepted by others, and others voluntarily give him the right to ask them to do certain things, so they obey him out of conviction and not because they fear his authority An informal leader can play a valuable role in the organization if his behavior and influence are consistent with the organization's goals An informal leader is chosen by the group for his age, seniority, competence, etc

Head of Nursing as an effective leader and administrator

·       Knowing her duties and rights Setting clear and achievable goals

·       Develop appropriate plans to achieve these goals

·       Explain and clarify the job description of each nurse so that she can

·       A list of nursing duties and steps to take for each activity is made according to the methods

·       Establishes standards for measuring the performance of nursing personnel

·       Provides continuous supervision, guidance, counseling and development of the capabilities of the health team

·       It monitors the safety of equipment, rationalizes consumption, and determines the necessary needs of the facility

·       Participate in conferences and seminars, exchange opinions and learn new things

·       Write daily reports and make statistics to see progress and avoid negatives

·       Identify the strengths and weaknesses of nurses and their ability to acquire theoretical and practical information for leadership and management and to use oneself in an organized way to get the right things done at the right time

Leadership styles

Leadership styles vary depending on the leader and his experience, the nature of the work, systems and regulations, subordinates and their experience The leader may use

More than one way

1.   Democratic style (participation)

2.   The autocratic (authoritarian) style

3.    Absolute freedom

1.   Democratic style (participation)

 (Let's agree on what to do)

• This method depends on the participation of workers in making decisions related to their work and its philosophy is based on the rule that by involving workers in making decisions related to the work and to them, they perform the work with high morale and thus perform in the correct manner, which leads to mastery and achieving the required efficiency The leader who follows this method takes the opinion of his subordinates
• Before making decisions, or involving them in decision-making by meeting with them, discussing with them, or taking their opinion by using a poll, etc
• The nurse who works under the supervision of this leadership style takes her opinion on how to achieve the work goals and participates in making Decisions Democratic leadership is based on the following principles
• Involve all group members in making decisions and solving problems
• Freedom of thought, freedom of discussion and expression of opinion
• Each individual is responsible for himself, his actions and his belonging to the group
• Caring for each team member as an independent individual (distributive justice, reward and punishment)

Features of the democratic style

·       Creating an atmosphere of cooperation between subordinates and between superiors and subordinates

·       Raising the morale of employees as they feel that they are partners in this decision

·       This method develops a sense of belonging and loyalty to the work

·       -Performance efficiency

·       Training new leaders because employees are trained on how to make decisions by involving them in making them

·       Respecting the privacy of individuals as long as it does not affect the freedom of others

·       Following the principle of equality of rights and privileges for himself and his group

·       Providing opportunities for professional and career growth for group members

·       Follow the self-directed approach of his employees by creating a spirit of trust between them

·       Be wise, intelligent and rational in your actions

·       Delegating to the next in line to exercise part of his powers whenever he feels they are qualified for this delegation

·       Establishing human relations based on understanding and awareness of the factors that motivate workers and increase their motivation to achieve

Disadvantages of the democratic method

·       Decisions made in this way take a long time to make

·       Subordinates may consider their involvement in decision-making as an acquired right, which makes them object to any decision

Taken without referring to them

·       This method is not suitable for all times, for all decisions, or with all people For example, it cannot be used in

State of emergency

2- The dictatorial (authoritarian) or autocratic style

(Do what I asked you to do or what I told you to do)

·       The decision-making authority is absolute for the president without involving anyone, whether colleagues or subordinates

·       The leader is arbitrary and fanatical He does not allow discussion, and he sticks to his opinion, believing that his decision alone is the right one

·       leader takes all the decisions himself and issues orders to the workers on what to do and how to do this work, so all they are subject to is blind obedience

Characteristics of the autocratic style

·       Speed in decision making

·       This method is useful in the following cases

1)     Wars, disasters and emergencies that require quick decision-making

2)     Lack of experience and decision-making ability of subordinates

3)     Complete confidentiality of decisions and reasons for making them in special cases that require it

4)     Adherence to rules, regulations and procedures with inflexibility in implementation

Disadvantages of the autocratic style

·     Low morale of subordinates due to not giving them the opportunity to express their opinion on various decisions

·     Low work performance and lack of sense of belonging

·     Not giving subordinates the opportunity to develop their decision-making skills by participating in the situation

·     This method cannot be used in situations that require speed and secrecy

1.     In emergency situations

2.     In circumstances where there is pressure due to lack of time

3.     In situations where order and discipline are weak and there is discord among the group

4.     With people who are poorly trained and lack interest in work

5.     When all other methods fail

3- absolute freedom driving

 (Do whatever you want and don't cause problems)

·      This leadership style is usually ineffective, negative and non-directive The leader under this leadership style leaves the responsibility of decision-making and work discipline to the group and gives very little direction, guidance and encouragement and sometimes none at all

·      This style allows each individual to set his own goals and work as he wants without the interference of the manager, which may lead to confusion in the work This style is used when there is a lack of trust among the group, which weakens their unity, or when the manager wants to please everyone, or when the manager is incompetent and cannot perform his leadership duties

Disadvantages of the absolute freedom approach

·         Not getting things done and therefore not achieving goals

·         Lack of cooperation between workers

·         Chaos spread among workers

·         Loss of responsibility

·         The leader is passive The group has complete freedom to set policies and decisions

·         The leader makes few suggestions and rarely takes initiative

·         He makes no effort to evaluate the group's work

·         Minimal supervision or control is exercised

What leadership style should a nurse leader or head nurse follow?

·       The choice of leadership style should not be based solely on what suits her personality

·       But it must be according to the work conditions, needs and capabilities of the workers

·       An efficient head nurse adapts the choice of leadership style to the needs of different situations

What is transformational leadership ?

An influential power possessed by a person that enables him to make people do what they hate, whether he is absent or present, such as making people put the public interest before their own interest

What is the difference between an interactive leader and a transformational leader ?

The interactive leader relies on trade-offs Example Promotion in exchange for work

Interactive leadership ​

It is called the vertical dyadic relationship theory It is a theory that makes the relationship between the leader and the followers the focal point In the leadership process, this relationship is viewed as a vertical binary chain

·       Transformational leaders offer creation without cost

·       Transformational leader is based on essence and interactive leader  Depends on appearance

·       A transformational leader has a vision and a mission

·       The transformational leader believes in the pride of the group and strives for its unity

·       A transformational leader naturally commands respect and trust

·       Transformational Leader is authentic and passionate

·       Transformational leader has high ambitions

·       Transformational Leader You can understand what he wants from you in one minute

·       Quality, speed, clarity

·       Transformational leader believes that every employee is his best friend

·       The transformational leader works to create a high morale that reaches the sky

·       Those who work with a transformational leader feel spiritually motivated because they do not have to anger God

material, moral, spiritual incentive

Leadership skills

Certain skills must be available for leadership, which are

·      Management skill 

·       Technical skill

·    Human skill   

·       Stability skill

·      Personal skill 

·       intellectual skill

Leadership functions

The most important functions of leadership are

·       Planning 

·       organization

·  Guidance     

·       Coordination

·      Censorship 

·       Personnel Affairs

·      Decision making 

·       Communications

·      Public Relations 

·       Shura - Participation