References:
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Make up the information about leaders. They should be leaders in medical field( nursing leader vs respiratory therapy leader). you can BORROW the concept/information used for mr.hazazi and albadren BUT YOU CANNOT COPY THE INFORMATION WITHOUT PARAPHRASING IT.
Solution
Interviews with Those in Leadership Positions
Overview of Interviewees
If not well managed, the dynamic nature of human beings and the personality differences among people can be a recipe for disaster. This is a fact that human beings have admitted since time immemorial and the primary reason for the establishment of institutions of leadership whose role is to provide guidance and ensure harmony, especially concerning the achievement of a common objective. However, while leadership is standard practice, the leadership styles espoused by different leaders differ. Therefore, it is incumbent upon society, primarily the governed, to understand the leadership styles and qualities adopted by their leaders in order to avoid misunderstanding and other vices that can lead to conflict. Besides, understanding a leader’s leadership style can help subordinates offer the support necessary for the achievement of organizational objectives. To better understand this concept, I interviewed Pierce Black, a nurse leader at Georgia Children’s Hospital, and Lucy Clerk, the head of the respiratory care department at the Forces Memorial Hospital.
Pierce Black has worked in the health care sector for over 30 years. One conspicuous aspect about him is his passion and enthusiasm when detailing his professional journey. After graduating from high school, he joined the University of West Georgia, where he earned a bachelor of science in nursing degree. Earning a degree in nursing provided him with an opportunity to pursue a career that he had a deep passion for. His first placement was at Kingsbridge Hospital in Austin, Texas, where he worked as night duty nurse. He got his current job three years later. Pierce also has a master of science in nursing degree from South University.
On the other hand, Lucy has worked in the respiratory department for close to 20 years. Unlike Pierce, who is bubbly and incredibly outgoing, Lucy is reserved. She reveals that growing up with a grandfather with respiratory challenges informed her to pursue a career that would allow her to help people suffering from similar problems. After graduating from high school, she joined Northeastern University, where she earned a bachelor of science in respiratory care. Lucy has always had a great attachment to her community, which greatly informed her decision to work at one of the local health centres. However, she reveals that after two years, she felt the need to interact with people outside her community and learn more about other cultures. Accordingly, she left her Boston home for her current job. Lucy also has a master of science in respiratory leadership from the Northeastern University.
Main Points
Pierce believes that leadership involves building the capacity of every team member to enhance their ability to impart positive behaviour on the group, enhance team performance, and aid in achieving organizational objectives. Accordingly, he believes that a team leader holds the primary role of motivating and encouraging all team members to realize their potential so much that they can carry on duties on their own, therefore eliminating the need for regular supervision. On the whole, pierce believes that leadership involved much more than providing direction. Instead, a good leader should ensure his subordinates can lead themselves in his absence.
On her part, Lucy believes leadership should entail nurturing individual talent in order to bring out the best of every employee. She believes that people are gifted differently, and therefore, everyone has some positive attributes that can help propel the entire team forward. As such, she believes that a leader should evaluate every employee’s performance in order to identify the areas they prosper the most and encourage the latter to strengthen such attributes both for individual and organizational benefit. Lucy does not believe that a team leader should coerce people to work in a particular manner. Instead, she believes employees should be given the room to exercise their independence and judgment so long as they align with the organizational culture and procedures.
From the responses given regarding perception and understanding of leadership, it was clear that both pierce and Lucy believed that motivation is a crucial aspect of leadership. Therefore, I was interested in establishing the methods the two use to motivate their subordinates. On the one hand, Pierce believes incorporating the input from his team members in the decision and policy-making process motivates them, making them feel valued and, therefore, a critical part of the organization. On the other hand, Lucy believes recognizing excellent performance, and offering rewards motivate her juniors to achieve organizational objectives.
Both Pierce and Lucy demonstrated immense leadership skills, and for that reason, I was interested in knowing the people they admire the most. In response, pierce revealed that he had a great admiration for Mother Teresa. In particular, he is most impressed by the brave spirit that enabled her to pursue her goals. On the other hand, Lucy revealed that her mother is her greatest admiration. In particular, she that her mother’s desire to see her children succeed in all aspects of life impressed her both as a child and as an adult. Besides, Lucy intimated that she admires her mother’s ingenuity even in the face of difficulties. She reveals that she tries to emulate such attributes as much, mainly since her work often entails working on emergency cases.
Asked about his vision for his organization in the 21st century, Pierce revealed that his team’s adoption of a patient-centred approach to services is his top priority. In particular, he contended that his focus is on ensuring his team respectfully delivers services while ensuring that all their actions and decisions are responsive to patient needs. On the other hand, Lucy’s top priority is to see a reduction in respiratory-related ailments. She intends to ensure her organization engages in advocacy and community sensitization, especially on the need to eliminate practices that predispose people to respiratory diseases.
Upon asking about the factors that motivated him to choose working as a nurse, Pierce revealed that since he was a child, he was always drawn to activities that could transform people’s lives and inform happiness and comfort. As such, he feels working as a nurse provides him with the opportunity to ensure people lead a healthy and fulfilling life. On the other hand, Lucy contended that seeing people recover from life-threatening respiratory conditions is her greatest motivation. She feels that her late grandfather would be happy to know that she is actively involved in saving lives.
I asked the two respondents how they think their colleagues would describe their leadership styles. On his part, Pierce feels that his colleagues would describe him as an empathetic leader who pays keen attention to his subordinates’ plight and one who goes to great lengths to ensure everyone is happy and satisfied with their work conditions. On the other hand, Lucy feels her colleagues would describe her as both friendly and firm. She says that although she tries to ensure everybody feels comfortable, she is not afraid to rub people the wrong way, primarily if they act contrary to the established rules.
Upon inquiring about leadership strengths, Pierce revealed that he has impeccable communication skills, which enables him to communicate and interact with ease. However, he admits that he can be too involving, which can sometimes be interpreted as micromanaging. On the other hand, Lucy revealed that the solid grasp of her career issues is her greatest strength. She says that it is easy to lead when one is adequately aware of one’s roles. She admits that sometimes she can be impatient, and therefore, she is working on improving her patience.
Asked what he likes the most about being a leader, Pierce revealed that he prides the most in leading and seeing other people prosper in their careers. In particular, he likes it the most when he helps overcome their fears and other negative traits that undermine performance. On the other hand, Lucy says that being in a leadership position demonstrates that people believe in her ability and expertise. Therefore, she likes it when she is tasked with making complex and far-reaching decisions.
I was interested in establishing the factors that the two leaders consider when making decisions. On his part, Pierce revealed that the impact of the decisions on patient welfare and the safety and security of his team is his primary considerations. He explained that he tries to strike a balance between patient health and staff motivation. On the other hand, Lucy revealed that compliance with the established procedures and impact of the decision on patient welfare is her primary considerations in decision making. She contends that she cannot sanction activities or policies that flout the laid down procedure or ones that can endanger patient health and safety.
Analysis
Generally, although working in different divisions of the healthcare system, Pierce and Lucy have similar leadership styles. In this context, both have demonstrated a desire to involve their subordinates in the decision-making process. Also, the two leaders value employee motivation, as evidenced by their constant involvement in the latter’s improvement process. Both Pierce and Lucy follow the Team Management leadership style. According to Northouse (2013), team management involves ensuring interdependence among workers to meet group objectives (Northouse, 2013). In addition, the theory posits that people should not be coerced into performing an activity. Instead, performance should be informed by personal commitment (Northouse, 2013). It is evident that instead of strong-arming their subordinates, Pierce and Lucy motivate them to enhance their satisfaction levels and desire to work towards achieving the set goals.
Summary of Interviews
Generally, Pierce and Lucy have similar leadership styles. In particular, the two have demonstrated that leaders do not necessarily have to be combative or strict to achieve organizational goals. Instead, one can enhance performance by encouraging subordinates to improve their skills, build on their strengths, and work to improve their weaknesses. The two interviews have far-reaching impacts on my future career. For example, the two leaders have made me realize that the best way to achieve goals is to make one’s followers understand the need for achievement of such purposes and not through coercive power.
Reference
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.