Leadership and Management

What does it take to successfully lead and manage in today’s health care settings?

In your practice setting, you have undoubtedly performed many leadership and management activities. However, you may or may not have been provided with the training and preparation needed to be an effective manager and leader. Moreover, being a good manager is not necessarily the same as being a good leader.

Throughout this course, you have been introduced to many concepts related to leadership and management. This week, you examine more closely the distinctions between management and leadership, as well as the characteristics of effective managers and leaders.

1. Analyze how management and leadership roles differ in terms of supporting an organization to set and achieve goals
2. Distinguish characteristics of effective managers and leaders.
3. Differentiate the concept of leadership and management within the nursing profession/ a health care organization.

The Distinction between Leadership and Management

Think of the managers you have reported to thus far in your career. Now consider the people you have worked with or know of that you would consider leaders. Based on these experiences, what would you surmise about the responsibilities of managers and leaders and about the distinctions between these two categories in health care settings?

This week’s Learning Resources classify management and leadership (which are often confused in everyday discussion) and explain their significance for health care organizations. As you advance professionally, it is critical to understand the distinctions between management and leadership and how you can apply this knowledge for increasing effectiveness in your workplace.

To prepare

• Review the information in the Learning Resources.
• Conduct additional research on your own and select at least two current, credible sources that contribute to your understanding of management and leadership.
• Reflect on how the roles of management and leadership differ in supporting the organization to set and achieve goals.
• Drawing upon specific examples from a current or previous practice setting, bring to mind someone who seemed to be a leader but not a manager and someone who seemed to be a manager but not a leader (generally speaking, or within a specific circumstance). Be prepared to support your assessment with specific behavioral descriptions found in the literature.

Question

Submit an analysis of how management and leadership roles differ in terms of supporting an organization to set and achieve goals. In addition, post descriptions of an individual who demonstrates leadership behaviors but not management behaviors and an individual who demonstrates management behaviors but not leadership behaviors. Provide your rationale, identifying specific characteristics of effective managers and leaders. (Note: Do not identify these individuals by name, position, or location.)

Learning Resources

To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

• Review Chapters 2 and 3

Note: Many of the articles in this week’s Required Readings are foundational in the leadership and management literature. The concepts presented in these early articles still apply to today’s workplace.

Brunettoa Y., Shacklockb K., et al. (2012). Comparing the impact of leader–member exchange, psychological empowerment and affective commitment upon Australian public and private sector nurses: implications for retention. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(11), 2238-2255.

Jennings, B. M., Scalzi, C. C., Rodgers, J. D., & Keane, A. (2007). Differentiating nursing leadership and management competencies. Nursing Outlook, 55(4), 169–175.

In this foundational article, Jennings explores the similarities and differences between leadership and management competencies. The research implies that there is a growing ambiguity between the competencies required in nursing that must be addressed.

Keys, Y. (2014). Looking ahead to our next generation of nurse leaders: Generation X Nurse Managers. Journal of nursing management, 22(1), 97–105.doiI: 10.1111/jonm.12198

Effective nurses need both leadership and management skills. In this week’s media, experts discuss management competencies and leadership competencies (which are distinct) and explain the value of management and leadership skills within the context of effective organizations.