Question

discuss the key differences in the following leadership styles.

1.      Facilitative leadership

2.      Laissez-faire leadership

3.      Coaching leadership

Include in your response to how each of these leadership styles could be used in a nursing context.

Answer 1

Laissez-faire leadership:-

means "leave it be," and it describes leaders who allow their people to work on their own.

The laissez-faire style is sometimes described as a "hands-off" leadership style because the leader delegates the tasks to their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers.

It allows followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested.

Characteristics:-

1) Leaders don't interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions.

2) This behavior can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted. This type of leadership can also occur naturally when managers don't have sufficient control over their work and their people. This is where this approach can fail.

3) The laissez-faire leader gives guided freedom and provides the followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals but does not directly participate in decision making unless the followers request their assistance.

It won't be much successful in nursing, as there is always something new in healthcare, and there is different in different patient, so nursing team needs guidance by there leader doctor or head nurse

Facilitative leadership:-

means to “make it easier” and a leader is a person who can get others to achieve assigned tasks.

Leader in this is very supportive and encouraging, and helps team to achieve assigned goals.

facilitative leader involves employees in the decision-making process and ensures their commitment to the final course of action.

Characteristics:-

1) Facilitative leaders value creativity, reflection, and brainstorming over planning, commanding, and directing.

2) Facilitative leaders have a high degree of patience as facilitation takes time and they are very flexible and readily change plans, ideas, and strategies based on the group’s suggestions.

3) They encourage healthy conflict and opposing views. They see this as an opportunity to get issues out in the open and have them resolved.

4) Facilitative leaders share the credit and praise with the team and/or individuals and in case of failures are ready to own the responsibility.

In healthcare, there is not much time, in case of emergency to entertain and listen the suggestions of, everyone in the group, as sometimes situation is very critical and doctor or team leader needs to directly operate or start the procedure for treatment of patient.

Coaching leadership :-

Coaching leaders can motivate and assist others to grow their skills, become stronger and work together more successfully.

In this, along with directly involvement of leader in guiding in everything, leader encourages as well in trying something new on their own.

This leadership requires plenty of feedback, both positive and negative, for individual performances.

Characteristics:-

1) This leadership style produces a positive workplace environment.

2) increases skill set available with the team, by increasing sense of competition

3) not usually a long-term commitment, because they are effective when coaching leadership is given at appropriate time and given in brief

4) specific coaches are required for each specialization

5) It takes time for the coaching leadership style to be effective

6) Coaching leaders must be skilled in leadership.

Coaching leadership can be helpful in nursing as well, as in this, skills are developed of the team by the leader, so is required for nursing. They work under guidance of leader, and are taught specific thing by its specialist.