Programa de intervención

How one approaches leadership depends on experi- ence and expectations. Many leadership theories and styles have been described. Two of the most popular theory-based approaches are transactional leadership and transformational leadership. (See the Theory Box above.)

Transactional Leadership

A transactional leader is the traditional “boss” image. In a transactional leadership environment, employ- ees understand that a superior makes the decisions with little or no input from subordinates. Transac- tional leadership relies on the power of organizational position and formal authority to reward and punish

EXERCISE 3-2

Follower behavior nurtures and supports—or deteriorates— leader behavior. Identify the behavior you exhibited during your most recent clinical experience. What was supportive? What did not support the leader?

THEORY BOX

A Comparison of Outcomes in Transactional and Transformational Leadership

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Leader Behaviors Leader Behaviors

• Contingent reward (quid pro quo) • Punitive

• Management by exception (active)—monitors performance and takes action to correct

• Management by exception (passive)—intervenes only when problems exist

• Charismatic

• Inspiring and motivating • Intellectual stimulation • Individualized consideration

Effect on Follower Effect on Follower

• Fulfills the contract or gets punished • Does the work and gets paid

• Errors are corrected in a reactive manner

• A shared vision • Increased self-worth

• Challenging and meaningful work • Coaching and mentoring happens • Feeling valued

Organizational Outcomes Organizational Outcomes

• Work is supervised and completed according to the rules • Deadlines are met

• Limited job satisfaction

• Low to stable levels of commitment

• Increased loyalty • Increased commitment • Increased job satisfaction • Increased morale • Increased performance

performance. Followers are fairly secure about what will happen next and how to “play the game” to get where they want to be. A transactional leader uses a quid pro quo style to accomplish work (e.g., I’ll do x in exchange for your doing y). Transactional leaders reward employees for high performance and penalize them for poor performance. The leader motivates the self-interest of the employee by offering external rewards that generate conformity with expectations. The status quo is continually reinforced in organiza- tions in which transactional leadership is practiced (Weston, 2008).

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is based on an inspir- ing vision that changes the framework of the organi- zation for employees. Employees are encouraged to transcend their own self-interest. This style of leader- ship involves communication that connects with employees’ ideals in a way that causes emotional engagement. The transformational leader can moti- vate employees by articulation of an inspirational vision; by encouragement of novel, innovative think- ing; and by individualized consideration of each employee, accounting for individual needs and abili- ties. The result of such leadership is that both leaders and followers have a higher level of motivation and a greater sense of purpose (Weston, 2008). Covey (1992) states, “The goal of transformational leader- ship is to transform people and organizations in a literal sense, to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self-perpetuating, and momentum- building” (p. 287).

Kouzes and Posner (2007) identify five key prac- tices in transformational leadership, as follows:

1. Challenging the process, which involves ques- tioning the way things have been done in the past and thinking creatively about new solu- tions to old problems

2. Inspiring shared vision or bringing everyone together to move toward a goal that all accept as desirable and achievable

3. Enabling others to act, which includes empow- ering people to believe that their extra effort will have rewards and will make a difference

4. Modeling the way, meaning that the leader must take an active role in the work of change 5. Encouraging the heart by giving attention to

those personal things that are important to people, such as saying “thank you” for a job well done and offering praise after a long day A transformative leader seems particularly suited to the nursing environment.

There is additional evidence in the literature that transformational leadership produces very positive results in the workplace. Robbins and Davidhizar (2007) link transformational leadership qualities with staff satisfaction, staff retention, and patient sat- isfaction. Raup (2008) found that nurse managers with effective leadership skills are an essential com- ponent to addressing the nursing shortage because lower staff turnover resulted from transformational leadership, although no correlation existed between leadership style and patient satisfaction. Another study found that there was great benefit in spending resources to develop clinical leaders. After transfor- mational leadership development, the nursing team derived benefit because the more effective leadership promoted effective communication, greater responsi- bility, empowerment, job clarity, continuity of care, and interdisciplinary collaboration (Dierckx de

Casterle, Willemse, Verschueren, & Milisen, 2008). Another study found that a transformational leadership style was closely associated with followers’ working conditions, namely involvement, influence, and meaningfulness. This study also found a direct path between leadership behavior and employee well- being (Nielsen, Yarker, Brenner, Randall, & Borg, 2008). Marchionni and Ritchie (2008) found that the presence of a supportive culture in which learning is valued, coupled with transformational leadership, is a key factor in the implementation and sustainability of best practice guidelines.

Positive outcomes are derived from effective lead- ership in organizations. Transformational leadership is hard work; investment of time and energy is required to bring out the best in people. Transforma- tional leadership is not unique to nursing as the Research Perspective on p. 43 illustrates.

Leadership is the ability to influence people to work toward meeting certain goals. Often this influ- ence requires an ongoing commitment to role-mod- eling and reinforcing behaviors. The intensity of

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