NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 1 Leadership Styles Application

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Capella university

NURS-FPX 5007 Leadership for Nursing Practice

Prof. Name

Date

Leadership Styles Application

This paper explores three leadership styles applicable to a complex managerial challenge in a healthcare setting. The situation involves Marty, an experienced nurse experiencing personal difficulties, who has been frequently observed sleeping at her desk, arriving late, and missing shifts. These behaviors have raised concerns among her colleagues, who feel burdened by covering her responsibilities, and complaints have come from other departments regarding her performance. Despite the supervisor being aware of the issues, little has been done, resulting in a strained workplace environment. Addressing this problem is critical to maintaining a supportive and productive atmosphere, which directly influences patient care quality and staff morale. Proactive leadership can foster accountability, well-being, and optimal clinical outcomes (Gashaye et al., 2023).

Major Tenets of Leadership Styles

This section reviews three leadership styles that could address the challenges Marty and her team face, each characterized by distinct approaches and advantages.

Transformational Leadership focuses on inspiring positive change by recognizing individual team members’ attributes and challenges. In Marty’s case, a transformational leader could offer emotional support and resources to help her manage work-life balance issues, encouraging open communication and boosting team morale (Tsapnidou et al., 2024).

Democratic Leadership involves soliciting input from team members and including them in decision-making, which fosters group accountability. A democratic leader could engage Marty and the team to collaboratively identify solutions that accommodate her personal issues without increasing pressure on others, reducing resentment and encouraging ownership of the outcomes (Qtait, 2023).

Transactional Leadership emphasizes structure, clear expectations, and accountability. This style operates by setting measurable performance goals and corresponding consequences for noncompliance. Applying this style, a transactional leader could establish firm guidelines regarding attendance and productivity, providing Marty with explicit direction to meet organizational standards (Mekonnen & Bayissa, 2023).

Leadership Style	Key Characteristics	Potential Application in Marty’s Case
Transformational	Inspires positive change; empathy; individualized support	Supports Marty’s personal struggles; improves morale
Democratic	Collaborative decision-making; shared accountability	Engages team and Marty in solutions; reduces resentment
Transactional	Clear rules; rewards and consequences; structured accountability	Sets explicit performance expectations; enforces standards

Particular Leadership Styles’ Effectiveness

Each leadership style presents unique benefits in addressing Marty’s situation.

Transformational Leadership proves effective by fostering a motivational environment that acknowledges Marty’s personal stressors. This empathetic approach can enhance her commitment and inspire improved performance, resulting in a cooperative team atmosphere (Tsapnidou et al., 2024).

Democratic Leadership encourages collective problem-solving by involving Marty and her colleagues in discussions about the impact of her behavior. This inclusive method reduces tension, builds trust, and promotes shared responsibility for solutions, balancing individual and team needs (Qtait, 2023).

Transactional Leadership is effective in establishing clear expectations and consequences, which clarifies accountability for Marty. This style motivates adherence to workplace standards by emphasizing performance outcomes, although it may lack the personal touch of other styles (Mekonnen & Bayissa, 2023).

Positive and Negative Implications of Each Leadership Style

Leadership Style	Positive Implications	Negative Implications
Transformational	Creates a supportive, motivating environment; fosters appreciation and team pride	May be perceived as favoritism; could generate resentment if others feel burdened
Democratic	Decreases workplace tension; promotes unity and shared responsibility	Potentially slower decision-making; may cause stress if personal issues are publicly debated
Transactional	Provides clarity and structure; sets clear performance standards	May overlook underlying personal problems; can feel impersonal and punitive, especially in care settings

Transformational leadership offers empathy and motivation but risks perceptions of favoritism, which could alienate other team members. Democratic leadership fosters team unity and involvement but may delay decisions and increase stress if conflicts become public. Transactional leadership clarifies expectations and accountability but might neglect deeper personal issues affecting performance and can appear overly rigid in healthcare environments (Lin et al., 2020; Qtait, 2023; Richards, 2020).

Conclusion

Addressing Marty’s performance challenges through appropriate leadership styles is vital to sustaining a productive and supportive healthcare environment. Transformational leadership provides empathy and motivation, democratic leadership facilitates collaboration and shared accountability, and transactional leadership offers structure and clear expectations. A balanced integration of these styles can ensure a fair resolution that supports Marty, her team, and ultimately enhances patient care quality.

References

Gashaye, M., Tilahun, D., Belay, A., & Bereka, B. (2023). Perceived utilization of leadership styles among nurses. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 16(1), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s388966

Lin, C. P., Xian, J., Li, B., & Huang, H. (2020). Transformational leadership and employees’ thriving at work: The mediating roles of challenge-hindrance stressors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01400

NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 1 Leadership Styles Application

Mekonnen, M., & Bayissa, Z. (2023). The effect of transformational and transactional leadership styles on organizational readiness for change among health professionals. Sage Open Nursing, 9(9). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10336755/

Qtait, M. (2023). Head nurses’ leadership styles and nurses’ performance systematic review. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 18(1), 100564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2023.100564

Richards, A. (2020). Exploring the benefits and limitations of transactional leadership in healthcare. Nursing Standard, 35(12), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2020.e11593

Tsapnidou, E., Kelesi, M., Rovithis, M., Katharakis, G., Gerogianni, G., Dafogianni, C., Toylia, G., Fasoi, G., & Stavropoulou, A. (2024). Transformational leadership—quality achievements and benefits for the healthcare organizations: A scoping review. Hospitals, 1(1), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.3390/hospitals1010008

NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 1 Leadership Styles Application