Because it is such an important part of life for so many people, good leadership is essential in the healthcare industry. Patients deserve a well-run hospital when they visit for care. With that in mind, it is no surprise that a variety of leadership styles have been implemented over the years. But how do they impact patients and employees? Let’s take a look at how different leadership styles impact different areas of healthcare.
Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership focuses on shared ideas and values. This style places a lot of importance on building relationships, rather than simply handing down directives. Transformational leaders practice what they preach and demonstrate their strong vision for the future of the organization along with the organizational culture they promote. This type of leadership is especially effective because it treats staff with respect and invests in employees – for example, via quality training – leading to respectful staff who are willing to go above and beyond in their jobs.
Rational-legal authority
Rational-legal authority is a leadership style where the authority of the organization or institution is highly tied to legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. This style of leadership is especially common in educational environments. If you are taking a nurse educator online program, for example, you are probably already familiar with this leadership style. This is often the default mode for many online educators because it’s the easiest way to emphasize the laws and practices that must be followed. This type of leadership is good for placing legality as an important factor in providing care, but it is less effective at building organizational culture and forging loyal relationships.
Charismatic authority
Charismatic authority is a leadership style where authority comes from the leaders’ confidence and personal qualities. Leaders who are able to take their personal strengths and use them to inspire other people are utilizing their charisma to lead. This style of leadership can help build a strong organizational culture, but only as long as the leader is present. If they leave the organization for any reason, their impact on the staff could potentially fade fairly quickly.
Traditional authority
Traditional authority is the style of leadership that most people are probably familiar with. This kind of leadership places tradition over innovation and often upholds outdated beliefs and customs. Employees under this kind of authority follow orders because they feel as though they must, but they do not typically have any investment in the organization beyond that. Organizational culture and relationships tend to stagnate under this leadership style.
Servant leadership
The idea behind servant leadership is to work with a ‘servant’s heart’. This means that the importance of serving others is paramount to operations, and management often encourages creative solutions to better serve patients. This leadership style builds a tight-knit organizational culture and respectful staff.
Are you interested in learning more about what leading in healthcare looks like? If so, keep the above information in mind as you begin your healthcare journey, and you’ll have a better understanding of it all in no time!
