Servant Leadership Style Analysis

Leadership is a process that involves influencing the followers to achieve the goals of an organization or a team. When a leader just commands without the goodwill of leadership, it is like a vacuum filled with mistrust and arrogance resulting in negative accomplishment. According to Frandsen (2013), five types of leadership styles may help in the health care system: servant leadership, transformational leadership, democratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, and laissez-faire leadership.

Servant leadership which started having the name in the 70's is a type of leadership that has a heart. A servant leader not only thinks but attends to all the needs of every member of the team. A servant leader sets everything by example for the followers

to comply thus giving a harmonious relationship to all. A servant leader never thinks of themselves as being superior but in fact mingles with the team and does some sharing of any knowledge that would be beneficial to the followers.
A servant leader knows to listen to the subordinates and is very much aware of the outcome of their move as a team. A servant leader persuades the followers in a way that uplifts the team’s passion for working harder and giving their best for the improvement of their group. To be a servant leader, the individual must have the following characteristics: must be a good listener, knows how to acknowledge the staff, have an awareness of the group, be persuasive, be a visionary, have integrity, and have a good relationship with the organization.
Transformational leadership is being an inspiration to the team.

A transformational leader is someone who transforms the group. The transformation leader knows exactly how to motivate the followers to achieve success. The transformational leader uses their willpowers to persuade the team to do things and has mastered the art of convincing people and encouraging the staff to cooperate and promote teamwork. A transformational leader is someone who inspires, motivates followers to high levels of performances, and, in the process, may help develop their leadership potential. Praise and encouragement are merely the tools of a transformational leader in gaining the trust and confidence of the

team.
Like a servant leader, a transformational leader should have characteristics that can influence nursing staff such as the following: be an effective communicator, have integrity, be inspiring, trustworthy, respectful, optimistic, honest, passionate, and have the charisma to others.
A democratic leader is similar to a transformational leader. A democratic leader encourages the staff to have open communication with everyone for the betterment of the team. According to Frandsen (2013), a democratic leader is not a fault-finder but is more into the improvement of systems and processes. The democratic leader acts as a facilitator, gives full staff responsibilities and is accountable for the outcome of whatever the staff is doing. In the right sense of the word, a democratic leader is lenient and makes the workers more efficient.
According to Frandsen (2013), the authoritarian or autocratic style of leadership is very keen to the smallest detail of the daily routine.

The name implies that the authoritarian leader does not communicate with the subordinates openly and is very strict in any dealings with the team. The authoritarian leader controls and commands the group and does not seek any input or suggestions from the staff. The autocratic leader considers themselves as the "learned," the only one with full knowledge and responsibility to all the important details of the system and does not divulge anything to the staff. Autocratic leadership typically uses punishments and negative reinforcement instead of correcting the appropriate approach for a faulty

process.
The only valuable thing about authoritarian leadership is during emergencies or in unpredictable, complex incidents that when there is no time for any discussion. The authoritarian leader acts immediately without consulting the subordinates as the authoritarian leader does not solicit advice or suggestions from the staff. With authoritarian leadership, teamwork, open communication, and trust are not involved in enforcing the policies and procedures of the organization.
Lastly, the laissez-faire leadership is a type of leadership whereby decision making is left to the group. According to Frandsen (2013), a new, inexperienced leader or those who are reconsidering leaving the job are most likely to use laissez-faire leadership. A laissez-faire leader is a leader that lets the followers do anything about their work without interfering with the team and without any questions. A laissez-faire leader provides little if any, guidance, support or feedback to the staff.
1. Identify what causes leaders to fail.
Failure is a serious matter for a leader. The leader’s strengths and ability to inspire others are characteristics that the leader should have to succeed. Strong leadership is a must for a leader not to fail. According to Frandsen (2013), there are three reasons why the leader fails such as their ego, insecurity, or temperament. If the leader has a "know-it-all" attitude and does not accept advice or suggestions from the members of the team, surely everything will result in chaos. Cooperation and teamwork are necessary to achieve positive results.
Insecurity also plays a significant role in a leader’s failure. A leader who does not accept that a team must work together and get some helpful ideas from a team has a lot of insecurity. Most of these leaders are feel threaten by any staff innovation and so try to maintain control of everything.

Another reason why leaders may fail is false pride. These leaders think of themselves as being superior so that, regardless of the outcome of the leader’s decision, their decision is always right. When negative result does happen, and the attention is called upon by the next higher in rank of that leader, that is the only time admission of guilt, and pretense comes in.
A good leader should appropriately delegate the tasks to the individuals in the team to gain a proper and positive response from all. In order not to fail in being a leader, a leader should be resourceful, be productive, be mindful of the daily happenings and be concerned not only with their work but also of their personal and staff’s health.
2. Why is vision important to leaders?
The success of an organization does not work only with one person. The leaders, together with the staff share all the achievement. Developing a shared vision among the staff would give a team a deeper sense of commitment to achieve a goal. A vision or a goal is something that is real and attainable so that the team will work together towards a meaningful target.
Vision is of the utmost importance for a leader. The leader, along with the staff has certain goals or visions for the company. Each member of a team performs an important role in contributing to the company’s goal. The leader should know how to inspire the followers in achieving the ultimate vision. The leader must give a good picture of the vision to the staff, therefore, ensuring the staff work together as a team in achieving everyone’s collective goal.
The leader should realize the importance of each team member. The leader should discover the specific, unique strengths of each member of the nursing staff. Each nursing staff’s individual strengths and contributions should be acknowledged and enhanced to achieve the goal. Thus, recognizing their strengths will encourage the team to achieve their vision.
3. Explain the section “Leading Staff Through Generational Divides”.
According to Frandsen (2013), four different generations are working in the long-term facility: the silent generation, baby boomers, generation x, and generation y (Fradsen, 2013). The nursing leader should know the different generation characteristics and the needs of each, in order to manage and to motivate the whole nursing staff to work together toward achieving common goals and a combined vision.
Each of these generation workers has their generational characteristics. Understanding each characteristic would help in complementing or solving a conflict with the different components of a team. By identifying the generational traits and strengths the understanding of each group’s characteristics within the entire team would be enhanced, and therefore, encourage the blending of efforts in caring for the patients and in solving any conflicts among the department or staff members.
The leader’s primary job is to guide the entire nursing staff to acknowledge diverse characteristics and to respect the views of others. The nursing leader should assist nursing staff members in recognizing that what one generation sees as a strength may be seen by another generation as a weakness. As each group of generations works together as a team, the leader should facilitate a joint goal-setting built on each strength and aimed to reduce conflict. By learning each generation’s characteristics, the staff can understand each other’s personal perspective. Therefore, connecting each generation is beneficial as the nursing staff may care patients who also belong to different generations as well.
A silent generation is a group of nursing staff born between 1925-1945. The silent generation of workers are the most disciplined workers among the four different generations. Workers born in silent generations are very loyal, disciplined, approval seekers, and are attracted to work for only one company or field of work (Frandsen, 2013). For silent generation worker, a nurse leader should maintain clear lines of command and provide incentives such as giving extra paid day off that may help the group feel more secure in their futures.
Baby boomers are a group of nursing staff born between 1946-1964. According to Frandsen (2013), baby boomers are very optimistic and competitive with a focus on personal accomplishments and self-improvement. Baby boomers are hard workers who can complain but who accept problems as part of the job, and are very committed to their work, making their generation more susceptible to stress-related illness and burnout. To manage and motivate the baby boomer generation group, the leader should have open communication and transparency with the group. The leader also should give rewards and recognition, and include the baby boomer generation of workers in all stages in decision-making.
Generation X is a group of nursing staff born between 1965-1980. According to Frandsen (2013), generation x is very independent and more likely to question authority. Generation X is goal driven but often impatient and committed to their boss and team. Generation X exhibits their loyalty to their team and boss but not to their company. To manage and motivate generation x group, a leader should provide flexible work, and also create a stimulating, productive work environment since generation x group of worker thrives on change.
Lastly, the generation y or the millennial generation are a group of nursing staff born between 1981-2000. According to Frandsen (2013), generation y is very team-oriented, often preferring to work in groups, and multitasking. Generation y is a seek learner, want career development and a structured workplace, are more into positions and titles, and, lastly, have a relationship with their boss. To manage and motive generation y, the leader should be a strong leader. The leader should provide good mentoring, give the group opportunities for hands-on training, and keep the group on challenges by trying new things in achieving goals.
4. Please explain the section “Management by Walking Around or Leading by Walking Around.”
With the increasing use of modern technology, the nursing profession has changed significantly. Almost everything is done by pushing a button. Still, managing a group of nurses and several teams of nurses can not be done by just pushing a button or by just talking on cellphones. A nurse leader who manages wards and plenty of units should move around to manage everything. “Seeing is believing” as the saying goes, so if the leader is supervising especially in a long-term unit and several wards, it is best to move around to look into any problems of all the work assigned to all the nurses.
According to Frandsen (2013), management by walking around (MBWA) or leading by walking around (LBWA) are the two types of leadership styles that are common in a long-term care facility. To achieve a homelike environment in a long-term facility, the MBWA have a leadership style that motivates each nursing staff to achieve team goals.
The nursing leader should do some sharing with all those under their supervision. Having a good conversation and asking about their day would be beneficial for the staff. Giving the nursing staff advice would let each member loosen up and not be nervous. If someone approaches the nursing leader for some help regarding the workforce, a good, approachable nursing leader should listen to to the subordinates but advise the nursing staff to speak to their immediate supervisor. Always remember that it is best to give credit to whom and where credit is due. Always say some comforting praises to the staff.