A.
LEADERSHIP STYLE AND FOLLOWERSHIP
CASE SCENARIO:
Two new graduates were hired for the pediatric unit. Both worked three 12-hour shifts a week,
Jan in the day-to-evening shift and Paolo at night. Whenever their shifts connected, they would
compare notes on their experience. Janice felt she was learning rapidly, gaining clinical skills,
and beginning to feel at ease with her colleagues.
Paolo, however, still felt unsure of herself and often isolated. “There have been times,” she told
Janice, “That I am the only registered nurse on the unit all night. The nursing aides are really
experienced, but that’s not enough. I wish I could work with an experienced nurse as you are
doing.”
“Paolo, you are not even finished with your 3-month orientation program,” said Janice. “You
should never be left alone with all these sick children. Neither of us is ready for that kind of
responsibility. And how will you get the experience you need with no experienced nurses to help
you? You must speak to our nurse manager about this.”
“I know I should, but she’s so hard to reach. I’ve called several times, and she’s never available.
She leaves all the shift assignments to her assistant. I’m not sure she even reviews the schedule
before it’s posted.”
You will have to try harder to reach her. Maybe you could stay past the end of your shift one
morning and meet with her,” suggested Janice. “If something happens when you are the only
nurse on the unit, you will be held responsible.”
Discussion questions:
1. In your own words, summarize the problem that Janice and Paolo are discussing.
To what extent is this problem due to a failure to lead? Who has failed to act?
- Paolo and Janice are the two fresh nursing graduates hired and assigned to the pediatric
unit. They have a different scheduled shift, Jannice in the day-to-evening shift and Paolo
at night. Jannice was confident that she was already enhancing and acquiring new
clinical skills. Jannice felt comfortable with her colleagues while Paolo was sad. He told
Jannice that there were times that he was the only registered nurse on the unit all night,
no experienced nurses who could teach, and advised him if there were unsure matters
about his work and nursing interventions. However, Jannice advised him to talk to the
nurse manager about his concern and schedule. He was newly hired and fresh graduate.
Therefore, he needed someone who was well experienced to train, influence, and guide
him along the way. If something happened, he would be liable because he was the only
registered nurse in the unit. Unfortunately, Paolo has no chance to meet his manager and
be able to talk to her.
- The situation might cause Paolo to fail to give quality nursing care to all the patients
because no one may guide or confront him if he did something wrong. He has fewer
chances to discover his shortcomings and develop them into an efficient and effective
leader and nurse to his patients.
2. What style of leadership was demonstrated by Paolo and the nurse manager? How
effective was their leadership? Did Janice’s leadership differ from that of Paolo and
the nurse manager? In what way?
- Authoritarian leadership is the style demonstrated by Paolo and the nurse manager
because the communication between them flows downward. Paolo was just directed with
command without hearing his concerns and perspectives. Paolo was productive in doing
his tasks and responsibilities, but his creativity, self-motivation, and ability to enhance
his skills are reduced.
- Yes, there were differences from their way of communication and ability to listen. The
best communication is transparent communication. Listen and communicate with one
another is one of the keys to becoming a good leader.
3. In what ways has Paolo been an effective follower? In what ways has Paolo not been
so effective as a follower?
- One of the characteristics of being an effective follower is courage. From the scenario, I
observed that Paolo had the courage to do something because he believed that something
was not right. He was taking action to solve the situation.
- The other characteristics of being an effective follower that Paolo was lacking was being
a self – management because he was not able to work well without supervision, doing
something beyond himself, and he had no competence and focus.
4. If an emergency occurred and was not handled well while Paolo was the only nurse
on the unit, who would be responsible? Explain why this person or persons would be
responsible.
- Paolo would be responsible because, according to the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002,
Article VI, Sec. 2, stated that the scope of registered nursing is as an independent
practitioner who is mainly responsible for the promotion of health and prevention of
illness. Provide nursing care through the utilization of the nursing process. He has the
license and holding the title as a registered nurse therefore, he must be accountable, and
he should take a stand and perform the leadership role he learned from his leadership and
management during his nursing school.
5. If you found yourself in Paolo’s situation, what steps would you take to resolve the
problem? Show how the leader characteristics and behaviors support your solution
to the problem.
- If I were Paolo, I would try other ways to improve and enhance my skills. Be
independent in providing nursing intervention and develop effective communication with
other health care providers and adapt in the environment with them, even if I am the only
registered nurse in the unit. I am going to delegate and entrust tasks for them to better
and organize works in the department. Characteristics of a good leader includes
independence, skilled communicator, adaptability, Interpersonal skills, and Critical
thinking (Marquis and Huston, 2017).
B. CONCEPTS ON PLANNING
1. What is Planning?
- All other management activities are dependent on and predate planning. If sufficient
planning is not done, the management process will fail, and organizational requirements
and objectives will not be fulfilled. Planning entails determining what to do, who will do
it, and how, when, and where it will be done. As a result, every planning entails a
selection of options.
2. What are the purposes/ importance of planning to nursing service?
- In nursing, planning helps ensure that clients or patients get the nursing services they
want and require and that they are provided by satisfied nursing staff. Planning should be
based on goals defined in creating a product or delivering community service. Sound
planning processes need simplification and uniformity. Planning is a proactive and
deliberate process that reduces risk and uncertainty. It also encourages unity of nursing
goals and continuity of quality nursing care and directs attention to the objectives.
Adequate planning also provides nursing leaders with some means of control and
encourages the most appropriate use of resources.
3. What are the principles of planning?
a. Principle of Contribution to Objectives
b. Principle of Planning Promises
c. Principle of Efficiency
d. Principle of Primacy
e. Principle of Flexibility
f. Principle of Navigational Change
g. Principle of Commitment
h. Principle of Pervasiveness
i. Principle of Framework
j. Principle of Timing
k. Principle of Alternative
l. Principle of Limiting Factor
m. Principle of Competitive Strategies
n. Principle of Cooperation
4. What are the types of planning? Discuss each.
a. Organizational Planning – It allows management to establish short- and long-
term goals, as well as adjustments, to guarantee that the unit continues to achieve
its objectives. Because it is difficult to plan what cannot be dreamt or imagined,
identifying such short- and long-term objectives requires leadership qualities such
as vision and imagination.
b. Strategic Planning - Strategic planning predicts an organization's future
performance by matching and aligning its strengths with external opportunities.
For example, a company might create a strategic plan to cope with a nurse
shortage, train succession management, establish a marketing strategy, reorganize
workload, form alliances, or simply prepare for organizational success. The
purpose, mission, philosophy, and objectives of an organization are usually
examined in the context of its external environment during strategic planning.
c. Proactive planning - Proactive planning is needed of all managers to meet
personal as well as organizational goals and objectives in anticipation of changing
needs or to encourage development within an organization. Because the
environment changes so often, proactive planning is dynamic, and adaptability is
regarded a fundamental need.
5. What are the barriers to planning? Discuss how they affect the planning process.
a. Incompetent Leadership Skills - In the first place, the leader leads the team of
planners, and it is the leader's primary duty and onus to ensure that the firm's
planning and strategy are effective. If a Leader lacks work skills, it will almost
certainly serve as a Barrier to Planning, lowering the organization's long-term
output.
b. Excess levels of Distractions - Barriers to Planning occur when job distractions
become overwhelming. For example, if the leader delegates too many duties at
once or discusses two or more subjects that are unrelated to one another, the
consequence is total confusion, with planning taking a second. It is usually
recommended for the leader to spend some time to consider the issues of
appropriate delegating, planning, task organization, and creating a healthy and
productive work environment for his team members.
c. Limited Manpower Resources – The number of workers or manpower is
considered as the heart of planning because they are the ones who take action to
make those plans possible. If manpower resources are not enough, limited action
will be done, and plans will be possibly unattainable.
d. Limited Resources and Funding - Having the necessary resources, such as
money, personnel, hospital facilities and equipment, is a must in order to achieve
the hospital's goals and objectives. First and foremost, having solid and
continuing money is essential since it allows all other resources to be taken care
of. However, a lack of resources may cause the Barriers to Planning to take
precedence over the hospital's aims and objectives.
REFERENCES:
Bhasin (2019), 9 Barriers to Planning -Strategies to Identify and Overcome. Retrieved from:
[Link]
Department of Health (2002), REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9173. Retrieved from:
[Link]
%20providing%20for,Nursing%20Act%20of%201991%22%20and%20for%20other
%20purposes
Jones (2019), Nursing Leadership and Management: Theories, Processes and Practice. F.A.
Davis Company
Marquis and Huston (2017), Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory
and Application. Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
