Critical Analysis Of Two Management Styles/Theories In Clinical Practice

Autocratic leadership style and its application to clinical practice

1.Healthcare professionals are required to demonstrate suitable leadership and management skills, so that engagement in the decision-making process is appropriate for best quality care delivery (Huber 2017). The present essay critically analyses the leadership theories of Autocratic leadership and Democratic leadership as observed in the management placement concerning adult nursing practice. The essay defines each leadership style and highlights the different aspect of the application of the leadership styles to clinical practice.

My management placement has been a valuable period that has brought about significant changes in my professional practice through the enhancement of knowledge and development of skills. Throughout the placement, I have given considerable attention to understand the different leadership styles that have been exhibited by the professionals in order to manage the tasks being assigned. As per my observation, the leadership style executed can lead to far-reaching impacts on the operations of the healthcare organization. As opined by Cherry and Jacob (2016) leadership in care organization has a direct impact on employee attrition, the morale of team members, teamwork, productivity, and ultimately patient care quality.

The first leadership style that has drawn my attention is Autocratic leadership, which is a classical leadership approach. According to West et al. (2015), Autocratic leadership is marked by individual control over the decisions taken without considerable input from the group members (Huber 2017). Autocratic leaders are found to make choices based on the judgments and ideas, and are not inclined towards accepting advice from followers. Therefore, this form of leadership involves authoritarian and absolute control over the team members (Gopee and Galloway 2017). The Autocratic leadership style involves the nurse leader who is responsible for making all-important decisions and giving particular orders to the other team members. Such a leader discourages the team members from questioning the reliability of the directives issued (Hudak et al. 2015). Autocratic leaders are able to engage in suitable decision making process due to their critical thinking skills, and hence they are able to deliver high quality of care.  Autocratic leaders are able to ensure that high quality care is delivered in an effective manner (Delmatoff and Lazarus 2014). Throughout my placement, I have observed the clinical leader to act confidently and communicate with the team members in an authorize manner. As a leader, he had to deliver commands to the members and expected them to act according to his directions. Nevertheless, he was efficient in engaging in critical decisions when the need for input from other team members is minimal. This is highly appreciable since the leader can prevent the complication of matters, and thereby eliminate the risk of patient harm (Sfantou et al. 2017). Precisely, Autocratic leaders must be direct and clear when other professionals are being organized to ensure that they adhere with the respective standard procedures (Finkelman 2015).

Democratic leadership style and its advantages in clinical practice

Shingler-Nace and Gonzalez (2017) identifies that Autocratic leaders have been found to be typically decisive. In case of the complex situation, such leaders can act appropriately. However, decision-making without the input from others can cause a misunderstanding with the team members. Further, Autocratic leaders are inclined to take decisions in an independent manner (Finkelman 2015). This has the potential to inhibit the quantities and qualities of ideas that come up in due course. Weiss and  Tappen (2014) in this regard has highlighted that Autocratic leaders act as micro-mangers, and have high demand from the team members. The same was observed in my placement setting where team members were often frustrated and dissatisfied with the work environment. The stress suffered by the team members acted as a barrier in delivery of optimal quality care. 

Democratic leadership style is the second leadership style that drew significant attention as being exhibited by the professionals in the care organization. McKeown and Carey (2015) defined Democratic leadership as a form of participative leadership wherein the members of the group have a participative role in the decision making process. In such a leadership form, the leader allows all followers to put forward their opinions and views, and exchange ideas for better decision- making (McKeown and Carey 2015; Weiss and Tappen 2014). While this process has the focus on the free flow of opinions and ideas, and group equality, the leader still has the accountability of providing guidance and exercising control (Crowell 2015).  According to Sfantou et al. (2017) it can be stated that Democratic leadership is considerably distinct from Autocratic leadership, and the two can be understood as the opposite to one another. Democratic leadership values affirmation of followers, and collaboration. Through such a leadership form, nurse leaders can include other professionals in the decision making process and distil ideas for finding novice care approach (Finkelman 2015).

Weiss and Tappen (2014) pinpointed that Democratic leadership is ideal for those cases where the leader has the aim of keeping the members informed about the crucial matters that can affect their actions. For maximizing service quality, clinical leaders are to advise members to develop an effective partnership with each other, thereby permitting open expression of ideas regarding patient goals, care interventions and health outcomes (Gopee and Galloway 2017). Sfantou et al. (2017) argued that there are several downsides of Democratic leadership. According to Finkelman (2015) in cases where the members have less clarity of roles, Democratic leadership might lead to uncompleted missions due to communication failures. In addition, a certain section of the group members might not be having the required knowledge and proficiency for making substantial contributions to the valuable decision making process. Grohar-Murray, DiCroce and Langan (2016) supported this by stating that Democratic leadership works best in cases where all members are ready to share the knowledge they have. Further, the considerable timeframe is required so that the members can put forward their opinions; otherwise, the decision making process would be faulty (Huber 2017). In my placement, the democratic leadership style witnessed made me acknowledge the benefits of the same. The key benefit was increased motivation of the team members who were ready to put in additional efforts to make the care process successful. The leader showing democratic leadership style was successful in creating an environment where the base is founded upon ideals of certain individuals who are highly vocal

Benefits and drawbacks of Autocratic and Democratic leadership styles

In the end, it can be concluded that leadership holds much potential to influence the nature of practice in an organization. Both Democratic and Autocratic leadership styles have their own sets of benefits and drawbacks, each of which holds much importance in practical situations. As a nurse leader, it would be imperative to understand the complexity of the situation and the competencies of the team members before deciding on the form of leadership that is to be implemented within the workplace.

2.a)

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   3.Example from my management placement was managing a deteriorating patient with his activities of daily living. In order to present the theory and management style logically, Gibbs’s reflective cycle Jasper (2013) will be used to analyse my own management style.Description of the event: At the beginning of the management placement, I was allocated to manage a patient who was at the last stage of a terminal cancer, and was very ill. The care was managed using Roper et al (2008) activities of daily living.The management theory adopted was The Bureaucratic model of management. Because according to Grohar-Murray and Langan (2011), this model is known for the use of extensive rules and procedures to govern the work of the employees. This model was chosen because it is a structured theory that organizes people and tasks, and it demands adherence to certain principles such as promoting discipline and attaining reliable behaviour amongst the workers (Grohar-Murray and Langan 2011).Feelings: In order to manage this patient effectively, my own management style focused on helping this patient meet the needs of his daily activities of living as Roper et al (2008) emphasized. However, at this stage in my management placement, I was nervous and unsure of what to do and where to start from.Evaluation: my priority was to ensure my patient needs are met. With reference to bureaucratic model, what was good about my management style was to adopt some of its organizational principles so as to manage my patient effectively.One of the principles adopted was delegating tasks to other members of the team such as the healthcare assistance and asking for my mentor’s assistance when needed. O’Grady and Malloch (2013) reveal that delegation is required wherever there is a hierarchal order of individuals working together to accomplish a goal.The purpose of delegation is to achieve efficiency in the work place; in order words, no one person can do all the work that must be done (Forman and Fox 1999). One of the instances I realised the effectiveness of delegation was during meal time and the patient must be assisted with feeding. On this basis, the HCA who I designated helped to feed this patient. However, it must be remembered that, the ultimate responsibility for that activity still belongs to the leader (O’Grady and Malloch 2013). To be able to account for my actions, the situation was first assessed to ascertain the competence of the delegate.Analysis: what went well with this style was the ability to maintain effective communication within the team. Therefore, to ensure effective communication, I was able to identify the scope of ability, and job description of the staff to which the task is been delegated to.  Grohar-Murray and Langan (2011) supported that a manager should be able to know the position and abilities of the person before delegating work to the subordinate. Conclusion:  One of the criticisms of this management style was fear of work been done properly Grohar-Murray and Langan (2011). My biggest challenge was fear of depending on others. As a final year student, I thought being independent will reflect my strength and competence.Therefore, I future, I will see delegation as part of a shared leadership which promotes learning and reduces workload in a team environment, thus building confidence.  

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