Running head: LEADERSHIP MANAGER ANALYSIS
Leadership Manager Analysis
Laurie Moody
Ferris State University
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LEADERSHIP MANAGER ANALYSIS
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Leadership is critical to any health care facility. It is the process of interaction between
the leader and the other staff, influencing towards workplace goal achievements (Yukl, 1998).
Leadership is the ability to provide direction toward preferred future aspirations and aligns the
followers toward achieved goals (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2004). A detailed manager leader profile
from my healthcare facility will be developed and described using transformational theory. This
theory is the most useful theory to describe the performance, effectiveness and style most
demonstrated by the intensive care unit manger to achieve the demands, goals and objectives in a
health care organization. The nature of the manager's role and responsibilities, communication,
knowledge of the health care environment, leadership style, professionalism, and business skills
will be analyzed ("The AONE Nurse Executive Competencies," 2005).
Introduction
Deanna Raab is the newly appointed intensive care unit (ICU) manager at Port Huron
Hospital. Ms.Raab’s educational background includes graduating from Saint Clair Community
College and securing a graduate nurse job at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak,
Michigan. Upon completion of nursing boards, she applied to Oakland University to complete a
baccalaureate of science of nursing. At Beaumont Hospital, Deanna began working on a medical
surgical unit as a charge nurse and on quality improvement projects. After four years, she
pursued advancement in the intensive care unit. Ms. Raab made another advancement from staff
registered nurse to nurse clinician (permanent charge role with administrative duties) to
Associate Nurse Manager in the ICU. The total of years spent in Beaumont's ICU are 17 with the
last 11 years as an Associate Nurse Manager. Current certifications include Continuous Renal
Replacement Therapy (CCRT), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Ventricular Assist
Device (VAD) and Intra-aortic Balloon Pump (IABP).
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Role and Responsibilities
Ms. Raab’s current role at Port Huron Hospital is to manage a 12 bed intensive care unit.
Current responsibilities for this unit are to oversee daily operations which include ensuring
adequate staffing through recruitment and hiring the right mix of registered nurses, nurse aides
and secretaries to maintain patient safety each shift. As well as the responsibility for determining
a budget by which the unit can meet each year and adhere to that budget. Maintaining a daily
schedule to have the proper skill mix of staff (each shift having an open heart trained nurse
available), also taking into consideration other skills such as pacemakers and balloon pump
certified staff. Additional responsibilities for continuous quality improvement, educating staff
regarding regulatory requirements and ensuring that these requirements are being met and
adhering to patient safety goals. Ms. Raab is responsible for leading several committee's such as
the wound team which is responsible for ensuring the hospital is up to date on wound
dressing/treatments and for quarterly pressure ulcer prevalence study. A clinical ladder
committee that involves updating the clinical ladder, reviewing ladder II and ladder III portfolios
and educating managers on the clinical ladder process. Further, she is the lead for meaningful use
that ensures that the hospital is meeting meaningful use in multiple clinical areas. Meaningful
use is a way to improve quality, safety, efficient, and reduce health disparities. In this current
role, she is responsible for encouraging professionalism among staff and guiding them to go to
the next level of advancement. Providing mentoring for staff in a variety of ways which is
unique to each staff member. Ms. Raab reports to Christie Sansom who is the director over
critical care and medial surgical floors.
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Communication and Relationship-building
Leadership is defined as inducing individuals or a group to take an action in accordance
with the purpose of the leader. Roussel and Swansburg (2005), pointed out that leadership can be
explained as a group of individuals who have been inspired by a person to work together toward
achieving common goals and missions using appropriate means.
Leading by example, Ms. Raab tries to influence people mainly by her personal actions.
Ms. Raab stated,” I have high expectations from my staff but set the same expectations for
myself. I believe if you want to influence people to act and behave a certain way then you need
to set those examples for them.” She also believes that people are influenced in different ways
because everyone are motivated by different triggers. This is why it is important to get to know
staff and identify what their motivation are. Trying to instill pride in the staff in order to
influence their behavior, those that take pride in their work give more effort. Another important
factor in influencing people is education, and understanding the importance of what staff is
doing; not just that they are told to do something because it is what we have to do.
Transformational leaders empower and encourage the staff by engaging them in decision
making, which inspires them to be a part of the vision, making them feel that they are part of the
team contributing to the success of the organization. Yoder-Wise (2014), “transformational
leader refers to a process whereby the leader attends to the needs and motivates of followers so
that the interaction raises each to high levels of motivation and morality” (p. 10). Leaders can
inspire staff to lead based on their area of expertise, positive reinforcement, and support personal
relationships thus stimulation team building and involvement.
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Knowledge of the Health care environment & Professionalism
In Ms. Raab’s professional opinion there are many opportunities within the intensive care
unit. There are advancement opportunities such as the professional clinical ladder which staff can
progress to a level II or level III. The professional ladder requires that the registered nurse
become involved in unit and hospital based committees, participate in attending educational
conferences and bringing information back to the staff, participating in any educational
opportunities within the unit and community participation. An example, is a weekly meeting
with Dr. Basha, director of critical care medicine, who has agreed to hold educational series
every three weeks, the first being acid-base balance at the end of October. Staff will be highly
encouraged to attend these educational opportunities which will also be videotaped so that
anyone who cannot attend can view via their Healthstream. New employees will be required to
watch the series during their orientation. Support is encouraged to the staff to obtain their CCRN
and will offer mentoring through this process. Several resources for the staff to use a study guide
for these exams is now being provided. Celebration of achievements and accomplishments for
those who receive any additional certification in the ICU will be honored on the unit. Ms. Raab
supports staff by expressing that there are endless opportunities in the intensive care unit for staff
development and one of the visions for the unit is to encourage each staff to continue to enhance
their professional development. In addition, opportunities to include attending staff meetings and
the unit based council meetings are readily available for staff. In the context of transformational
leadership, Ms. Raab treats all staff in a friendly way, equally and with perfect communication
skills acceptable to all of them. This leads to building a trusting relationship between herself and
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the staff, In addition, she involves all the staff in the organization’s vision and treat each staff
member as a part of the core values.
Business Skills
By far the largest controllable expense of a health care organization is the annual budget
of labor costs. Further, her responsibility is to measure and monitor the nurse to patient ratio,
patient satisfaction, and productivity. Additionally, monitoring of labor productivity by
determining an appropriate number of staff per day. Her budget plan includes all hours worked
plus any vacation time, sick and holiday hours. Keeping detailed records for worked hours and
paid hours helps explain cost concerns with hospital administrators. Although it is impossible to
control unforeseen issues: availability of physicians, the movement of patients from other
departments, and the hospital census. Working with groups and promoting influence is a
leadership process that involves common goals as per evidence based practice. The basic nature
to understand and help wellness advancement is incorporate into a lifelong learning experience
in order to be a leader, clearly something that Deanna handles with grace and ease.
Leadership
Leadership is promoting relationship building by encouraging teamwork. Ms. Raab
demonstrates this daily by using teamwork video clips at staff meetings to remind people that the
staff are a team all the time. Ms. Raab encourages relationship building between other units and
departments as well as encouraging staff not to place blame on the other unit or department but
to come together to positively point out ways to work together better. Current work to facilitate
this union has been working on relationship building with 3 east, a surgical floor, when their
volume is low they close their unit and merge with 5 east. Guidelines were developed for the unit
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closing and re-opening which involved managers, staff, bed flow coordinators and directors to
make sure the flow could be as smooth as possible. Constant reminders to the staff that the
patient’s safety and satisfaction are key during these transitions. This week the hospital provided
a breakfast to bring the two units together to get to know each other better. The care plans
educated on were bariatric, spine, back, and total joint patients so that each unit had resources for
the patients they do not normally care for. A team building video played during the breakfast and
staff reported that the video turned out to be very helpful and encouraging. Staff stated that they
felt more comfortable and there was positive discussion between the two units. The ability to
motivate others by exceptional standards and the ability to believe in people are characteristics of
strong transformational leader. Empowerment, communication skills, and strong values are
evident in Deanna who is a dominating transformational leader.
Conclusion
Leadership is one of the most important skills in the nurse manager role. Between the
leader and the staff it is a process of influencing positive goals and task of the organization.
Transformational leadership is often demonstrating in leadership roles to be very effective and is
commonly seen as a leadership style within a hospital based organization (Kelly-Hiedenthal,
2004). Set on the premise of empowerment, inspiration and motivation to build staff toward
working together to achieve goals and a vision. A transformational leader, who acts as a role
model can influence the staff and make them accountable for their own practice, work
achievements and staff development (McNaron, 2009, pp. 589-560).
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References
Kelly-Hiedenthal, P. (2004). Essentials of nursing leadership & management. USA: Delmer
Learning.
McNaron, M. (2009). Using transformational learning principles to change behavior in the
operating theatre. Aron Journal, 89, 859-860.
Roussel, L. (2009). Management and leadership for nurse administrators (5th ed.). USA: Jones
and Bartlett.
Roussel, L., Swanburg, R. C., & Swanburg, R. J. (2005). Management and leadership for nurse
administrators (4th ed.). USA: Jones and Bartlett.
The AONE nurse executive competencies. (2011). Retrieved from www.ferris.edu
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2014). Leadership and managing in nursing (5th ed.). St Louis, MO:
Elsevier.
Yukl, G. (1998). Leadership in organizations (4th ed.). New Jersey: Upper Saddle River.