What is an effective leader is the question for this week.  In MGT 500 we are talking about Leaders this week and what makes them effective.  One of the most important aspects I see to a good leader is honesty,  I read an article by Carol Huston (2008) that talks about Preparing nurse leaders for 2020.  One of the eight leadership competencies she noted was; Balancing authenticity and performance expectations.  Huston (2008) notes "Authentic leaders are those who are true to themselves and their values and act accordingly" (p. 909).  The article talks about the difference between "congruent leadership" and "traditional leadership".  Congruent or Authentic leadership is different from traditional leadership in that in traditional leadership the focus on the vision and goals, and the idea of external environment having to do with leading the team.  In congruent leadership it is about "the leader's principles and their conviction to act accordingly that inspires followers" (Huston, 2008, p. 909). 

In the year 2020 healthcare is going to look a lot different and this leadership competency is going to be important.  The list of competencies that Huston has identified is: 

1.      A global perspective or mindset regarding healthcare and professional nursing issues.

2.      Technology skills which facilitate mobility and portability of relationships, interactions, and operational processes.

3.      Expert decision-making skills rooted in empirical science.

4.      The ability to create organization cultures that permeate quality healthcare and patient/worker safety.

5.      Understanding and appropriately intervening in political processes.

6.      Highly developed collaborative and team building skills.

7.      The ability to balance authenticity and performance expectations.

8.      Being able to envision and proactively adapt to a healthcare system characterized by rapid change and chaos.

As a supervisor I strive to make sure I am honest/authentic in what I do.  I claim mistakes when I make them, and I don't claim to know things that I don't.  This may not be valued by all leaders but it is something that I value tremendously.  I hope my staff sees that I am authentic and I also hope that I can expect the same from them.

Reference:

Huston, C. (2008). Preparing nurse leaders for 2020. Journal Of Nursing Management, 16(8), 905-911.

 

This weeks blog is about Management by Objectives (MBO).  In MGT 500 I was asked to talk about a company that uses Management by Objectives and how successful was that company.  I chose to write about 2 companies, one was Hewlett-Packard and the others was the Educational Service Center where I work.  There were obvious differences in how each company utilized Management by Objectives, but both companies used it effectively.  So then I started thinking do hospitals and other health care setting use Management by Objectives.  I went on a library search for an article to verify if MBO was used in healthcare and came across an article entitled "Restructuring an Orientation Program for Nurses Utilizing Management by Objectives Principles" written by Judith Crockett in 1978.  I was surprised to see that the article was from that long ago, but then I remembered that Peter Drucker starting talking about this in 1954.  Crockett (1978) identified MBO as "process whereby the superior and the subordinate of an organization jointly identify common goals, define each individuals major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the control of each of its members." (p. 19)  In the field of nursing Crockett mentions that objectives should be: (1) accurate in terms of the true end state sought; (2) consistent with your institution policies, nursing procedures, and plans; (3) concise, unambiguous; (4) within the abilities of the nurse to accomplish and/or learn; (5) motivating and challenging. 

After this lecture and readings I started to identify all the ways MBO can be used with companies and also I started to think about if not used correctly it could be detrimental to a company.  For instance where I currently work if we were to used the MBO process inappropriately we would have some serious consequences.  Because the programs that are ran at the Educational Service Center are mainly State or Federally funded there are specific objectives that must be met.  When we are talking to staff about objectives and goals to meet, especially time lines, there are serious consequences to not meeting those objectives or goals.  The biggest consequence is that funding is lost.  If funding is lost we all lose our jobs and the families we serve lose the valuable services that are being provided to them.  I want to focus at my job on using MBO to its maximum effectiveness. 

Reference:
Crockett, J. (1978). Restructuring an orientation program for nurses utilizing management by objectives principles. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 9(2), 19-21. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/915496937?accountid=8483