Leaders are only considered effective if they can influence their followers to achieve the desired organizational goals. An organization can succeed or fail depending on the leadership style employed. Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy (2014) define leadership as “A social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organizational goals” (p.57). On the other hand, a leader is anyone involved in influencing and directing others to work towards desired objectives. Two of the most popular leadership styles employed in an organization are authoritarian and democratic leadership models. It has come to the attention of the nurse director that a severe staffing shortage is looming in the winter due to the tendency of nurses to self-schedule. Depending on the leadership style employed, the mode of communication and reconciliation of conflicting needs will differ.
Communication to Managers
In a democratic leadership model, all stakeholders, irrespective of their position in the hierarchy, are considered equal and therefore participate in decision-making (Bhatti, Maitlo, Shaikh, Hashmi, & Shaikh, 2012). They include their subordinates and followers in the process of decision-making and communication. The style of leadership thrives, especially in organizations where individuals work together in groups to achieve a unifying outcome. As a democratic leader, communicating the impending crisis will involve convening a meeting that would incorporate the diverse ideas and points of view from the managers. The leader will ensure that each manager gives their perspective and a consensus forms the basis of the intervention taken.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Authoritarian leaders, on the other hand, are controllers and thrive by directing others to perform duties without questioning (Bhatti et al., 2012). They possess clear expectations on how a task should be performed. They don’t include followers or subordinates in the process of decision-making. Their role primarily centers on giving clear instructions that must be followed to the latter. In an authoritarian model, the nurse managers will receive direct instructions as to what they are expected to do. The narcissistic tendency of the authoritarian leader might see them communicate only to the next manager in their hierarchical ladder, who will be then tasked with the duty to decipher the message to the rest of the managers.
Communication to the Nursing Staff
According to Bhatti et al. (2012), a democratic leader encompasses all their followers in their decision-making process. They consider the subordinates as viable stakeholders that play a vital role in the success of the organization. Therefore, as a democratic leader, it is crucial to engage the most junior officers in the hospitals by seeking their perspectives and crafting a unanimous decision that is all-encompassing. The authors further note that democratic leaders are people-centered and allow the expressions of the majority to inform decisions. Therefore, in this regard, the leader will have a little part to play as communication mainly takes a bottom-up approach (Bhatti et al., 2012).
Khan, et al. (2015), assert that authoritarian leaders are self-centered and engage in the creation of decisions and policies that need to be followed to the latter. According to the authors, they are similar to transaction leaders as they suggest ideas that need to be followed with actions from the relevant stakeholders. An authoritative leader is less likely to engage in an informal dialogue with nurses because they believe that the junior staff members are well-conversant with the policies and requirements stipulated in their job description. In case they need to communicate, they will use formal channels such as creating memos and writing emails to the subordinates. The leaders tend to maintain the gap between them and their subordinates as large as possible.
Reconciling Needs
The department must continue serving the patients effectively throughout the winter season. Also, the nurses must enjoy a flexible schedule that guarantees a high degree of work-life balance. A democratic leader will look for a consensus in a bid to serve the conflicting interest. Since a democratic leader follows people-centered needs, the individual needs of the nurses will be taken into consideration. For instance, the democratic leader will allow the nurses to continue engaging in self-scheduling so long as it does not have a negative impact on patient care delivery.
Khan et al. (2015) assert that authoritarian leaders are coercive and require that their needs and desires are adhered to the latter. As such, easily makes them more pro-organization than pro-people. They want to receive glory for their work and therefore, these leaders can compromise the comfort of the employees at the expense of the organizational goals. Thus, the authoritarian leader will revamp the self-scheduling behavior and instead propose a precise working timetable that will ensure that the hospital remains functional and efficient throughout the winter season. Anybody that goes against these requirements will be asked to either step-aside or receive a dismissal letter.
Conclusion
The case study has shown that leadership style determines the way in which leaders interact with their subordinates. Both authoritarian and democratic leadership models have their strengths and weaknesses, depending on the context of use. The style of leadership influences an individual mode of communication across the organization’s hierarchy. It also influences how they motivate their employees. For instance, an authoritarian figure motivates through coercion while a democratic leader uses an inclusive approach. Finally, it determines how the conflicting interests within an organization are settled so that maximum benefits among the stakeholders are achieved.
References
Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G. M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M. A., & Shaikh, F. M. (2012). The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction. International Business Research, 5(2), 192.
Khan, M. S., Khan, I., Qureshi, Q. A., Ismail, H. M., Rauf, H., Latif, A., & Tahir, M. (2015). The styles of leadership: A critical review. Public Policy and Administration Research, 5(3), 87-92.
Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Swamy, D. R. (2014). Leadership styles. Advances in Management, 7(2), 57.
