Discussion 1: Leadership Theories in Practice

A walk through the Business section of any bookstore or a quick Internet search on the topic will reveal a seemingly endless supply of writings on leadership. Formal research literature is also teeming with volumes on the subject.

However, your own observation and experiences may suggest these theories are not always so easily found in practice. Not that the potential isn’t there; current evidence suggests that leadership factors such as emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviors, for example, can be highly effective for leading nurses and organizations.

Yet, how well are these theories put to practice? In this Discussion, you will examine formal leadership theories. You will compare these theories to behaviors you have observed firsthand and discuss their effectiveness in impacting your organization.

To Prepare:

· Review the Resources and examine the leadership theories and behaviors introduced.

· Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.

· Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.

Post two key insights you had from the scholarly resources you selected. Describe a leader whom you have seen use such behaviors and skills, or a situation where you have seen these behaviors and skills used in practice. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain to what extent these skills were effective and how their practice impacted the workplace.

Discussion 2: Your Leadership Profile

Do you believe you have the traits to be an effective leader? Perhaps you are already in a supervisory role, but as has been discussed previously, appointment does not guarantee leadership skills.

How can you evaluate your own leadership skills and behaviors? You can start by analyzing your performance in specific areas of leadership. In this Discussion, you will complete Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment. This assessment will identify your personal strengths, which have been shown to improve motivation, engagement, and academic self-conference. Through this assessment, you will discover your top five themes—which you can reflect upon and use to leverage your talents for optimal success and examine how the results relate to your leadership traits.

To Prepare:

To take the Assessment, visit http://walden.gallup.com. Using the Guidance Document Resource(s) for the Strengths Finder assessment, follow the instructions for setting up an account. If the link does not work, please copy and paste the link into your web browser.

Please Note: This Assessment will take roughly 30 minutes to complete.

· Once you have completed your assessment, you will receive your “Top 5 Signature Themes of Talent” on your screen.

· Click the Download button below Signature Theme Report, and then print and save the report. We also encourage you to select the Apply tab to review action items.

NOTE: Please keep your report. You will need your results for future courses. 

· Reflect on the results of your Assessment, and consider how the results relate to your leadership traits.

Post a brief description of your results from the StrengthsFinder assessment. Then, briefly describe two core values, two strengths, and two characteristics that you would like to strengthen based on the results of your StrengthsFinder assessment. Be specific.

Assignment: Personal Leadership Philosophies

Many of us can think of leaders we have come to admire, be they historical figures, pillars of the industry we work in, or leaders we know personally. The leadership of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln and Margaret Thatcher has been studied and discussed repeatedly. However, you may have interacted with leaders you feel demonstrated equally competent leadership without ever having a book written about their approaches.

What makes great leaders great? Every leader is different, of course, but one area of commonality is the leadership philosophy that great leaders develop and practice. A leadership philosophy is basically an attitude held by leaders that acts as a guiding principle for their behavior. While formal theories on leadership continue to evolve over time, great leaders seem to adhere to an overarching philosophy that steers their actions.

What is your leadership philosophy? In this Assignment, you will explore what guides your own leadership.

To Prepare:

• Identify two to three scholarly      resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact      of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
• Reflect on the leadership      behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
• Reflect on your results of the      CliftonStrengths Assessment, and consider how the results relate to your      leadership traits.

The Assignment (2-3 pages):

Personal Leadership Philosophies

Develop and submit a personal leadership philosophy that reflects what you think are characteristics of a good leader. Use the scholarly resources on leadership you selected to support your philosophy statement. Your personal leadership philosophy should include the following:

• A description of your core      values
• A personal mission/vision      statement
• An analysis of your      CliftonStrengths Assessment summarizing the results of your profile
• A description of two key      behaviors that you wish to strengthen
• A development plan that      explains how you plan to improve upon the two key behaviors you selected      and an explanation of how you plan to achieve your personal vision. Be      specific and provide examples.
• Be sure to incorporate your      colleagues’ feedback on your CliftonStrengths Assessment from this      Module’s Discussion 2.

Use below resource for reference

arshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

• Chapter 1, “Expert Clinician      to Transformational Leader in a Complex Health Care Organization:      Foundations” (pp. 7–20 ONLY)
• Chapter 6, “Frameworks for      Becoming a Transformational Leader” (pp. 145–170)
• Chapter 7, “Becoming a Leader: It’s All About      You” (pp. 171–194)

Duggan, K., Aisaka, K., Tabak, R. G., Smith, C., Erwin, P., & Brownson, R. C. (2015). Implementing administrative evidence-based practices: Lessons from the field in six local health departments across the United States. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1). doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3. Retrieved from https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3

Resources for the StrengthsFinder Assessment Tool

Strengths Finder: Gallup. (2018). Retrieved from https://walden.gallup.com