[sirI]

Nurse Managers Who Nurture Staff Inspire Loyalty and Longevity

Nurse managers who display transformational leadership characteristics (use of inspiration, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration to influence staff) create a better sense of organizational commitment in their staff than those who display transactional leadership qualities (setting goals, giving directions and using rewards to reinforce employee behaviors). In the July/August 2006 issue of Nursing Economic$, Elaine McGuire, PhD, MBA, RN, CNAA-BC, and Susan M. Kennerly, PhD, RN, discuss how these leadership characteristics can help retain staff.

According to McGuire and Kennerly, effective nurse managers maintain a balance between transformational and transactional leadership qualities. They also say staff RNs tend to be drawn to leaders who are naturally enthusiastic, optimistic and can envision an improved nursing unit (all transformational characteristics).

Nursing Economic$ press release

http://www.nursingeconomics.net/cgi-..._id=1073744453

[jjjoy]

Transformational vs transactional... if a hospital has poor working conditions, prefered management style can only go so far. With current working conditions in many hospitals, studying various management styles seems a little lower on the priority scale than providing sufficient (not just barely scraping by) staffing and manageable workloads where nurses can give quality care and not feel like they're trying to bail out a sinking life boat with a drinking cup.

Still, it's more "cost-effective" to encourage managers to try this or that kind of leadership to improve retention than to hire several more full-time staff with benefits. Okay, I admit I'm jaded on this. Please someone tell me it's not that bad!

[pod184]

Originally Posted by jjjoy

Transformational vs transactional... if a hospital has poor working conditions, prefered management style can only go so far. With current working conditions in many hospitals, studying various management styles seems a little lower on the priority scale than providing sufficient (not just barely scraping by) staffing and manageable workloads where nurses can give quality care and not feel like they're trying to bail out a sinking life boat with a drinking cup.

Still, it's more "cost-effective" to encourage managers to try this or that kind of leadership to improve retention than to hire several more full-time staff with benefits. Okay, I admit I'm jaded on this. Please someone tell me it's not that bad!

Leadership is not a popularity contest, sometimes you have to do things that are difficult. Successful managers (and upper management as well) stand by their actions and staff. They are the model for the organization.
On those lines, there is a great quote by Mahatma Gandhi that goes "We must become the change we want to see"

[BiggHeart]

I can't say that McGuire and Kennerly are wrong, but I agree with jjjoy. Believe me, I don't mind working hard, but when I fear for my patients' safety because there is no way for me to provide adequate care due to gross understaffing (in other words, I have to hope that the patients who are doing relatively well that shift can manage with a minimum of attention from me because I'm having to attend to all my other patients with higher acuities), I'm not going to be thrilled with any manager's leadership. Until we can give patients the care they deserve or provide safe care at the very least by being better staffed, I will not be happy with management/administration no matter what form of "management" they provide.

[Havin' A Party!]

The authors' conclusion almost seems common sense. Hasn't "inspiration, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration" always trumped "setting goals, giving directions and using rewards" in the longer scheme of things?

Anyway that's been my reality. Nonetheless I'm not saying that the latter isn't also important.