3 Types of Leadership Styles in Healthcare

Strong leadership is essential in the healthcare industry. At some point in their careers, almost all healthcare professionals will be assigned significant leadership duties, or take on more responsibility. Establishing effective leadership styles is imperative to creating a healthcare organisation's culture and assuring its ability to tackle complicated healthcare delivery challenges.

As you may be aware, numerous leadership styles may be used in the healthcare setting, in this blog we have highlighted 3 of the most successful; Charismatic, Transactional, and Transformational - that can deliver specific team-based results to meet organisational objectives and assist in overcoming those unforeseen challenges.

Transactional Leadership

The importance of planning, supervision, and group performance is emphasised in transactional leadership. Interactions between healthcare managers and staff are viewed as transactional under this leadership style. By accepting employment, employees effectively commit to following leadership. Employees accept and complete responsibilities and healthcare management financially compensates them for it.

Unlike some of the other leadership styles, healthcare professionals utilise rewards and punishments as motivational methods to encourage compliance with their instructions. Employees, for example, may be rewarded if they adhere to certain procedures, but penalised if they do not.

When individuals work better when there is a clear order of command, from all other leadership styles, this one preferred. Employees must be closely monitored to ensure that they meet the objectives, or their primary role is to carry out the instructions set by their supervisors.

Despite the fact that transactional leadership does not inspire creativity or problem solving, It might, however, come in handy when coping with unforeseen situations. When specific duties must be completed, transactional leadership can effectively complete them while keeping everything afloat.

Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic leaders rely on their ability to talk with emotion and power. By effectively conveying their visions and developing trust, they motivate and encourage those they lead to act. These characteristics can help bring individuals together who have similar goals. Because they are mission-driven, charismatic leaders are typically effective in making essential changes in their healthcare organisations.

Charismatic leadership has several benefits, including the capacity to inspire people, which can increase their loyalty and dedication. The social abilities of charismatic leaders can help to create a work atmosphere where employees feel valued. When looking at leadership styles, this has the potential to reduce turnover while enhancing employee engagement.

It boosts and prioritises creativity, development, and innovation, while failures are viewed as chances to learn and progress. Employees in such a culture are more likely to develop new solutions to problems.

Employees are generally encouraged to meet and surpass goals under charismatic leadership because charismatic leaders instil trust and respect in those they lead. This increases the drive to strive for higher-quality work and productivity.

This is why many of a charismatic leader's abilities may be especially useful in high-stakes situations when team morale can quickly decline. The capacity to emotionally connect with individuals and unite them around similar goals may foster loyalty and commitment, lowering the risk of employee burnout and staff turnover.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate and inspire personnel to work for the greater good of a healthcare organisation. Employee loyalty is increased through creating confidence, trust and a common aim as well as acting as a role model for them.

They develop respect through establishing relationships with and among staff members. While transformational leaders are concerned with meeting objectives, they are also concerned with the people they lead and are committed to their growth, development and success.

Transformational leaders may inspire a team, provide a clear vision for the team's goals and objectives, and provide direction that inspires action. As a result, individuals are more likely to boost productivity and perform better. They also raise morale and increase job satisfaction.

In some situations, healthcare professionals may benefit from a transformational leadership style. Transformational leadership, for example, works best when team members are knowledgeable about a specific subject matter. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, may be ineffective when employees lack skills and demand close supervision.

Developing leadership skills with further education

Despite the fact that there are several possibilities for medical professionals to enhance their leadership skills, given the landscape of the health sector, health workers receive very little to no leadership training, even though leadership qualities are essential and high in demand.

This is why Learna provides a leadership in healthcare programme with a curriculum designed to boost your team leadership skills, confidence, and knowledge through demonstrating initiative in planning, organising and overseeing operations inside a healthcare organisation.

The programme will teach you how to build a trust-based team culture that produces desired outcomes. This will be accomplished through guiding teams through change with tenacity, solving difficulties in an inventive and ethical manner, making confident and positive decisions, and allowing you to choose and adopt your preferred leadership style.

Since our programme is taught entirely online through self-directed distance learning, you will be mentored by our top industry experts throughout your course. You will also have the opportunity to deepen your expertise through academic discussions based on clinically rich case scenarios, with medical professionals like you from around the world. All the knowledge gained through those discussions can be applied directly to your practice.

Students who complete this leadership in healthcare programme will be able to expand their leadership skills and knowledge in areas such as:

• Exploring the complexities of applying leadership theories in ‘real world’ healthcare settings.
• Equipping professionals to better develop services by harnessing the human and organisational potential within healthcare organisations.
• Building understanding in theory and practice of clinical governance, quality improvement and effective learning to complex healthcare settings.
• Building knowledge in examining a variety of team and career development tools and evaluating their role in contributing to organisational development.
• Developing high level skills in understanding the value of strategy and innovation for leaders in healthcare organisations.
• Enhancing flexible leadership skills to more effectively lead change within complex healthcare organisational structures.

Medical professionals who demonstrate strong leadership skills are the ones who take on greater leadership responsibilities at various stages of their careers. This not only allows HCPs to begin managing and directing teams early in their careers, but it also allows them to climb their career ladder faster. So, why not let this be you?

If you'd like to learn more about our flexible and affordable distance learning leadership in healthcare programme, please click here to download the prospectus or contact our specialist admission team by booking a call, who will be happy to assist you.

Related articles: