Differentiate between “leading” and “managing.” NUR 514
Differentiate between “leading” and “managing.” Based on your experience in the health care industry, explain how an advanced registered nurse can lead well and provide management. Share at least one strategy you have used to effectively lead and manage staff within health care organizations Consider interactions with patients, team members, daily tasks, and responsibilities as you formulate your response.
Management is the coordination and administration of tasks to achieve a goal. Such administration activities include setting the organization’s strategy and coordinating the efforts of staff to accomplish these objectives through the application of available resources (Indeed, n.d.). Managers coordinate the daily activities of the unit, manage payroll and budgets, and maintain adherence to organizational policies.
Leadership has been defined as moving a group of persons toward a common goal. Leaders establish a direction and influence others to follow it; they motivate people toward a shared goal (DeNisco, 2021). Great leaders know how to produce and sustain good followership and teamwork. They are watchful, responsive, and proactively engaged in maintaining team collaborations. They constantly engage their team and progress (Cruz, 2014).
As an advanced practice nurse operating as a clinical unit manager, management and leadership go hand in hand. As the manager, you are responsible for the activities and outcomes that happen in the unit. These management activities are what the team is graded on.
The clinical unit manager’s leadership portion promotes the team members’ collaboration to become involved in their unit’s progress, encouraging interaction and team growth.
In this position, I have taken the opportunity to explain how and why the daily operation is and encourage me to provide input on maintaining a positive interactive work environment while providing patient-centered care. One strategy used is the use of shared governance to allow staff to have a say in the unit’s operation, request the areas where they would like to see change, and provide a sense of ownership in their position.
References
Cruz, J. (2014). Great Leaders Inspire Great Followership. Leadership Excellence, 48.
DeNisco, S. (2021). Advanced Practice Nursing. Burlington: Jones & Barlette.
Indeed. (n.d.). Retrieved from Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/basic-functions-of-management
There are definitely some similarities and paths that are interchangeable leading and managing, but for the most part, there are many differences, and pros and cons. An effective manager will possess leadership skills, and an efficient leader also needs good managing abilities in order to be successful. “Management controls or directs people and resources according to principles or values that have been established by the organization where they work. Leaders set a new direction or vision for the people who follow them. They coach, guide, develop, and inspire the people around them, communicating their vision of what can be achieved and helping evolve strategies to realize that vision. They motivate people and negotiate for resources and other support to achieve their goals (Pepperdine.edu, 2021).” Based on my experiences in the health care industry, an advanced registered nurse can lead well and provide management. Someone I think about who embodied great leadership and management skills was a former Nurse Practitioner I used to work with. There were so many characteristics about her that made me want to emulate them in my own nursing practice and as a leader. She was calm, strong, unwavering in her decisions yet collaborative, communicative and never jumped to conclusions. Obviously, all these characteristics are ideal, but the one thing I admired most about her was her willingness to take time to educate. Because of her willing to take time to teach, I learned so much from her clinically, emotionally and personally. Whether a formal or informal leader, or whether they know it or not, they change and influence the next generation of nurses moving forward. I have had many different roles in my hospital from ED/Trauma RN to charge nurse to house supervisor to ED manager and now ED/Trauma educator. Along this path I have learned so much as to how to be a leader and manager. One of my biggest lessons in both of these areas, was to always seek the whole story before forming an opinion or a response, this is one strategy I learned to become a more effective leader and manager.
The difference between leadership and management. PEP. (2021, March 30). Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://onlinegrad.pepperdine.edu/blog/difference-between-leadership-and-management/
