Nursing Management: Leadership
o Unit of leadership:
▪ Budgeting.
▪ Staff appraisals.
▪ General management.
o Conflict Management:
▪
... [Show More] Managing problems arising between individuals or within a group.
▪ Actions to prevent as well as resolve conflict in any setting.
▪ Problems:
• Opposition.
• Friction.
• Disagreement.
• Discord.
• Occurs when the beliefs or actions of one or more individuals are either resisted by or
unacceptable to one or more.
▪ Five major styles, or strategies commonly utilized:
• Accommodating (soothing)
o Eliminates emotional involvement of conflict without addressing the issue itself.
o Compromise may be due to desire to maintain harmony or gain social credits.
o Usually seen in situation where one individual has more power than the other.
o Typically requires planning another approach to solve problem at a later time.
o Most appropriate for situations where:
▪ You are aware that you are incorrect and other involved person is right.
▪ The issue is unimportant to you.
▪ More gain is possible later if give in on situation.
▪ When conflict and anger are disrupting work setting.
o Disadvantages ⎯ abandonment of responsibility to provide valuable input to problem
resolution.
• Collaborating (problem-solving)
o May be most difficult to achieve.
o Requires willingness to confront person with whom you may disagree - helpful to identify
common goals.
o Based on discussion and thoughtful examination of issues, with premise that
participants listen to one another and try to understand each point of view.
o Could result in a win-win situation.
o Most appropriate for situations where consensus is required.
o Disadvantages may include time consuming, which can delay decision-making.
• Compromising (creating a middle position, sharing, negotiating)
o Involves give and take.
o Requires willingness to confront person with whom you disagree - helpful to identify
common goals.
o Factors in the situation are balanced against each other.
o Minimizes losses for all involved parties while providing some gains for each.
o Most appropriate for situations where:
▪ Goals of both sides seem incompatible.
▪ Conflict has time constraints.
▪ When settlement is needed.
o Disadvantages:
▪ Discomfort with confrontation - may lead to avoidance.
▪ Problem may resurface.
• Avoiding (withdrawal)
o Choosing not to address the issue at hand.
o Most appropriate for situations where:
▪ More to be lost than gained by addressing conflict.
▪ Lack of adequate time to gather supporting data.
▪ Problem is only a symptom of a larger concern.
▪ You are not directly involved in problem.
▪ Situation will eventually resolve itself without intervention.
▪ Emotions are high and there is no imminent danger.
o Disadvantages:
▪ Not intervening may produce less upset but may also result in loss of important
information.
▪ May create internal conflict with personal value system - failing to report
subordinate who is stealing supplies.
• Competing (coercion or forcing)
o Involves exclusively working for desired solution.
o Used in situations where you feel you have greater expertise or more information than
others involved in conflict.
o Used in situation where compromise is not a solution.
o Most appropriate for situations where need to resolve a deadlocked issue.
o Disadvantages:
▪ May not consider needs and opinions of other person(s) involved.
▪ May result in win-lose situation.
▪ Assessment:
• If conflict is occurring.
• Which individuals are involved with conflict.
• Which strategy works best in a specific situation.
• How to best resolve the conflict.
▪ Planning:
• Select appropriate strategy for particular situation.
• Plan tactics that achieve better working relationships and get more of what each person
wants.
• Use ways to:
o Gain respect.
o Improve self-esteem.
o Build courage.
▪ Mediating Conflict:
• A mediator may be enlisted to act as an intermediary or conciliator between disagreeing sides
or persons involved in a conflict.
• Steps taken may include:
o Assess the conflict.
o Analyze the information and determine facts.
o Determine solutions.
o Design the process for mediation.
o Consider timetables.
• Implement solutions:
o Arrange a meeting of involved persons.
o Ask for suggestions for resolution from those involved.
o Consider all possible alternatives and narrow choices for action.
o Plan implementation for decision.
o Evaluate results.
o Evaluate conflict resolution.
• Intervention by a third party may also be withheld if:
o Persons in conflict should resolve their issues themselves.
o Third party does not have control over the problem.
▪ Implementation:
• Don’t avoid conflict unless it helps create a delay that allows people to cool down or gather more
information.
• Before addressing the person with whom there is a conflict, discuss the situation with an
objective colleague.
• Seek feedback and advice in dealing with the situation.
• Get facts before jumping to conclusions.
• Utilize most appropriate style/strategy.
• Talk out conflict face to face, if possible.
• Use mediator, if necessary.
• Apologize when appropriate.
• Utilize effective communication skills.
▪ Steps of conflict resolution:
• Determine the facts.
• Identify the problem.
• Ask for suggestions for resolution from those involved.
• Determine the solution.
• Evaluate the results.
• Evaluate the conflict resolution.
▪ Prevention: observations of potential conflict and steps to prevent conflict from occurring.
▪ Possible Outcomes:
• Win-win situation: both parties achieve all or most of their goals or desires.
• Win-lose situation: one person or group achieves desired outcome, and the other person or
group fails to obtain what is desired.
• Lose-lose situation: outcome is unsatisfactory to both parties.
o Leadership Styles:
▪ Autocratic:
• Leader maintains full control of decision-making, planning, and issuing of orders.
• Discourages independence.
• Uses coercion.
• Emphasizes status differences.
▪ Democratic leader:
• Less controlling than autocratic leader.
• Encourages participative planning and decision-making.
• Offers suggestions.
• Encourages independence.
• Motivates with economic and personal satisfaction rewards.
▪ Laissez-faire leader:
• Exerts little or no control or direction in planning, decision-making, or action.
• Gives support when it is requested.
• Emphasizes the group.
• Situational or contingency leader:
• Exhibits behaviors along a continuum from autocratic to laissez-faire.
• Dependent upon each new situation.
▪ Transactional leader:
• Serves as caretaker.
• Task-oriented.
• Provides rewards for meeting of goals.
▪ Transformational leader:
• Committed, inspirational, process oriented.
• Identifies common values. [Show Less]