Nursing Management: the process of working through staff members to be able to provide comprehensive care to the patient.

This includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. o A process with interpersonal and technical aspects through which the objectives (providing holistic care to the patient) of an organization (or part of it) are accomplished efficiently and effectively by using human, physical, financial, and technological resources.

Nursing Leadership Theories I. Traits Theory leadership theories focused on leader traits > a person must have certain innate abilities or personality traits in order to be a leader a. "Great Man" Theory assumes that the capacity for leadership is inherent > great leaders are born, not made > portray great leaders as heroic, mythic and destined to rise to leadership when needed "Great Man" was used since leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality Early research on leadership was based on the study of people who were already great leaders >no chance for people from lower classes to become leaders b. Trait Theory assume that people inherit extraordinary qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership believe that leaders have special traits that make them leaders Common traits of Leaders 1. Positive trait Leaders with a positive trait bring its people to an improvement. These are the leaders who share what they have to its followers so they too can be a leader in their own way. 2. Negative trait On the other hand, leaders with negative trait bring its people to its downfall. They are making more of rebellious followers than that of a future leader. Trait theories are composed of studies consisting of the traits that a potential leader should possess. Stogdill (1974) was the first to identify the qualities or behavioral characteristics common among leaders. One of his findings revealed that leaders tend to be higher in intelligence, dominance, self-confidence, activity level and knowledge of a specific task compared to those of the non-leaders.

The table below shows the traits and skills possessed of a LEADER according to Stogdill. Traits Skills Adaptable to situations Clever (intelligent) Alert to social environment Conceptually skilled Ambitious and achievement-oriented Creative Assertive Diplomatic and tactful Cooperative Fluent in speaking Decisive Knowledgeable about group task Dependable Organized (administrative ability) Dominant (desire to influence others) Persuasive Energetic (high activity level) Socially skilled Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility According to Reeves (2001), at present, the following are the traits of a leader: 1. Emotional stability and composure 2. Admitting error 3. Good interpersonal skills 4. Intellectual breadth Gardner (1993) on the other hand stated that the following traits make a leader different from the others: Decisiveness Trustworthiness Self-confidence Capacity to motivate people Skill in dealing with people Task competence c. Individual Character Theory states that traits determine whether or not a person can be an effective leader Great leaders are considered to have innate distinctive physical and psychological individual characteristics that account for their effectiveness to lead. > people who are naturally taller, attractive, intelligent, self-reliant and creative are usually chosen to lead