MMHA 6501 Week 2 Leadership Theory Discussion Post Example

Week 2 Discussion: Initial Post and Replies

Two Groups, Two Theories: Coaching New Nurses and Serving Veteran CNAs at Maple Terrace

My scenario is a director of nursing three weeks into the role at Maple Terrace, an invented 120-bed skilled nursing facility. She leads two very different groups on the short-stay rehabilitation unit. One is a team of veteran certified nursing assistants, most with more than ten years in the building, who have outlasted four directors of nursing in six years. The other is a cohort of five newly licensed nurses hired in the last two months. The question is whether a single leadership approach can serve both groups, and I think the answer is no.

For the new nurses, situational leadership fits well. Hersey et al. (2013) describe follower readiness as a combination of ability and willingness, and the leader's style should match it. The new nurses are highly willing, eager to do well and asking questions, but low in facility-specific ability: they know nursing but not Maple Terrace's routines, its electronic record or the residents' histories. That combination calls for coaching, which pairs clear direction with explanation and encouragement. The director should tell them specifically how admissions and care plan updates work here, explain why, and check in frequently, then reduce direction as their competence grows.

For the veteran CNAs, situational leadership alone would misread the situation. Their ability is high and their willingness is not really in question; what is missing is trust that a new director will last or will listen. Greenleaf (1977) argues that the servant leader leads by first serving the needs of others, and I think that is the only credible opening with a group that has watched supervisors come and go. In practice, that means the director should ask the CNAs what gets in the way of their work and remove some of those obstacles, such as broken lifts or missing supplies, before asking them for anything, including support for new initiatives. A new director who starts by changing procedures will look like the four before her. Research on nursing home staffing has found that frequent turnover among nursing staff is linked to weaker quality (Gandhi et al., 2021), so the CNAs' long tenure is an asset worth protecting rather than a resistance to overcome.

So I will put it back to you: in your own scenario, which group would you lead differently from the way your organization's culture expects, and what would that cost you?

Reply to Monique

Monique, you chose transformational leadership for your emergency department's night charge nurses, citing their low morale. But your post also says that three of the five charge nurses are new to the role and unsure how to handle bed requests from the house supervisor. Situational leadership might fit them better at first, since inspiration without clear direction could leave them more anxious, not less. Would you consider coaching the new charge nurses on the bed process before working on the shared vision?

Reply to Darius

Darius, you applied servant leadership to the billing team you supervise, but you describe them as experienced, confident and frustrated mainly by unclear priorities from the CFO. That sounds less like a trust problem and more like a direction problem coming from above you. Servant leadership might mean shielding them from conflicting requests, which is a form of service, but you might also need to manage upward. How would you clarify priorities with the CFO without bypassing your team?

References

Gandhi, A., Yu, H., & Grabowski, D. C. (2021). High nursing staff turnover in nursing homes offers important quality information. Health Affairs, 40(3), 384-391. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00957

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2013). Management of organizational behavior: Leading human resources (10th ed.). Pearson.