A Paper of Leadership

Introduction

Power can be described as the capacity of bringing about the intended consequences in other people’s behaviors especially in an organization set up. Power and leadership are quite separate though they may be related in one way or the other. In most cases people with leadership ability normally know how to use power and they also know that they have the power. Formal power is also called the power of position. These people are not necessarily leaders. On the other hand, informal power is found in people who can make a difference in other people’s lives but they are not necessarily leaders. It comes about as cumulative effect of caring and also having the concern for others. This paper is dealing with the impact of power as well as the impact of informal power in an organization. Also included are leadership styles and the challenges a leader faces in today’s healthcare system. Leadership styles are included and the challenges that are faced by a leader in the healthcare system. (Kotter, 2000)

Power has impact on the workforce in a healthcare system. The impact of power in a hospital is that it makes employees or the staff in a hospital to be responsible and also carry out their duties effectively. This is because they know that they are accountable to someone. The impact of power in a hospital is that the staff comes to work early enough and even the nurses attend to patients without delay. The employees automatically carry out their responsibilities effectively and efficiently because they know that because of the power that is in an organization can sack them if they do not carry out their responsibilities well. For this reason, power makes employees to bring success and also quality services in a hospital. This depends on how the power is used. When it is misused it can lead to demoralized employees. (Kotter, 2000)

 Informal power in a hospital makes employees to feel valued. Informal power also motivates other employees in hospitals. It makes employees to appreciate each other and also to value teamwork. Employees tend to be friendly to each other and also patients that visit the hospital. Leadership is all about influencing other people in the organization to accomplish a task. It involves directing an organization in that it becomes more coherent and cohesive. (Maund, 2001)

 Leadership style can therefore be defined as approach for providing direction. It includes motivation. There are various leadership styles that exist in management. They include authoritarian or autocratic, participative or democratic, delegative or free reign leadership. Each leadership style has advantages and disadvantages. This means that all leadership styles can have negative and positive impacts in a hospital set up.

In authoritarian   type of leadership, the leader simply tells employees how he or she wants the work done and what he wants employees to do without getting their views. This type of leadership is effective when the leader has all the information that is important or necessary to solve the problem.

Participative leadership involves other people on the decision making process. The leader in this case can include one of the employees when making decisions for the organization. This involves making decisions concerning what should be done and how the tasks should be done in the organization. This does not mean that the employees make the final decision. It means that the leader considers the contributions of the employees but comes up with a final decision. (Maund, 2001)

This is also another leadership style that is always used by managers and leaders in organizations. This involves allowing employees to make the decisions at the work place. Decisions that are normally made are usually very diverse. They could include arrival time at the work place etc. This method is highly used when employees are in a position to analyze the situation at hand.

A leader in today’s healthcare system faces very many challenges. One of them includes the challenge of motivating employees. This is because hospitals like other institutions employ people with diverse personalities. One thing that may motivate one employee is not what motivates the other. Another aspect or challenge that a leader in healthcare system faces is to motivate workers without money. This is because sometimes hospitals just treat patients on human basis and some of them are not in a position to pay. The workers can feel that they are not being paid what they deserve yet this profession calls for much sacrifice. (Newstrom, 1997)

Conclusion

Power in any organization is important. The way it is used can have either positive or negative impacts on the staff and the organization in general. One positive impact of power in a hospital set up is that the staffs become more responsible and are accountable for every action that they do in the hospital. They tend to arrive at work on time. The negative impact is that they can become demoralized if power is not well used. Informal power enhances unity among employees and makes them feel valued in the organization or hospital for that matter. There are three types of leadership; that is autocratic, participative or democratic. All these have their positive and negative impacts on the employees. Leader in healthcare system has the challenge of motivating employees without cash as an incentive because not all patients are always in a position to pay much Healthcare institutions are normally compelled to give services for free on human basis.