Mgmt90127 : Leadership And Leadership Assessment Answers

Question: 

Complete a mini literature review of leadership theory relevant to contemporary professional practice in health and social care.

1. Find 3 to 4 academic peer reviewed sources of literature on the topic of leadership theory relevant to contemporary health and social services.  Note, at least two of these sources are to be drawn from literature provided in the course. As a guideline, try to find sources post 2011, but if sources prior to 2011 are selected then provide an academic rationale for this choice.

2. Critically review these.

3. Choose the one most relevant/helpful to your own professional practice and explain why.

Answer: 

Leadership and leadership theories in Alcohol and Drug Abuse

There are many definitions of leadership, but majorly leadership can be defined as directing people through the process of understanding and agreeing on what to perform and how to perform it. Leadership theories, on the other hand, are explanations that seek to illuminate on how some people become leaders. In alcohol and drug abuse, a chancellor will try to guide and lead people through a transformative stage where they try to change their live from one state to a better one (Bolden & Gosling, n.d.). Even though there are many theories that can guide a leader, there are only two that can help an alcohol and drug chancellor.

Transformational Theory – This is a leadership theory that was initially identified by an expert by the name of James McGregor Burns. Burns defined transformational leadership as a relationship between a leader and a follower where the two parties motivated each other to achieve higher level. This relation resulted in a more significant connection between two involved parties. Later, Burns thoughts on the theory were expaunded by Bernard M. Bass; he believed that strong ambitions and personal traits were standard features of transformational leaders.

Participative leadership – this type of leadership is also called democratic leadership. It is leadership where team members participate in the decision-making process. This leadership makes the patients feel more involved in the making decisions that shape their healing process.  This style of leadership is also applied in areas such as hospitals, higher education institutions, pharmaceuticals and many more (Bolden, Petrov, & Gosling, 2008). In this theory, the chancellor acts more like a facilitator rather than a dictator and shares information with the hope of arriving at a collective decision. Evidently, it has been observed that for alcohol and drug chancellor who applies this technique, his/her patients become more confident in group expressions by engaging in group treatment and learn cooperation by engaging in group discussion.

Most helpful theory

Of the two approaches that are relevant to an alcohol and drug chancellor, transformational leadership is the most favorable choice for an alcohol and drug chancellor. This is because transformational change is focused on change. The chancellors that make use of this theory are taken to be agents of change who put their individual qualities and diverse personality to encourage patients to reach for their set achievements and also share their vision (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).

This type of leadership encourages the chancellor to influence their patients by helping them to achieve their objectives by creating a connection of trust with them. This action can be done by creating openness, fairness and honesty and honesty with them and also encouraging independence in decision-making.

Transformational leadership provides some components that are applicable when dealing with alcohol and drug patients. These components of transformation include the ideal impact, strong motivation, the intellectual stimulation and personal considerations (Maslanka, n.d.). Research has shown that transformational leadership significantly impact the follower's satisfaction and commitment to work, as a result of this finding transformational leadership can now be used in all organizations.

References:

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001

Bolden, R., & Gosling, J. (n.d.). Leadership and Management Competencies: Lessons from the National Occupational Standards, 12.

Bolden, R., Petrov, G., & Gosling, J. (2008). Tensions in Higher Education Leadership: Towards a Multi-Level Model of Leadership Practice. Higher Education Quarterly, 62(4), 358–376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.2008.00398.x

Maslanka, A. M. (n.d.). Evolution of Leadership Theories, 60.