Most nurse leadership studies have concentrated on a classical, heroic, and hierarchical view of leadership. However, critical leadership studies have argued the need for more insight into leadership in daily nursing practices. Nurses must align their professional standards and opinions on quality of care with those of other professionals, management, and patients. They want to achieve better outcomes for their patients but also feel disciplined and controlled. To deal with this, nurses challenge the status quo by showing rebel nurse leadership. In this paper, we describe 47 nurses’ experiences with rebel nurse leadership from a leadership-as-practice perspective. In eight focus groups, nurses from two hospitals and one long-term care organization shared their experiences of rebel nurse leadership practices. They illustrated the differences between “bad” and “good” rebels. Knowledge, work experience, and patient-driven motivation were considered necessary for “good” rebel leadership. The participants also explained that continuous social influencing is important while exploring and challenging the boundaries set by colleagues and management. Credibility, trust, autonomy, freedom, and preserving relationships determined whether rebel nurses acted visibly or invisibly. Ultimately, this study refines the concept of rebel nurse leadership, gives a better understanding of how this occurs in nursing practice, and give insights into the challenges faced when studying nursing leadership practices.
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Nursing Leadership is an important competence to develop for providing quality of care and preventing attrition of nurses. This study looked into the perceptions and experiences of nurses on practising leadership related to performing bachelor nursing competencies. Next to that awareness of the development of nursing leadership was addressed.
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Nursing Leadership is an important competence to develop in order to provide quality of care and prevent attrition of nurses. This research program looked into the perceptions and experiences of nurses on practising leadership. Next to that supporting the development of nursing leadership was addressed. The program has a mixed-method, action research design in which 75 in-depth interviews and 24 focus group interviews and quantitative data of 435 nurses form the backbone. According to hospital nurses, nursing leadership is related to proactiveness and voicing expertise in order to deliver good nursing care. Nevertheless, they do not feel fully competent and knowledge deficits were detected on aspects of the bachelor nursing profile, such as evidence based practice. Working-culture factors can either inhibit or encourage nursing leadership. The further awareness of unconsciously using expertise and knowledge deficits as well as team development towards a continuous safe learning environment are necessary steps for the enhancement of nursing leadership. A Nursing Leadership model was developed in which generic personal leadership competencies combined with expertise of the nurses' level of education and degrees form the essence of shared leadership in teams focussed on the realisation of good nursing care.
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Dit onderzoek richt zich op de vraag wat de effecten zijn van een niet-hiërarchische werkomgeving op leiderschap. Onderzocht wordt of niet-hiërarchisch leiderschap (in een matrix-, project- en netwerkorganisatie, of bij zelfsturende teams zoals bij projectmanagement) leiderschapskwaliteiten aantrekt, selecteert en behoudt. Het onderzoek toont aan, dat niet-hiërarchisch leidinggevenden hoger scoren op het persoonlijkheidskenmerk neuroticisme, vooral bij de subschalen angsten/nervositeit, ergernis, depressie, kritiekgevoeligheid en stressgevoeligheid, en lager scoren op extraversie, vooral bij de subschalen hartelijkheid, sociabiliteit en dominantie/assertiviteit. De belangrijkste conclusie van dit onderzoek is dat leiderschapskwaliteiten die samenhangen met neuroticisme en extraversie ondervertegenwoordigd lijken te zijn in een matrix-, project- en netwerk georiënteerde werkomgevingen, als ook bij innovatieprojecten en projectmanagement in het algemeen. Deze twee persoonlijkheidskenmerken hangen sterk samen met transformationeel leiderschap. De volgende kwaliteiten lijken bij niet-hiërarchisch leiderschap minder sterk ontwikkeld te zijn dan bij hiërarchisch leidinggevenden: inspirerend en enthousiasmerend vermogen, leiderschapscharisma, effectieve conflicthantering, het geven van feedback, assertiviteit, het vermogen tot het versterken van groepscohesie, bevorderen van een groeps- of teamontwikkeling richting meer autonomie en sterkere performance, initiatief met betrekking tot ondernemerschap, synergie tussen teamleden op het gebied van innovatie, kennisproductiviteit en reflectieve vaardigheden, als ook 'performance' in het algemeen in werkomgevingen met veel sociale interactie. Aanbevelingen worden gedaan met betrekking tot werving en selectie, als ook voor het opleiden en ontwikkelen van niet-hiërarchisch leidinggevenden. ABSTRACT This paper is devoted to answer the question whether nonhierarchical leadership (in a matrix, process, network structure, or in a project based work environment) attracts, selects and attains leadership qualities related to transformational (charismatic, inspiring & empowering) leadership. More in particular, we would expect leaders with lower scores concerning neuroticism, and with higher scores concerning extraversion and agreeableness. Enhancement of innovational capacities and knowledge productivity are the main motives for applying the structuring principles of a matrix, process, network organization, or of project management. The indicated personality traits are closely related to transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is needed to effectuate innovational and adaptive capacities, as well as for the enhancement of knowledge productivity in organizations. We analyzed whether significant differences could be found when personality traits of non-hierarchical (project) leaders and hierarchical operating managers are compared. Our study revealed, that non-hierarchical (project) leaders had indeed higher averages concerning neuroticism, and lower averages concerning extraversion. Neuroticism is negatively related to leadership charisma. Neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness are related to transformational leadership in general. The overall conclusion of this study is that leadership qualities related to neuroticism and extraversion, tend to be underrepresented in the group of nonhierarchical leaders in a matrix, process or network structure, or in a project based work environment. Analyzing significant differences of the sub scales of neuroticism and extraversion revealed that these leadership qualities are specifically related to learning/adaptive capacities, feedback and conflict solving processes, knowledge productivity in teams, enhancement of group cohesion and coping with stressful situations. Furthermore, these qualities are closely related to several dimensions of transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. Implications for training and development, and for selection processes are discussed. Also, some recommendations are put forward, related to the enhancement of the effectiveness of applying the structuring principles of a matrix, process, network or project based work environment.
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Many students graduating in higher education will achieve a managerial or professional position, with leadership qualities being highly important. The need to reflect on leadership as an important developmental goal in higher education is highlighted by pointing out that many curricula, especially in the managerial, organisational and economic domain, include specific courses on leadership. It seems that some of our thinking on leadership needs revision. According to Kellerman, leaders’ ability to connect to followers is paramount to gain and remain in power. Dutch management scholar Manfred Kets de Vries (2004) underlines that the main responsibility of a leader is to envision and inspire. In this chapter we will examine the role of personality and personal values in the ability of informal leaders to inspire other team members. In the first section we will elaborate on transformational leadership and shared leadership. In the next, we will link these forms of leadership to personality and personal values. In the third section the findings of our empirical study will be discussed. We conclude with the implications of our study for leadership practice and the scholarly field of leadership. From an educational point of view our findings are important. The results shed additional light on the importance of personality traits on leadership, and informal leadership in particular. As leadership is an important phenomenon in society and working life, (under)graduates can be assisted in understanding and developing it. But in the context of this book it should be highlighted that transformational leadership is highly relevant in knowledge innovation (García-Morales et al., 2012), which is a core issue in higher education. Consequently, inspiring others is relevant, because group work is commonly used in higher education. Understanding group dynamics within student teams, informal leadership specifically, can help lecturers to explain and discuss effective and ineffective group work. In our opinion, the results of this study offer interesting evidence-based insights to reflect on and develop those personal characteristics that can be important for informal leadership effectiveness.
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Purpose – Against the background of current leadership theory, this research paper analyses and compares the leadership approaches of two outstanding leaders: Daniel Vasella, chairman of the leading Swiss pharmaceutical organization Novartis and Ricardo Semler, owner of the Brazilian conglomerate Semco. In contrast to many rather abstract, unpractical and pointlessly theoretical papers on leadership this analysis provides a more applied view of leadership by means of the life history approach delivering insight into both leaders’ development and leader personality. Methodology/approach – First, this paper locates the ideas and practices associated with the term “leadership” as a concept through theories that have developed over time and shows how the practices of leading can be derived and understood through chosen theories. Based on this, the specific characteristics and career paths of both leaders are presented and compared so that a final analysis of their leadership approach can be done. The paper is based on secondary sources such as peer-reviewed business journals and literature on leadership. Information about both leaders and their approach to leadership is gathered mainly from published interviews with them. Additional information on Semler is taken from his autobiography. Conclusions – It is difficult to identify an “essence” of leadership, whether that takes the form of personality characteristics or traits, charisma, the ability to transform people or organizations or a brain function. All presented theories of leadership seem to have their raison d’être. Both Vasella and Semler apply a combination of different attitudes and behaviours that characterize their leadership style containing elements of transformational, charismatic, ethical, servant and authentic leadership.
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Nurse clinician-scientists are increasingly expected to show leadership aimed at transforming healthcare. However, research on nurse clinician-scientists' leadership (integrating researcher and practitioner roles) is scarce and hardly embedded in sociohistorical contexts. This study introduces leadership moments, that is, concrete events in practices that are perceived as acts of empowerment, in order to understand leadership in the daily work of newly appointed nurse clinician-scientists. Following the learning history method we gathered data using multiple (qualitative) methods to get close to their daily practices. A document analysis provided us with insight into the history of nursing science to illustrate how leadership moments in the everyday work of nurse clinician-scientists in the “here and now” can be related to the particular histories from which they emerged. A qualitative analysis led to three acts of empowerment: (1) becoming visible, (2) building networks, and (3) getting wired in. These acts are illustrated with three series of events in which nurse clinician-scientists' leadership becomes visible. This study contributes to a more socially embedded understanding of nursing leadership, enables us to get a grip on crucial leadership moments, and provides academic and practical starting points for strengthening nurse clinician-scientists' leadership practices. Transformations in healthcare call for transformed notions of leadership.
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This research is part of a comprehensive PhD research project that focuses on the existence and development of leadership in sport management practices. The underpinning factors that are associated with successfully leading top teams in sport are often used as an example in regard to being successful in non sport business (Westerbeek & Smith, 2005). This paper aims to identify what are specific qualities of leadership as exhibited by sport team captains making use of leadership profiles derived from the evolutionary theory by Van Vugt and Ahuja (2011). The following research question was designed for this research: What kind of leadership characteristics do sport team captains show in the age group of fifteen years and older?
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Professionals' willingness to change is a necessity for successful implementation of changes in the organisation. This study focused on the influence of a transformational leadership style on professionals' willingness to change. This multiple case study was performed in three project management organisations that had recently implemented a new business information system. The research data were obtained through both qualitative and quantitative data collection. The qualitative investigation revealed that through leading by good example a manager has a positive influence on their employees' willingness to change. However, the quantitative investigation showed that there is no relationship between transformational leadership and the motivational factors of willingness to change. Finally, the study showed that the most important factors of employees' willingness to change are timing, involvement, emotions, necessity, and added value
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When organizations start to digitize, this often means that processes will be changed. The management paradigm that is centered on the continues review and improvement of organizational processes is Business Process Management (BPM). To digitize processes, an organization should have the right competences to deal with both technological and process changes. However, currently, it is not known which competences are needed by leaders to guide an organization with digital process transformation initiatives. Hence, this paper consists of an explorative study based on interviews with five experts to find out if and how the competences related to digital leadership can guide such initiatives. The experts are employees within five different organizations. The interviews showed some interesting results. First of all, several competences of digital leadership were mentioned by various experts. Many of these competences corresponded with each other. In the interviews, the following competences of digital leadership were mentioned most often: Collaboration, Self-direction, Lifelong learning, and Flexibility. Secondly, there are many approaches to gain insight into processes within organizations. The use of models is necessary to create added value, to help coordinate information provision between the processes and the people who work for the organization. One such approach is the use of Business Process Management Maturity models, which provide insight into the process maturity level of an organization. According to the respondents, there is a relationship between BPM maturity and digital leadership.
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