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Chapter 1 – Case Study Questions
This activity contains 4 questions.
Leadership Style: How Do You Decide?
After six years on the orthopedic unit, a nurse has been chosen for the nurse manager
position on the unit. She wanted the position, but she is now concerned about how she
will handle it. A nurse manager from another unit will mentor her in the nurse manager
role. As the orientation takes place, the new nurse manager begins to assess the different
leadership styles that are used. What she notices most is that the nurse manager she is
shadowing usually tells staff what to do and that there are morale issues on her unit. The
nurse manager who is in orientation hears staff talking behind the back of her mentor
about how they do not trust her and they hold back information. They receive very little
feedback, and when it is given, it is usually negative. A staff nurse comments, “We never
know what is going on.” Over lunch with her mentor, the new nurse manager asks how
she should approach this new position. The response is, “Just do what comes naturally.”
The new nurse manager is dissatisfied with this approach.
1.
Do you think the new nurse manager’s response is normal or abnormal? Why?
2.
Based on the information that is provided, what type of leadership style is the mentor
using? If you were the nurse manager, how would you have responded to the nurse?
3.
If you were the new nurse manager, select the leadership style you would use, describe it
and the related leadership theory, and why you chose it.
4.
How does trust impact the nurse manager–staff relationship?
Finkelman, Leadership and Management for Nurses: Core Competencies for Quality Care, 3e
Chapter 1 – ANSWER KEY Case Study Questions
1.
Answers will vary; however, the nurse mentor’s actions with the staff members indicate
2.
3.
Answers will vary according to the leadership style the student chooses to respond to this
question.
4.
There are four critical qualities that are important in developing trust: competence,
congruity, constancy, and caring. In today’s healthcare environment, the complex work
environment may be tense, staff may be tired, morale may be low, and work requirements
may have increased. Leaders must constantly foster trust by demonstrating loyalty and
supporting staff. How does a manager develop trust? First, the manager needs to have
competence, preferably leadership competencies. How does the staff recognize when a
person is a leader? Usually staff members will have a feeling that the manager is able to
