The leadership style present and the team members’ attitude toward realizing the organization’s mission and vision determine an organization’s success. Each company has a distinct culture that its employees have grown accustomed to and identify with, making them unique. I previously held the position of a registered nurse in a hospital, where I had the exceptional opportunity to learn about organizational culture and transformational leadership firsthand. Corporate culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and practices that influence how people behave and think within an organization. Transformational leadership is a leadership style that emphasizes inspiring and motivating followers to achieve their full potential. In this paper, I will discuss how these ideas were used in the hospital workplace and how they affected the organization’s overall performance and success.
Transformational leadership is central to nursing because it influences patient outcomes, employee satisfaction, and safety culture. Transformational nurses first provide nursing care, then communicate effectively and become effective role models; such leaders are motivating and empowering. Furthermore, these leaders must possess charisma, inspiration, intellectual thinking, and individual attention (Durmuş, 2020).
I had the privilege of working under a nurse in charge, Miss Ella Thompson, a transformational leader who significantly impacted my personal and professional development as a registered nurse. I worked in the pediatric department. She always made an effort to mobilize additional efforts from us, the staff members, emphasizing change by articulating a vision of creating a positive difference in the nursing profession to us. I believe she was a transformational leader. According to Scandura & Meuser (2022), Miss Ella displayed several essential transformational leadership characteristics.
First and foremost, she exemplified idealized influence by consistently upholding high ethical standards and integrity in her clinical practice. She was a good role model for the team, and she also expressed genuine care and concern for the well-being of the team members and was always willing to listen and support when needed. As a result, the team always looked up to and admired her. He motivated us to work toward achieving his compelling vision of enhancing nursing practice standards by clearly communicating it to us. She pushed him to be creative and innovative, and he was open to new perspectives and ideas from the team. Also, my manager was good at intellectual stimulation because she made us think critically and encouraged us to think of new ways to solve problems. She cultivated a culture of learning climate where colleagues were urged to foster their abilities and information constantly. It was made possible by offering staff members weekly continuous medical education sessions to refresh their knowledge of pediatric condition management and a flexible work schedule for staff members to advance their education. She also gave us regular praise and feedback for our accomplishments, which made us feel better and motivated. Lastly, she showed individual consideration by recognizing and appreciating each team member’s unique abilities and strengths. She provided growth and development opportunities tailored to each person’s requirements and goals.
In the hospital workplace, transformational leadership was evident. Colleagues were profoundly energetic and focused on giving quality patient consideration. The hospital’s leaders gave the team members a sense of purpose and meaning in their work, which led to more job satisfaction and engagement. The transformational leaders’ culture of collaboration and innovation resulted in improved patient outcomes and a favorable community reputation for the hospital.
An organization’s culture comprises a set of underlying presumptions and beliefs held by its employees and then developed and transmitted over time to address issues with external adaptation and internal integration. As a result, an employee’s dissatisfaction with the organization or company will affect their feelings about their work and undoubtedly impact their performance. Organizational culture directly impacts employees’ motivation to do their jobs (Arif et al., 2019). It is because it will encourage employees to work and make them enjoy doing so, leading to more extended work periods. Organizational culture also directly impacts job satisfaction because it provides comfort, as habits developed at work can result in job satisfaction.
The organizational culture in the hospital where I worked was characterized by solid values and beliefs aligned with the organization’s overall mission and vision. The hospital’s mission statement was to provide compassionate and high-quality patient care. The picture was to be a leading hospital providing patients with the best preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services. Patients’ needs and preferences were prioritized in the hospital’s culture of patient-centered care. Team members were encouraged to go above and beyond to meet the needs of patients and their families and were trained to provide compassionate care.
Additionally, the hospital emphasized a safety-oriented culture and ongoing improvement. Colleagues were urged to recognize and report potential dangers, and the managers ensured the issues were addressed. An instance of this would be when an employee alerted the hospital maintenance team to the threat posed by the defective blood pressure equipment. They responded and rectified it as soon as they could. Team members were encouraged to voice their concerns or suggestions for improvement in a culture of open communication. The hospital leaders paid close attention to the feedback that team members provided and took steps to implement changes based on that feedback. The hospital’s culture celebrated diversity and inclusion. Colleagues from assorted foundations were regarded and esteemed for their exciting points of view and commitments. Team members collaborated on common objectives as the hospital’s leaders fostered a culture of mutual respect and cooperation. There was likewise a culture of acknowledgment and appreciation, where colleagues were recognized for their diligent effort and devotion to patient consideration.
Regular skill renewal and updating are necessary for healthcare professionals, and continuing education, also known as continued professional development (CPD), makes this possible (Mlambo et al., 2021). The hospital also had a culture of continuous learning and development. Staff members were provided regular training and development opportunities to enhance their clinical skills and stay updated with the latest medical advancements. The hospital also encouraged research and innovation, with options for staff members to participate in research projects and quality improvement initiatives. In addition, the hospital gave research grants to the team that came up with the best research proposal. Staff members were encouraged to think critically and develop innovative solutions to improve patient care and operational processes. The hospital had a culture of patient-centred care, where patients’ needs and preferences were prioritized. Team members were trained to provide compassionate care and were encouraged to go above and beyond to meet the needs of patients and their families.
The challenges that the organization faced despite the transformational leadership and positive organizational culture were an inadequate supply of equipment and the shortage of staff, which made the nurse-to-staff ratio less; hence excellent nursing care may only sometimes be applicable in some circumstances.
In conclusion, the transformational leadership style the ward in charge utilized kept the employees motivated. We were also constantly inspired and intellectually stimulated; as a result, the pediatric department was always among the best in delivering quality healthcare. The organization’s culture went ahead to help us build a brand such that the people in the community always felt safe to bring their children to the pediatric ward because they were assured of quality healthcare. Transformational leadership and positive organizational culture are significant steps toward achieving the organizational goals, mission, and vision. When utilized correctly, it can yield results and propel a company forward.
Arif, S., Zainudin, H. K., & Hamid, A. (2019). Influence of Leadership, Organizational Culture, Work Motivation, and Job Satisfaction of Senior High School Performance Principles in Medan City. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 2(4), 239–254.
Durmuş, S. Ç. (2020). Nursing: New Perspectives. BoD – Books on Demand.
Mlambo, M., Silén, C., & McGrath, C. (2021). Lifelong learning and nurses’ continuing professional development, a meta-synthesis of the literature. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 62. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00579-2
Scandura, T. A., & Meuser, J. D. (2022). Relational Dynamics of Leadership: Problems and Prospects. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 9(1), 309–337. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091249