Leadership behaviours that foster nursing group power

Abstract

Today's health care environment presents many challenges to nursing groups as they seek to achieve their goals. All resources must be recognized and effectively utilized. Power, defined as the capacity to achieve goals (Sieloff 1995), is a valuable resource that can assist nursing groups in the achievement of their goals. The leader of a nursing group can make a significant difference in a group's ability to actualize their power capacity. The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss the use of a tool (Sieloff-King Assessment of Group Power within Organizations) to identify the nurse leader/group power variables that can be used to improve a nursing group's power as a resource in the achievement of its goals. Using behaviours related to a Nurse Leader's Power Competency and Power Perspective variables, identified in the Theory of Group Power within Organizations (Sieloff 1999), a nurse leader can foster a nursing group's power.

The effects of structural and psychological empowerment on perceived respect in acute care nurses

“…Overall respect scores are determined by summing and averaging the three items (1–7 range). Siegrist (1996) reports alpha reliability estimates ranging from 0.70 to 0.91. DeCicco et al.…”

“…Structurally empowering work environments are the likely outcome of leadership practices that foster employees’ feelings of respect and trust (Laschinger & Finegan 2005). Furthermore, leaders who demonstrate behaviours such as competence and positive use of power are more likely to engender reciprocal feelings of power among their subordinates (Sieloff 2004). Thus, greater collective organizational empowerment and improved organizational success are a logical result of empowering leadership practices.…”

Nursing leadership in an academic hospital in Gauteng

“…Leadership in nursing, according to Sieloff’s (2004) review of literature on behaviours that foster nursing group power, can be defined as the process whereby a person, who is a nurse manager, facilitates the actions of others in goal determination and achievement. Therefore, the question that follows is what constitutes effective leadership in nursing?…”

Power and Confidence in Professions: Lessons for Occupational Therapy

“…In this view, power is seen as secured through prestige, status, social class, social capital, or cultural place. In contrast, Sieloff (2004) and Brady (2007) suggest that nurses have actually been an oppressed group, demonstrating the behaviors that characterize all groups in highly subordinated circumstances, such as being (1) hierarchical and competitive; (2) manipulative; (3) exercising lateral violence, that is, attacking one another; (4) failing to support one another in times of conflict; (5) disrespecting students and new graduates, referred to as "eating the young" (Sieloff,p. In contrast, Sieloff (2004) and Brady (2007) suggest that nurses have actually been an oppressed group, demonstrating the behaviors that characterize all groups in highly subordinated circumstances, such as being (1) hierarchical and competitive; (2) manipulative; (3) exercising lateral violence, that is, attacking one another; (4) failing to support one another in times of conflict; (5) disrespecting students and new graduates, referred to as "eating the young" (Sieloff,p.…”

“…If you are powerless, this literally means you are unable to exercise your capacities and produce the effects of which you are capable (Abood, 2007;Sieloff, 2004;Stein, 1967). If you are powerless, this literally means you are unable to exercise your capacities and produce the effects of which you are capable (Abood, 2007;Sieloff, 2004;Stein, 1967).…”