MSN Insight: Nurse Leaders—What's Your Management Style?

There’s more than one way to be a leader. That’s as true in leadership in nursing as it is in any other profession. But do you know what type of leader you are?

If you’re thinking about earning a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and becoming a nurse executive, knowing your management style can help you make the most of your nursing career, whether you want to be a nurse practitioner, nurse manager, nurse educator, nurse mentor, or become a leader in any other nursing field, such as healthcare informatics.

In Walden University’s MSN course, Public Health Nursing Leadership, students learn about the different leadership styles and how to determine what kind of leader they are. One of the many resources these students study is the “Leadership Styles Based On Myers Briggs/Jungian Theory” guide offered by the Team Technology website.¹ In addition to a leadership test, the guide provides information on the eight leadership styles identified by experts using Myers Briggs/Jungian theory.

As the guide states, “Your leadership profile is a unique mix of preferences for the eight styles. Some people prefer to use a few styles, others like to use a balance of all the styles.” The eight styles are:

Participative
Participative leaders achieve through people, through team work, and through collective involvement in the task. Participative leadership involves engendering ownership amongst the follower group so that they feel jointly responsible for the direction taken and its achievement.

Change-Oriented
A change-oriented leader tries to promote exploration of new and better ways of doing things, or trying to uncover hidden potential in people, things or situations. Change-oriented leaders work toward a better future, but they may not know at the outset what that future is. They introduce change based on an expectation that things can be improved, and then learn from experimentation where exactly that potential lies.

Executive
When someone is being an executive leader, they introduce organization into the way things are done. This can cover a wide range of areas, such as the organizational structure/framework, or the processes, procedures and systems used, or the skills/competencies of the people involved, or the performance management systems that relate achievement and reward.

Action-Oriented
Action-oriented leadership involves taking action and leading by example. An action-oriented leader has a strong sense of immediacy, focusing on the task at hand and seeing it through to fruition. Other people in the organization often see their own roles as supporting the action-oriented leader, who is the prime achiever.

Ideological
Ideological leaders achieve through the promotion of certain ideals and values, and keeping the focus of the group on those things that are most important. Ideological leadership is founded on a strong belief system that is shared by the group, and it focuses the bulk of time and effort into supporting those beliefs or championing causes with which they are associated.

Visionary
A visionary leader is someone who develops a canny sense of the unknown, which can include the long-term future, what potential customers are looking for, or the hidden trends in the market or industry in which they operate. Visionary leaders can often envisage, in general terms, the various ways in which the organization might respond to those developments, and thereby have a sense of vision that can position the organization to meet those challenges.

Theorist
When someone is being a leadership theorist, they are trying to identify the best models or explanations of how the organization works and how it can improve its performance. Leadership theorists often try to keep abreast of different types of leadership research, and incorporate the better theories into their own understanding of how the organization they are leading operates.

Goal Oriented
Goal-oriented leaders set clear and specific goals they know can be achieved. A goal-oriented leader is grounded in knowledge and a realistic outlook, being aware of the context in which the organization operates, such as the traditions on which it is based, and the risks being taken.

How Can You Become a Nurse Executive?

The best way to become a nurse leader is to earn an MSN degree. And one of the best ways to earn an MSN is through online education.

When you choose an online nursing school for your master’s degree in nursing, you won’t have to move or even take time off from your current nursing job. Instead, online MSN programs allow you to complete your coursework from home and on a flexible schedule that gives you the power to choose when in the day you attend class, making it possible to arrange your classes around your shift schedule.

But convenience isn’t the only advantage of earning your master’s in nursing online. In the online MSN program offered by Walden University, you can also specialize in the nursing field that interests you most. For example, Walden’s MSN with a Nurse Executive specialization program can prepare you for a career in nursing management, allowing you to study resources like Team Technology’s “Leadership Styles Based On Myers Briggs/Jungian Theory” guide and helping you master advanced nursing and leadership skills. It’s just one of the many reasons why Walden is the leading provider of advanced nursing degrees in the U.S., producing more MSN graduates than any other university.²

Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Science in Nursing degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

¹Source: www.teamtechnology.co.uk/leadership/styles
²Source: Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS database. Retrieved July 2017, using CIP codes 51.3801 (Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse); 51.3808 (Nursing Science); 51.3818 (Nursing Practice). Includes 2016 preliminary data.

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.