During a meeting with hospital staff of a variety of managerial levels, the same RN might use participative leadership styles, as the nurse consults with subordinates and considers other suggestions. Lastly, more and more nurses today may need to employ achievement-oriented leadership where the nurse sets high goals for the staff at large and expects other nurses to exhibit the same high levels of performance, even in the face of evident obstacles, such as in a bogged-down hospital bureaucracy or an understaffed ER. (Wu, 2005) The Path-Goal Theory also stresses that a true leader's behavior is only motivating to patients, fellow nurses, and superiors and subordinates to the degree that the behavior increases the follower's goal attainment and clarifies the paths to these goals. (House, Mitchell, cited in Blanchard, 2005) The Path-Goal Theory holds a leader can change the expected reaction or behavior of a subordinate from a negative to a positive fashion through making expectations clearly defined, rather than simply asserting authority. This model proves to be a much more effective fashion, as it relies upon the needs and goals of the organization, rather than making the directive about the nurse giving the order, creating a potential personality clash between superior and subordinates. (Wu, 2005)

The situational aspect of the leadership model does not place all of the responsibility on the leader, however, but on the organizational support given to the leader and the originator of the directive, such as the doctor. It also recognizes external and subjective factors such as the subordinate's personality as well as the characteristics of the environment may place different demands upon the nurse's leadership skills. For example, a subordinate...

Achievement oriented leadership might be necessary in an organization undergoing substantial reorganization and requiring new vision as well as short-term goal setting, but an organization requiring greater internal cohesiveness on a particular unit might require new small meetings, and an injection of participative leadership strategies. (Wu, 2005)
In all situational forms, though, the goal rather than the personality of the leader must be stressed, and above all clear. The path to the goal must be clear as well, so individuals do not shut down, feeling hopeless in the fact of impossible demands, and the reward must be clear for both the patient and the professional. The rewards given may range from giving greater responsibilities to one's fellow professional in a participatory or supportive context, or clear and concrete rewards such as a more desirable schedule for leadership contexts demanding a more directive or achievement-oriented approach.

Works Cited

Blanchard, Ken. (2005) "Contingency Theory." Retrieved on 30 Aug 2005 at Value-Based Management Website at http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_contingency_theory.html

Woolard, (2003) "Path-Goal Theory of Leadership." Exercise and Health Sciences Database. Retrieved from Dr. Woolard.com on 30 Aug 2005. http://www.drwoolard.com/miscellaneous/path_goal_theory.htm

Wu, Shelley. (2005) "The Path Goal Theory." Psychology. Retrieved on 30 Aug 2005 at About.com at http://psychology.about.com/library/weekly/aa041502a.htm