Leadership and Management in Adult Care Introduction
A leader and manager will need to skilfully and competently navigate through their working day using a range of skills such as: working with performance indicators; planning to achieve positive outcomes; controlling processes (auditing etc) and building the business with improvement plans to aid the service to run effectively and efficiently.
This often requires a person to be responsible for employees in the same organisation and usually means the leader or manager will have an isolated role. In general leaders and management need a strong support team around them to create a viable business, and an effectively run organisation.
There are a number of key features in either of the roles, leader and manager, therefore it’s important to be clear about the differences between these when managing a team. At times, the similarities between the roles overlap but ultimately a manager will provide procedures for the organisation to function efficiently and the leader will help it to work effectively.
Daniel Goleman et al identified six effective leadership styles:
- Pacesetting “Do it my way”
- Commanding (coercive) “Do it because I say so”
- Visionary (authoritative) “Let’s remind ourselves of the larger purpose”
- Affiliative “People first, task second”
- Democratic “Let’s work it out together”
- Coaching “Let me help you develop”
Four of the six leadership styles when used in tangent create the kind of resonance that can improve a service, and these are: visionary, coaching, affiliative and democratic. Whereas, commanding and pacesetting will need to be used with caution to avoid negative outcomes (D. Goleman, Primal Leadership:2002).
The aforementioned leadership styles will naturally be used by managers, in addition to these a manager will be using further styles to enable successful planning, implementation and the application for new ways of working. These may be:
- Autocratic – this is also known as authoritarian and uses power to control the team. The manager using this style will instruct their employees to carry out tasks and communicate clear instructions for tasks to be met. It can be used when immediate decisions or quick thinking is needed to control or manage an impending situation. The manager will need to be self-motivated, confident and motivated.
- Laissez-faire – this French term meaning “leave it alone” can be seen as the opposite to autocratic as power is transferred to the team. The manager using this style trusts the team to carry out their roles using their experience and expertise, allowing creativity and knowledge of the service area to come to the forefront. The manager is still responsible for the outcomes and therefore if elements of the service are not meeting the objectives the manager still remains accountable.
John Adair created a model “Action Centred Leadership”, to be utilised in any leadership and management work setting. The model has three main areas that can be triggered in any given situation. It is said it will support the balance of the organisation and improve quality, develop teams and productivity. The trademark model consists of a large central circle with three overlapping circles to encapsulate three core management responsibilities (J.Adair; Action-centred leadership concept: 1973).
Taking time to empower team members to learn new skills and knowledge is essential. Mentoring and shadowing enables the sharing of good practice. By valuing the teams experience and expertise, acknowledges the professional development of individuals.
This assignment sets out to support managers in developing skills in leadership and management, inclusive of vision and how to involve others in driving forward a strategy that aims to be successful for all those in receipt of care and support.
You will develop an understanding of the importance of leadership and management in ensuring the implementation of required policies and procedures, the development of existing and new strategies in service design and delivery, the management of quality outcomes and ways to support and develop your teams in creating a shared vision for all.
Furthermore, the assignment asks you to critically evaluate own effectiveness as a leader and manager, and apply skill sets to varying needs, situations and circumstances within your role. This will be underpinned by theories and models of leadership and management practice.
Consider the following questions as a starting point to this unit:
- What is the difference between a leader and a manager and how do these apply to their practice?
- What qualities contribute to making a good leader and how could this be evaluated with others?
- What and who might be the potential barriers to effective leadership and management?
- Does a good manager mean you have to be an effective administrator?
Leadership and Management in Adult Care Introduction
A leader and manager will need to skilfully and competently navigate through their working day using a range of skills such as: working with performance indicators; planning to achieve positive outcomes; controlling processes (auditing etc) and building the business with improvement plans to aid the service to run effectively and efficiently.
This often requires a person to be responsible for employees in the same organisation and usually means the leader or manager will have an isolated role. In general leaders and management need a strong support team around them to create a viable business, and an effectively run organisation.
There are a number of key features in either of the roles, leader and manager, therefore it’s important to be clear about the differences between these when managing a team. At times, the similarities between the roles overlap but ultimately a manager will provide procedures for the organisation to function efficiently and the leader will help it to work effectively.
Daniel Goleman et al identified six effective leadership styles:
- Pacesetting “Do it my way”
- Commanding (coercive) “Do it because I say so”
- Visionary (authoritative) “Let’s remind ourselves of the larger purpose”
- Affiliative “People first, task second”
- Democratic “Let’s work it out together”
- Coaching “Let me help you develop”
Four of the six leadership styles when used in tangent create the kind of resonance that can improve a service, and these are: visionary, coaching, affiliative and democratic. Whereas, commanding and pacesetting will need to be used with caution to avoid negative outcomes (D. Goleman, Primal Leadership:2002).
The aforementioned leadership styles will naturally be used by managers, in addition to these a manager will be using further styles to enable successful planning, implementation and the application for new ways of working. These may be:
- Autocratic – this is also known as authoritarian and uses power to control the team. The manager using this style will instruct their employees to carry out tasks and communicate clear instructions for tasks to be met. It can be used when immediate decisions or quick thinking is needed to control or manage an impending situation. The manager will need to be self-motivated, confident and motivated.
- Laissez-faire – this French term meaning “leave it alone” can be seen as the opposite to autocratic as power is transferred to the team. The manager using this style trusts the team to carry out their roles using their experience and expertise, allowing creativity and knowledge of the service area to come to the forefront. The manager is still responsible for the outcomes and therefore if elements of the service are not meeting the objectives the manager still remains accountable.
John Adair created a model “Action Centred Leadership”, to be utilised in any leadership and management work setting. The model has three main areas that can be triggered in any given situation. It is said it will support the balance of the organisation and improve quality, develop teams and productivity. The trademark model consists of a large central circle with three overlapping circles to encapsulate three core management responsibilities (J.Adair; Action-centred leadership concept: 1973).
Taking time to empower team members to learn new skills and knowledge is essential. Mentoring and shadowing enables the sharing of good practice. By valuing the teams experience and expertise, acknowledges the professional development of individuals.
This assignment sets out to support managers in developing skills in leadership and management, inclusive of vision and how to involve others in driving forward a strategy that aims to be successful for all those in receipt of care and support.
You will develop an understanding of the importance of leadership and management in ensuring the implementation of required policies and procedures, the development of existing and new strategies in service design and delivery, the management of quality outcomes and ways to support and develop your teams in creating a shared vision for all.
Furthermore, the assignment asks you to critically evaluate own effectiveness as a leader and manager, and apply skill sets to varying needs, situations and circumstances within your role. This will be underpinned by theories and models of leadership and management practice.
Consider the following questions as a starting point to this unit:
- What is the difference between a leader and a manager and how do these apply to their practice?
- What qualities contribute to making a good leader and how could this be evaluated with others?
- What and who might be the potential barriers to effective leadership and management?
- Does a good manager mean you have to be an effective administrator?
