I chose to examine Burns’ Transformational Leadership Theory. According to McEwan and Wills, (2023), theorist James Burns stated that transactional and transformative are the two types of leadership styles in management. The transactional leader is focused on the basic daily tasks of operation, uses a traditional reward and punishment model to motivate behavior, and maintains clear boundaries/expectations. However, the transformational leader has greater visions for advancement and is able to communicate those visions and elicit excitement and motivation from followers (McEwan and Wills, 2023).
The increasing rate of burnout and subsequent nursing shortage is concerning when thinking about the implications this has for the quality of patient care and the future of nursing. Although the Covid-19 pandemic caused an unforeseen and incredible increase in stress, uncertainty, and workload on healthcare providers, there are ways to mitigate the impact of these
issues on the nursing workforce. Leadership is a one of the ways in which to mitigate these factors. Working under great leadership makes all the difference in a stressful and fast paced environment. Throughout my career I have worked with some great leaders, and less than great leaders, and both contributed to my satisfaction and tenure at each job. In a recent research study, Boamah (2022), investigated the impact of a transformational leadership style on workplace culture, burnout, and job satisfaction of nurses during the Covid-
19 pandemic. Boamah (2022) states that a transformative leader is able to role model appropriate behavior, utilize open communication, treat staff with respect and trust, implement or
enforce policies that create an inclusive work environment, empower staff, and provide flexibility to create a better work-life balance. The results of the study show a direct correlation between transformational leadership and increased job satisfaction and work place culture and decreased rates of burnout. The study also suggests that in order to assist leaders to adopt a more
transformational style, administrators should provide additional professional development trainings in this topic, implement policies and procedures that foster teamwork and address workloads, and create initiatives that focus on wellbeing and a positive culture in the workplace.
Transformational leadership has been shown to be effective in improving job satisfaction and retention rates of those they lead; however, this often comes at a cost to the leader. According to Lin et al. (2019), because the transformational leader is providing continuous motivation, enthusiasm, and support, this can lead to emotional exhaustion and increased rate of turnover of the leader. In order to ensure the longevity of a transformational leader, support and opportunities for respite should be readily available. Leadership theoretical frameworks provide a better understanding of which human traits and behaviors that are effective for successful leadership and helps identify individuals that would thrive in leadership roles. Nurse leaders can also utilize these evidence-based frameworks
to help guide their decisions and actions in practice. Additionally, as nursing leadership continues to grow in healthcare organizations, the continued research and development of theoretical models will improve the quality of leadership and in turn improve the workplace culture, job satisfaction, retention rates, and ultimately patient outcomes.
