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In their audiobook, The High Impact Leader, Avolio and Luthans (2021) explore the effectiveness of authentic leadership in contrast to the influence of motivational speakers and the many self-proclaimed experts of our time. The overwhelming availability of podcasts, best-selling books authored by former military veterans, and many self-help guides penned by successful business figures raises an important question: Do these icons' backgrounds, experiences, and circumstances impact the healthcare sector?

Maybe yes, and maybe no. As a military veteran, the author of this blog post may have biases toward the most appropriate leadership theory style for healthcare leadership. As such, which style is best suitable for direct reports and patients?

The environment matters.

Consider the following PICOT question formatted to help a researcher, for instance, discover the best literature available to get answers to questions as outlined by Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt (2019). In healthcare settings, clinics, or hospital units (population), how would or does exposure to military leadership resources and content by former service personnel through motivational presentations, lectures, or other audiovisual aids (intervention) versus traditional healthcare leadership development resources (comparison) affect healthcare staff employee behaviors, attitudes, and overall workplace culture (outcome) for a period of three to six months (time frame to evaluate)?

This question, again phrased as a research inquiry, is an example of how to test whether a military style of leadership is better than a traditional style of leadership. The two leadership styles that the author of this blog post is most familiar with from firsthand experience are the authoritative style, native to military-style leadership (Marquis & Huston, 2021). A blend of transformational, servant, and authentic leadership (Raso, 2019) is commonly found in the healthcare literature as relevant to healthcare professions and the workplace for improving healthy work environments.

Unless metrics and surveys are available and performed to evaluate the effectiveness of leaders on their direct reports and constituents, it is primarily a fool's paradise without benchmarks to test and assess leader influence on follower well-being and patient outcomes if what they are doing makes a difference.

For that matter, when motivational gurus or speakers print books for a broad range of consumers, context matters, as does the environment of the leader and the organization. From firsthand experience, the militant leadership style has not always been the ideal choice in the healthcare leadership sector; instead, a leadership style that seeks to empower others and build others up has been favorable.

It is essential to consider what Avolio and Luthans (2021) have pointed out regarding podcast masters and our military personalities when giving thought and attention to their opinions, ideas, and viewpoints on the subject of leadership and influence if their methods are not rooted in any known research or theory and whether or not any validity or stop gaps are present and in the context of the leadership area of healthcare administration have not demonstrated an outcome or performance on the environment in question.

The literature on healthy workforces, especially for those in the helping profession, such as nurses, is abundant on which leadership styles can improve workplace environments and reduce exhaustion. According to one nurse author, Rasso (2019), this contributes to workplace satisfaction and nurse career endurance.

How do leaders today show up in the world to make a difference?

It begins with the leaders being themselves.

References:

Avolio, B. J. & Luthans, F. (2021). The High Impact Leader. (C. Ryan, Narr.) [Audiobook]. McGraw Hill-Ascent Audio. https://www.audible.com/

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2021). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (10th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.

Melnyk, B. M. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Making the case for evidence-based practice and cultivating a spirit of inquiry. In Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (4th Eds.), Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare (pp. 17). Wolters Kluwer.

Raso, R. (2019). Be you! Authentic leadership. Nursing Management, 50(5), 1–1. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.numa.0000558693.16472.5b