Dq 2 & dq 3

DQ 2 If I was in a leadership position at the Hospice organization I previously worked for, my vision would be concerned with improving the process of motivation of staff members in the unit I worked for. I noted that the Hospice Organization I worked for preferred to accept the status quo rather than to make the necessary positive changes to strive towards excellence and improve patient care and safety. According to Grossman and Valiga (2009), effective leaders with dreams and vision to make positive changes and growth “ believe that it is better to risk potential chaos or even failure than to accept the status quo,” (p. 80). As such, this paper will discuss why it is believed that the process of motivation in this unit can help it to function more effectively.
The morale of staff members especially nurses in the unit I worked for at Hospice was generally low. This was mainly as a result of the fact that they were not motivated and this is the reason why staff turnover was quite high in this unit. Essentially, the human factor is the most critical element that can contribute to the effectiveness and success of any operation. Through effective leadership, the employees need to be motivated so that they can put optimum effort in their performance. Basically, motivation is described as “ anything done or efforts made to encourage the behaviour of employees towards better performance in the course of accomplishing the goals of the organization,” (Omowumi &Osamede, 2011, p. B584). Motivation includes incentives, inducements and rewards that are often given to employees in the organization in a bid to boost their morale which in turn enhances productivity. This is an effective strategy of enhancing performance in the department rather than maintaining the status quo.
The workers in this particular unit need to be motivated so that they can improve their performance. There are various strategies that can be implemented in order to motivate the workers. For instance, it is imperative to improve the working environment so that the employees can enjoy working in this particular unit. This can be done through creating and implementing a work culture that is inclusive and accommodative to different views of the employees working in the unit. This will help to create a sense of belonging to the unit among the workers since they would be treated as valuable assets. The other strategy that can motivate the workers is related to their involvement in the decision making process since this helps them to feel that they are part of the team instead of just being told what to do by their respective leaders.
It is anticipated that if the above mentioned strategies to motivate the employees are implemented in this unit at Hospice organization, staff morale will be boosted and this will also help to improve their performance. This in turn leads to the effectiveness of the unit which is essential in as far as quality service delivery to the patients is concerned. Motivating the workers will also play a significant role in addressing problems related to staff turnover. Motivated employees are likely to stay for a long period in the organization than those who are not motivated at all. As such, it can be seen that necessary changes in the unit are essential rather than maintaining the status-quo.
Reference
Grossman, S. C., & Valiga, T. M. (2009). The New Leadership Challenge: Creating the Future of Nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA:  F. A. Davis Company.
Omowumi, A. O. &Osamede, A. O. (2011). ‘ Motivation and job performances among nurses in the Ekiti State environment of Nigeria.’ International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences. Vol. 2. Issue 2. Viewed from: .
DQ 3
In order to become to become more androgynous leader, there are various approaches that can be taken. In this imaginary scenario where a male nurse has been recently hired to take a leadership position at a local hospital in the Risk Management Department, the most important characteristic in becoming more androgynous will be to “ Learn how to fail at a task without feeling one has failed as a man,” (Grossman & Valiga, 2009, p. 107). As such, this paper will discuss the measures that can be taken in order to overcome situations where I may fail to achieve something in this particular job.
In the event that I have been recently hired as a Risk Manager at a local hospital, there are various measures that I will take in order to cope with the challenges that may be encountered in performing this particular task. According to a study conducted by Praksh et al (2010), it was observed that “ When a range of real-life stressful situations was examined, androgynous people differed from masculine and feminine participants in three major ways. First, androgynous people tend to be more sensitive to subtle differences among distinct stressful events, as reflected by their flexible deployment of different strategies and their ability to distinguish situational effectiveness of coping strategies.” Secondly, acceptance is a virtue and “ Third, androgynous individuals experience a lower depression level in a stressful period of life transition than do others,” (Praksh, 2010).
Gone are the days when males often believe that they should not fail simply because they are men. However, in as far as the philosophy of androgynous is concerned, it can be noted that upon being appointed to the position of leader, I should be flexible and learn to accept failure without feeling it as a man. Instead, I should not take it as an offence to discover that I have failed in a particular task. I should learn to accept the situation then put effective measures that can deal with the situation. In this regard, I should do away with the mentality of masculinity where there is often a misconception by some people that men should excel in whatever they do by virtue of their gender. This mentality is dangerous since it may negatively impact on my performance given that I may feel that I should not fail because I am a man. Thus, it can be seen that I should be flexible in order to live with failure but without noticing that I have actually failed.
In order to become an androgynous leader, I should also try to learn from my mistakes as well as failure in order to be in a position to deal with a similar situation in future. Failure is common in different cases hence the need to accept it and map the way forward without losing hope. Indeed, it is essential to be hopeful in order to conquer the fear of failing to achieve something especially when one is responsible for managing the Risk Management Department. Essentially, people learn from their mistakes in different situations and this is the mentality that should guide me in my operations in order to become an androgynous leader. This will also help to view different situations from a different view rather than viewing every situation as similar.
References
Grossman, S. C., & Valiga, T. M. (2009). The New Leadership Challenge: Creating the Future of Nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA:  F. A. Davis Company.
Praksh, J. Et al (2010). ‘ Does androgyny have psycho protective attributes? A cross-sectional community-based study.’ Industrial Psychology Journal. 19(2): 119–124.