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The "directing" style of leadership

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, March 2, 2007

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One important leadership style in the nursing environment is "directing." In this style, the leader provides specific direction and closely monitors task accomplishment. Communication is largely one-way: You tell staff what, when, where, and how to do something, and then you closely monitor their performance on the problem or task. You explain the goal and what a good job looks like, and you also lay out a step-by-step plan for meeting that goal. Essentially, you solve the problem. You make the decisions and the person carries out your ideas. A directing style is appropriate

• when a decision has to be made quickly and the stakes are high
• for inexperienced people who you think have the potential to be self-directive
• for staff members who have some skills but don't know the organization (e.g., the past history, established protocols, or political implications of a situation)

Editor's note: The above excerpt is from the online course "Nursing CE Series: Leadership and Coaching Skills for Nurse Managers." For more information on this and other courses in our library, go to http://www.hcprofessor.com.

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