Nurse leaders are at the forefront of health care and set the standards for nursing practice in terms of delivering safe and efficient patient care. The process of becoming an effective leader-manager includes developing personal leadership and management preferences, styles, and characteristics. The integration of both leadership and management skills is vital to the long-term success of all health care organizations. 

The two leadership theories that are being compared are Great Man Theory and Situational Leadership. Theory. Great Man Theory states that great leaders are born with traits that help them lead others, and great leaders rise when needed (Whitney, 2018). Situational Leadership Theory states, as followers mature the leadership style needed becomes less task oriented and more relationship oriented(Whitney,

2018). We all have experienced leaders or managers that was in a position of power but didn't possess good leadership skills no matter how much training they have acquired they were not good leaders.

Then there are people who are not qualified to be a manager, but people follow them because they know how to lead the crowd by motivation or applying order to the group. There is strengths and weaknesses in both type of theories.

 

Great Man Theory.

Strengths of The Great Man Theory has certain qualities like, persuasiveness, charm, demanding personality, increase amount of perception, courage, intellect, aggressiveness and be action orientated which skills that they cannot be taught or learned. Leadership characteristics are passed through the genes either you have them or you do not. Examples are from great leaders such as, Abraham Lincoln, Kamal Ataturk, General de Gaulle, Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung and others. These were leaders that were naturally born with qualities of leadership and

accomplished greatness by marvelous plans.

 

The Great Man theory does not have a scientific basis and experimental legitimacy. The theory is

more of a provisional perception. The limitations of the Great Man Theory, apart from the

unlikelihood of characteristics being passed through genes, is the ridiculous belief that some

people become successful and great

leaders based on their surrounding situations. Many new

theorists and even by some leaders are rejecting The Great Man Theory.

Another point of view is that one cannot rule out the inherited nature of some of the leadership characteristics. Just as there are some 'talented' individuals who show leadership behaviors from an early age and possess a significant amount of instinctive knowledge.

 

Situational leade5rship.

Advantages.

Situational leadership can have many benefits for both the leader and the team or organization. A few advantages of this type of leadership include:

• Leaders are able to use whichever leadership style they believe is best in a given situation.
• A situational leadership style can be more comfortable for good leaders who know how to use it.
• This type of leadership style is fairly simple, as all that is needed is the ability to assess a situation and adjust to it.
• Situational leadership can create a more comfortable environment for employees as the leadership style implemented will typically match their needs.
• This type of leadership accounts for the various levels of development in employees and helps to address each employee's skill level and needs.

Disadvantages.

In addition to benefits, there are also potential pitfalls to implementing a situational leadership style within an organization. Disadvantages to consider when using this style of leadership include:

• Situational leadership could cause confusion within an organization, as a situational leader may constantly change their approach to address each team or individual's needs.
• SItuational leadership tends to only focus on short-term goals and as a result, may overlook long-term goals.
• Situational leadership often does not work well when repetitive tasks need to be completed, as this type of leadership is flexible and many task-driven environments are not.
• Situational leadership depends on the leader's ability to judge an employee's maturity level. Some leaders are unable to do this effectively and may, therefore, provide a style of leadership that does not suit a particular employee or team.