The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People By Stephen Covey

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

It is important to appreciate that leadership roles are different from management functions. In Stephen Covey’s (1999) book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he quoted

Peter Drucker as saying: ‘Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership is about determining whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.’ This suggests that management is about tasks, whereas leadership is about perception, judgement, skill and philosophy. We could infer from this that it is much more difficult to be an effective leader than an effective manager. Managers came from the ‘’headship’’ (power from position) category. They hold appointive or directive

They are able to connect, communicate and coordinate across multiple departments, professional opinions and voices, and the daily schedules of patients. Advocating and designing care with the patient and family is a true skills set and cultural attribute that adds tremendously to a culture of safety and patient – centeredness but requires the most able leadership to build these bridges across the many professionals engaged in care. Building this culture is a leadership challenge and there is no one in my experience better able to make these changes than nursing leaders ( Maureen Bisognano, 2009).

Nurses should not just be at the bedside or within the nursing community but must be involved as leaders and decision – makers throughout the healthcare system. As Maureen Bisognano (2009) points out, the best nurses are accomplished envoys among different players and interests involved in direct patient care, which is a skill needed throughout organizations and businesses, not just in hospitals or