Leading in Rehabilitation - Implement the Leadership Approach

Original Editor - Jess Bell based on the course by Jason Giesbrecht

Top Contributors - Jess Bell and Kim Jackson  

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (17/04/2022)

Introduction

There is often a gap between knowing about leadership and actually doing the leading. Bridging this gap can help people in informal and formal leadership roles become capable and influential leaders in rehabilitation. Leaders must be able to:

• Assess the situation
• Select an appropriate leadership approach
• Implement the leadership approach
• Reflect on and learn from the experience

This page focuses on the third step of implementing the optimal leadership approach. It explores specifically eight prominent leaderphip styles, which are discussed in detail here. These leadership styles are:

• Transformational
• Transactional
• Charismatic
• Servant
• Laissez-faire (delegative)
• Authoritarian (autocratic)
• Participative (democratic)
• Coaching

Leadership Effectiveness

Essentially, leaders strive to achieve leadership effectiveness (see Figure 1), which is defined as:

“The successful exercise of personal influence by one or more people that results in accomplishing shared objectives in a way that is personally satisfying to those involved.”

Figure 1. Leadership effectiveness.

The personal influence described in this quote refers to the combined impact of personal values, beliefs, and emotional intelligence. Together, these provide a foundation for the implementation or execution of a leadership approach.

Values, beliefs, and emotional intelligence provide a basis upon which the leadership approach, or the leadership skills and characteristics associated with each approach, can be implemented.

Personal Values

"[P]ersonal values can be defined as trans-situational goals that vary in importance and serve as guiding principles in people’s lives."

They are the inner standards from which you receive the motivation to act and by which you make decisions and judge behaviour. They represent a deep expression of what is most important to you.

Beliefs

Figure 2. Beliefs.

Beliefs are thoughts, assumptions, outlooks and attitudes that we favour about ourselves and others (Figure 2). They arise from evidence, tradition, authority, association, and revelation.

Belief domains are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Belief Domains.

Domains	Positive Beliefs	Negative Beliefs
Self	“I am worthy of love and happiness”	“I am flawed and unlovable”
Others	“Others like me and value my opinion”	“People are generally hurtful and disloyal”
The world	“The world is my oyster!”	“The world is a dangerous place”
The future	“The future is bright and  opportunity awaits”	“There is no hope – things will never get better”

What is Emotional Intelligence?

"Emotional intelligence (EI) can be defined as the ability to identify, express, understand, manage, and use emotions. EI has been shown to have an important impact on health, relationships, and work/academic performance."

It enables individuals to:

• Recognise, understand, and manage the emotions of one's self, and of others
• Express our thoughts
• Develop and maintain social relationships
• Cope with challenges
• Use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way

Emotional quotient is a measure of emotional intelligence. It incorporates: self-awareness; self-management; social awareness; and relationship management.

Bar-On Model of Emotional Intelligence

Figure 3. Bar-On Model of Emotional and Social Intelligence.

In order to understand emotional intelligence, it can be helpful to use the Bar-On model of emotional and social intelligence (see Figure 3). This model consists of five main sections known as composites:

• Self-perception
• Self-expression
• Interpersonal
• Decision making
• Stress management

Each composite has three subscales. More information on this model is available here and in the Physioplus course: Emotional Intelligence.

Implement the Leadership Approach

After assessing the situation and selecting an appropriate leadership style, it is necessary to implement the chosen leadership approach. The following table, adapted from Jason Giesbrecht provides a summary of the key characteristics of eight common leadership approaches, ideas for self-assessment and tips when implementing these leadership styles.

Table 2. Characteristics of Leadership Approaches, Self-Assessment and Implementation Tips.

Leadership Approach	Characteristics	Self-Assessment	Implementation Tips
Transformational	Coaches Mentors Inspires Others Communicator Visionary Engaging Collaborates	Am I prepared with coaching questions? Have I prepared a mentoring plan? What actions and behaviors will I role model? What is the vision I want to inspire others towards? How will I promote creativity and development in others?	Create a list of powerful coaching questions Develop and balance emotional intelligence subscales Develop and refine a clear and compelling vision Identify or seek out opportunities for others to grow, develop, and contribute
Transactional	Structured Organised Motivates Detail Oriented Goal Focused Process Driven Manages Instructs	What are the goals that I want to achieve? What formal authority do I have to give instructions or direction to others? How will I monitor and reward / correct performance? What methods will I use to communicate my instructions?	Develop organisational awareness and hierarchical clarity Clearly and proactively communicate goals and requirements Be clear on what is flexible and what is not Incentivise good performance; correct inadequate performance early
Charismatic	Charming Persuasive Communicator Engaging Inspiring Visionary Influential Passionate	How might I successfully engage and persuade others?   How can I best communicate my message with passion?   What steps can I take to inspire my vision in others?	Create connections through praise and gratitude Use multiple approaches to clearly communicate a compelling vision Be positive and upbeat Show confidence, poise, and positive non-verbal cues
Servant	Humble Listener Caring Loyal Empowering Collaboration Unselfish Trusting	What active listening techniques do I use? How can I show I genuinely care for others? How can I share my power? How can I support others to succeed?	Understand the needs of others Use mirroring techniques Ask curious questions Seek opportunities to serve Coach and mentor … then trust
Laissez-faire/ delegative	Assigns Delegates Entrusts Empowers Independence Freedom Equips Uninvolved	Does trust exist between the followers and I? How can I ensure team members are equipped to complete the task? What steps can I take to remain uninvolved and forfeit power?	Focus on recruiting and developing highly capable persons Practice power sharing with increasing risk Articulate a clear vision Provide feedback
Authoritarian / autocratic	Directive Inflexible Structured Power focused Strict Controlling Decisive	How will this approach impact my relationship with or engagement of team members? What information do I need before giving direction? What are my goals or desired outcomes? Do I have the authority to make this decision?	Set specific and unambiguous goals Practise taking decisive and confident action Become acutely aware of the small set of situations where this approach is applied Be aware of negative impacts on creativity, engagement, and morale
Participative / democratic	Guide Collective Wisdom Inclusivity Consults Collaborates Communicates Seeks Diversity	How will I engage others to encourage participation? How will I guide others towards a decision? How will I balance collaboration with expectations and required outcomes? Once all input is in, how will I make the decision?	Review the IAP2 Spectrum and consider the most appropriate level of engagement (see Figure 4 below) Communicate the decision making process early Ask curious questions to expose ideas, promote creativity, and uncover assumptions
Coaching	Inquires Active listening Curious Empathetic Trusting Develops Encourages	Does the coachee hold the solution within? How will I resist the temptation to give advice? What curious questions will have the greatest impact? How can I best prepare to listen deeply?	Prepare open-ended questions before the interaction Seek to identify blind spots, assumptions, or judgements. Use active listening techniques such as mirroring, verbal affirmations, and non-verbal cues

Figure 4. IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.

The International Association of Public Participation has developed a powerful tool that demonstrates the fundamental five levels of engagement. As is shown in Figure 4, it starts on the left side with "inform" and moves to the right to "empowerment". It is important to consider which level of engagement needs to be applied in a specific situation.

There are risks that a team / audience may believe the leader is at one level of engagement (e.g. collaboration) but the leader believes that they are at another level of engagement (e.g. inform). By keeping these discrepancies in mind while planning engagement sessions will help keep the leader safe.

Leadership Approach Preferences

• Some leadership approaches come easily…others, require more work
• What is your “natural” or preferred leadership approach?
• Become aware of your natural tendency…and manage the impulse to use this style in all situations.
• Develop your ‘out of preference’ leadership styles