Good leadership is sought in every profession, mainly nursing, because it is a delicate profession with little or no room for errors. Best nurse leaders can make the best decisions, solve issues effectively and avoid mistakes. Nursing leadership theories help nurses to become more operative leaders in their nursing professions. They are a way of explaining occurrences that exist in the nursing environment, and they provide ideas and solutions for difficult problems. These theories look at the achievements or failures of past nursing leaders. They teach nurses how to either learn from the mistakes made in the past or appreciate the achievements and see how the former leaders’ achievements can be improved. Some philosophical nursing leadership theories include; alteration leadership, situational leadership, participative (democratic) leadership style, and monocratic leadership theories (Miles & Scott, 2019). Situational leadership theory involves using different leadership theories based on different situations. Democratic leadership theory is the opposite of monocratic leadership theory. In democratic theory, decision-making is done by all the members, whereas in autocratic, only the leaders make all decisions. 

As a baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse, the democratic leadership style theory (also known as participative leadership theory) matches my beliefs. The democratic leadership theory matches my beliefs because, firstly, all nurses (both leaders and ordinary nurses) participate in the organization’s decision-making. Consultation decision-making helps in raising different opinions, which the best one is the winning decision (Harris & Mayo, 2018). Since nursing is a delicate profession, there should be no room for many mistakes. Democratic leadership theory ensures that decisions are made by the whole group, thus avoiding mistakes that could be brought by bad decision-making.

Moreover, when the theory of democratic leadership is used in nursing, the organization has only one sole goal. This leads to good cooperation of nurses since they all work to achieve the same objective. The democratic leadership theory also increases nurses’ motivation. This is because the nurses feel appreciated as they are involved in the organization’s decision-making. When employees feel motivated, their work output increases; this will, in turn, lead to the growth of the healthcare facilities. The democratic leadership theory matches my beliefs as a baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse.

I believe that, unlike the autocratic leadership theory, which is condescending and self-centered, the democratic leadership style theory promotes equality. The equality is brought about by the sense of participation of all the nurses in decision-making regardless of their status. Also, there is collaboration among the nurses since they are all working towards the same goal. I feel that democratic leadership style theory natures good nurse leaders too. Good leaders understand that they are nothing without the nurses’ workforce. If it were not for the nurses, the leaders could not have done anything independently. Democratic leadership style theory, therefore, enables nursing leaders to understand the vital role of nurses. This promotes discipline and respect between the leaders and the employees.

Furthermore, the democratic leadership style is an easy theory to practice in nursing. This is because it doesn’t require any cost to implement this theory. Nurses are also likely to cooperate fully since this theory is beneficial and motivates them, unlike autocratic leadership theory. Also, complex challenges are easily solved in democratic leadership style theory, unlike in other theories where it is the opposite. This is made possible by group decision making where many nurses participate in making decisions for the organization. Even though the decision-making process may take a lot of time in democratic leadership style theory compared to other nursing leadership theories, it is mostly accurate and not prone to mistakes.

Democratic leadership style theory also promotes job satisfaction when practiced. Nurses are more satisfied with their job because participative leadership style theory ensures nurses are well respected and their needs are well met. Job satisfaction motivates nurses to do their best in their work. As a baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse, I would love to work in a healthcare facility where I feel appreciated and motivated. That is why I strongly believe that the democratic leadership style theory is the best nursing leadership theory.

Moreover, I like a working environment where everyone participates in solving issues, thus bringing many diverse ideas. I believe in democratic leadership style theory because it promotes teamwork among nurses. Teamwork has many advantages such as better problem solving, increased innovations and inventions, honesty among nurses, a happy and peaceful working environment, improved personal growth, and increased worker morale. Innovation and invention mean that nurses can further or develop their innovations. This is highly possible because nurses are allowed good peace of mind when the democratic leadership theory is practiced. This is another reason I believe in the democratic leadership style theory as a baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse.

In addition, democratic leadership style theory connects nurses to their leaders and employers. Group decision-making rule in the democratic leadership theory enables both nurses and their leaders to socialize, leading to a good relationship between them. Also, democratic leadership in nursing creates a sense of uniformity among all nurses. The leaders and the ordinary nurses contribute equally to decision-making processes, thus enabling homogeneousness in healthcare facilities. Uniformity reduces the logic of superiority, thus leading to a free working environment. Lastly, democratic leadership style theory in nursing invites higher commitment levels (Cummings et al, 2021). When discussions are challenging, nurses will have to commit more to focus and coming up with the best ideas. This high commitment levels develop a culture of commitment to the nurses.

Throughout my nursing career, democratic leadership theory has evolved. Nursing organizations that have been practicing different nursing leadership theories like the autocratic leadership theory are now shifting to democratic leadership style theory. This is because the democratic theory is more efficient and easy to practice. Moreover, the nursing profession is severely affected by mistakes or wrong decisions. That is why nursing professionals are shifting to the democratic leadership theory because it is not easy to make mistakes or wrong decisions since consultation is done in democratic leadership. I envision myself becoming a very competent and smart leader in the future. This is because I know more about nursing leadership theories and their pros and cons. If I become a leader, I will choose the nursing leadership philosophical theories which will produce the best results. For instance, I will use democratic leadership rather than autocratic leadership. This will help me, and the organization make the correct decisions and avoid mistakes that might be made by bad decision-making.