The Concept of Stewardship From Servant Leadership, Christian Worldview, Professional Responsibility, and Their Application in a Health Care Setting

The concept of stewardship relates to the Christian worldview through spirituality. Servant leadership is founded on community and teamwork and focuses on involving others in decision-making (Van Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). It is additionally based on caring behavior and ethical imperatives, as well as attempts to improve the personal growth of the subjects and the general quality of the institution being served, thus promoting stewardship. The connection between servant leadership and spirituality is also about getting people to a higher level of self-actualization and self-fulfillment by uplifting them to higher levels based on Christ’s emphasis on caring and selfless behaviors(Ewest & Weeks, 2018).In professional responsibility, stewardship guides professionals in generating intelligence based on evidence and information, formulating a strategic direction for policies, establishing and sustaining partnerships, ensuring accountability, and developing a balance between organizational structures and policy objectives. In the healthcare setting, stewardship can be applied by collaborating with the staff in the healthcare facility to get insight into how they can help nurses to shift the practice epistemology, integrating a type of practical reasoning that is based on virtue, thus extending their practice of bearing witness. Nurse stewards have the ability to inform significant change in nursing practice based on their capability to act upon their attribute qualities, including courage and self-discipline. Nurse leaders expressing stewardship at service points could help nurses improve their practice of being available for clients and bearing witness as they focus on transcending experiences of illnesses, disease, and suffering.

Informal and Formal Leadership in Health Care Organizations

Formal leadership comes from authority, structure, and power and often comes in the form of commands or orders. A formal leader gets his or her strength from having official authority within an organizational structure. They usually provide mandates or commands to subordinates (Luria & Berson, 2012). Informal leadership, on the other hand, comes from influence, relationships, and connections and often comes in the form of favors. Informal leaders create influence by building relationships and connecting with others. Informal leaders influence others by serving as advocates for the business and increasing the contributions of others and their own, mainly through building relationships, influence, expertise, and knowledge (Luria & Berson, 2012). It impacts a healthcare organization by integrating information gathered through interactions across technical and clinical disciplines. Nurses using informal leadership easily influence teams by allowing more team members to be actively engaged in setting performance expectations and goals for the team. According to Domm et al. (2007), nurses using informal leadership have an impact on the quality of service and the level of staff and patient satisfaction. They impact the culture through their general involvement, freely sharing expertise and knowledge, team orientation, and a genuine caring approach toward staff and patients.