Paternalistic vs. mama management? Neither!

FigureWE'VE LOST A FEW nursing icons recently, and Marie Manthey was one of them. She left an indelible mark on our profession as the creator of primary nursing and relationship-based care, among other forward-thinking concepts that were way ahead of the curve. I came across a column she wrote for Nursing Management back in 1990 on “mama management,” a term I hadn't heard in a long time.1 Almost simultaneously, articles about “paternalistic leadership” appeared in my inbox. Mothers and fathers as leadership models? What's a nurse leader to do? The article Marie wrote 35 years ago was a treatise on moving from mama management to team spirit. Think of a typical mom to get the idea of mama management—generally nurturing with a strong dose of authoritarianism; we still see this type of leadership today. Marie asserted that the only way to move away from mama management was to stop babying nurses (I'm sure you noticed the maternal-related verb) using her 7-step approach: assess the independence level of every nurse, cultivate their skills, allow independent decision-making, coach, encourage well-informed risk-taking, establish psychological safety, and develop their conflict resolution skills. Wise words for today's times as well—this approach is totally aligned with high-functioning teams, inspired practice, and professional governance. What about paternalistic leadership? It's comparable to the authoritarianism in mama management with a focus on the leader's decision-making on behalf of the team and an expectation of obedience. In return, you're cared for as a member of the workplace family. Research findings have discovered that the benevolent traits of paternalistic leadership can have positive effects, such as increased work engagement, but the authoritarian dimension has negative consequences for the workforce, such as increased turnover intention. No surprise. More recent papers include language that these leaders can be patriarchs or matriarchs, a forward move toward being gender inclusive. So, mama management and paternalistic leadership are more or less one and the same. And neither has a place in nursing leadership today. Yes, we do want our work family to be a solid team that has each other's backs, and we do value a leader who holds the needs of employees and the team paramount. Having fun together like a family is a good thing; however, the complex dynamics that exist in many families wouldn't be good role models for work teams. The expected loyalty and lack of privacy in families is another reason to avoid the concept at work. Besides, we should be encouraging a healthy separation between work and home. Let's stick with team. Instead of authoritarian mama and papa parental management, let's bear in mind the leadership behaviors that Marie Manthey suggested—behaviors that elevate staff, cultivate independence, allow autonomy and psychological safety, and don't expect obedience. High-functioning teams don't have to emulate families, but they do need to have mutual trust, effective communication, shared decision-making, adaptability, and other descriptors that aren't necessarily associated with families. At a greater level, we're a global community of 29 million nurses who share goals of healthy work environments, systems solutions, healthcare for all, nurse well-being, and excellence in care and outcomes. We may have learned a lot from our parents and love our families, but professionally our leadership goes well beyond these relationships. May each one of you find joy in your leadership not only during Nurses Month but all year long.Figure