| Course | HLTH 4313 Leading and Decision-Making in Health Services |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Leadership styles application paper |
| Length | 1,380 words, about 5 pages plus title and reference pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | American College of Education |
| Program | B.S. in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for HLTH 4313 Module 1
Fourteen Cleaners, Three Languages, One New Supervisor: Comparing Leadership Styles and Applying Situational Leadership to a Hospital's Night Environmental Services Crew
Student Name
American College of Education
HLTH4313: Leading and Decision-Making in Health Services
Module 1 Assignment
Instructor Name
October 5, 2026
The Team
In August I became the night supervisor of the environmental services department at a composite 300-bed community hospital. My crew of fourteen cleans patient rooms after discharge, keeps the emergency department and operating rooms turned over through the night and handles spills, isolation rooms and trash for the whole building. Five have worked nights for more than ten years and know the hospital better than I do. Four were hired in the past six months, two of them in their first job in health care. Three speak Spanish as their first language, two speak Haitian Creole, and the rest speak English, with several comfortable in more than one.
The previous supervisor led by walking the floors with a clipboard and correcting mistakes, and the crew's reaction to him split along experience lines. The veterans found him insulting; the new hires found him the only source of guidance they had. That split is the reason this paper compares leadership styles instead of assuming one will work for everyone.
Comparing Styles
Leadership research offers several ways to think about what a supervisor should do. Northouse (2021) groups the major approaches into those that focus on the leader's traits and skills, those that describe the leader's behavior, such as the distinction between task-oriented and relationship-oriented behavior, and those that ask how leadership should vary with the situation. Three approaches seem most relevant to my crew.
A transformational approach would ask me to inspire the crew with a shared vision, for example that environmental services is infection prevention, and to model the standards I expect. It would suit the veterans, who want to be treated as professionals, but it offers little concrete direction to a new hire who does not yet know which disinfectant to use in a room with a patient on contact precautions. A servant leadership approach, which a recent systematic review describes as oriented toward followers' individual needs and toward the wider organization and community (Eva et al., 2019), would have me focus first on the crew's needs and growth. It fits a group that has felt disrespected, but on its own it says little about how much direction each person needs. The situational model associated with Hersey and Blanchard takes a different starting point: it holds that no single style is best and that a leader should adjust the balance of direction and support to each follower's competence and commitment for a particular task. It addresses the split in my crew directly, which is why I chose it as the primary model, while borrowing the transformational message about the importance of the work.
Situational Leadership, Worker by Worker
Situational leadership describes four styles: directing, with high direction and low support; coaching, with high direction and high support; supporting, with low direction and high support; and delegating, with low direction and low support. Each fits a follower's development level on a given task, not the person in general. That last point matters, because a veteran may be expert at room turnovers but new to operating room terminal cleaning after a procedure change.
For the four new hires, I will use a directing style for tasks they have not yet mastered, such as isolation room cleaning and the correct contact times for each disinfectant. That means clear, step-by-step instruction, demonstration and checking their first rooms with them, delivered in their first language through a bilingual veteran partner where needed. As they gain skill, I will move to coaching, still checking their work but asking them to explain their choices and praising what they do well.
For the five veterans, I will mostly delegate. They will plan their own route through the night, and I will ask them to decide how to handle surges, such as three discharges at once from the same unit. Where a procedure has changed, I will coach them on that task only. Two veterans have asked for more responsibility, and I will offer them the role of trainer for new hires, which uses a supporting style: I give them little direction on how to teach but a great deal of recognition and backing. The veteran who resented being corrected becomes the person who does the teaching, and the new hire gets a guide who speaks her language.
What the Evidence Says About the Model
Situational leadership is popular in training programs because it is easy to understand and use, but the research behind it is modest. An empirical test of three versions of the model found that its prescriptions held up only weakly (Thompson & Vecchio, 2009), and Northouse (2021) notes that the model's claims about how development levels should be defined and matched to styles have not been well established by research. The approach also depends on the leader's judgment of each follower's competence and commitment, and a new supervisor may misjudge those, especially across language and cultural differences.
I take these criticisms as reasons to use the model carefully rather than to abandon it. Its central idea, that a leader should adjust direction and support to the person and the task, is sensible and fits my crew. I will guard against misjudgment by asking each crew member, in a short conversation during my first month, which tasks they feel sure of and which they would like help with, rather than deciding for them.
Adding the Transformational Message
Situational leadership tells me how much to direct and support, but not why the crew should care about the work. Environmental services staff are often invisible in hospitals, cleaning at night and rarely thanked, yet their work directly affects whether the next patient in a room acquires an infection. I will open each shift's brief huddle with one example of why the work matters, such as the number of isolation rooms cleaned that night or a note from the infection prevention team, and I will ask infection prevention to present to the crew once a quarter. This borrows from the transformational approach its focus on meaning and pride, which a situational model alone does not provide, and it applies to veterans and new hires alike.
A First-Month Test
Theory becomes useful only when it survives contact with a real shift, so I tested the plan in my first month on one task: cleaning isolation rooms for patients on contact precautions. I asked each crew member to rate their confidence on that task from one to five and compared the answers with what I saw on the floor. Most answers matched, but two did not. One new hire rated herself a five after two weeks, yet skipped the dwell time on the bed rails in the first room I watched. One veteran rated herself a two because a new disinfectant had arrived, though her work was flawless.
Both cases taught me something about the model. The new hire needed directing despite her confidence, and I explained the reason for the dwell time rather than simply correcting her, which is the difference between directing and scolding. The veteran needed support, not instruction, and a few minutes reviewing the new product's label with her settled her doubts. Had I assigned styles by seniority, I would have gotten both wrong. The test also showed that asking people about their own development level is a useful start but not enough on its own; it has to be checked against what they actually do.
How I Will Know It Is Working
I will judge the approach by four indicators over the next six months. First, the quality of room cleaning, measured by the fluorescent marker audits the infection prevention team already runs, reported separately for new hires and veterans. Second, the time new hires take to be signed off as independent on isolation room cleaning, with a target of eight weeks. Third, turnover on the night crew, which was four departures last year. Fourth, a short anonymous survey, offered in all three languages, asking whether crew members feel they receive the right amount of direction and support. If new hires feel abandoned or veterans feel micromanaged, I will know my judgment of their development levels is wrong and will adjust.
References
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Thompson, G., & Vecchio, R. P. (2009). Situational leadership theory: A test of three versions. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(5), 837-848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.06.014
The HLTH 4313 Module 1 assignment instructions
HLTH 4313 Module 1 typically opens with leadership styles. The prompt usually asks you to describe and compare several leadership approaches, then apply one to a health care team you know, explaining why it fits, how you would use it day to day and what its limits are. Some versions ask you to analyze a leader you have worked for instead. You should expect to cite a leadership text and at least one research source, and the paper usually runs three to four pages in APA 7. Check Canvas for whether the prompt names particular models, such as transformational, servant or situational leadership, since some sections require a comparison of exactly two.
Inside the HLTH 4313 Module 1 example
The example introduces the team before any theory, giving the grader the facts a leadership choice must fit: experience levels, languages and how the crew reacted to the last supervisor. It then compares three approaches, naming what each would offer this crew and what it would miss, and chooses situational leadership. The application section explains the four styles and assigns them by person and task, including a veteran who needs coaching on one changed procedure and two veterans who become trainers. An honest section on research support follows. The paper then borrows a transformational element to give the work meaning, and it closes with four measures, one of which checks whether the supervisor has judged the crew correctly.
Where the points sit in the HLTH 4313 Module 1 rubric
The rubric for this opening assignment usually rewards accurate description of the models and, above all, application. Top ratings go to papers that apply a model to specific people and situations rather than restating its definitions, which the worker-by-worker section provides. A comparison criterion often asks for more than one model to be weighed, with a justified choice. Graders also credit critical evaluation, meaning some attention to the model's weaknesses or evidence, and many rubrics include a criterion for supporting sources. Finally, points go to organization, clarity, grammar and APA 7 style, including a reference list that matches the citations exactly.
HLTH 4313 Module 1 help from the desk
Leadership papers slip most often when they describe three or four models in general terms and then say the writer would use one, without showing how. Another problem is picking a model because it sounds appealing on paper instead of fitting the crew in front of you. Writers sometimes treat situational leadership as a label for a whole person, when the model applies task by task. Criticisms of the model are often left out entirely, which costs points under critical thinking. Keep the team realistic and anonymous. If you want this assignment built around your own department and the models your instructor named, the desk can prepare a custom Module 1 sample to that rubric.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official American College of Education document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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HLTH 4313 Module 1 questions, answered
What does HLTH4313 Module 1 usually ask for?
HLTH4313 Module 1 typically asks you to compare leadership styles or models and apply one to a health care team, explaining why it fits and how you would use it. Your classroom's instructions decide the team and the models.
What is situational leadership?
A model holding that leaders should vary the balance of direction and support to fit each follower's competence and commitment on a given task, using directing, coaching, supporting or delegating styles.
Is situational leadership supported by research?
Only partly. Studies such as Thompson and Vecchio (2009) found limited support for its specific prescriptions, so use it thoughtfully and check your judgments with the people you lead.
Where can I find a free HLTH 4313 Module 1 sample paper?
This page has the complete Module 1 leadership styles paper for a hospital night cleaning crew, including the title page, six sections, notes explaining each move in the margin, and the references, all free to read.
Can I combine leadership styles in one paper?
Yes, if you explain what each contributes. The example uses situational leadership for how much to direct and borrows a transformational focus on the meaning of the work.