Nursing Leadership
Joshua Rose
Fort Hays State University
Leadership generally brings to my mind a consistent set of characteristics. Integrity, honesty, and courage are just a few of the most important characteristics that form the foundational development of a successful leader. Integrity is essentially doing what is right regardless of who is watching or not watching. Honestly must always be present not only to ensure effective communication, but also to realistically analyze problems and develop solutions. Courage is what drives an individual to step apart from the crowd and effectively become the leader in hopes of solving problems. Effective leadership is required to inspire development regardless of the application.
In regards to nursing I believe that all nurses must possess some degree of the traits I previously discussed to be an effective patient advocate. This point is one of the first discussed in chapter 5 and its importance is highlighted in a single quote, “there is no higher calling than to accept the responsibility to care for another person” (Glazer & Fitzpatrick, 2013, p. 46). While my view of essential leadership characteristics is the same, the reading does provide better understanding on how it can be implemented at various levels. I also found importance in discerning the difference between leadership and management. The reading in chapter 1 does a great job in clarifying this difference and specifies that positions of leadership do not have to also coincide with a position of authority (Glazer & Fitzpatrick, 2013). I believe this understanding could result in modifying behavior where some individuals have a tremendous amount of valuable input to offer but fail to do so out of the belief that they are not in the appropriate position of authority.
Works Cited
Glazer, G., & Fitzpatrick, J. (2013). Nursing Leadership from the Outside In. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Josh, I agree that honesty, integrity and courage are very important characteristics they make for a great leader! In my career, I’m not sure if I’ve had a leader that possessed all of those characteristics??? Don’t you feel that compassion and empathy (for patients and staff) are important also? There are so many traits that can make a great leader. I believe that if your staff gets along with you and they take care of their patients, they believe in that leader that has lead by example in how to provide quality care to the patient. Best of luck to you this semester.
Jeff
Compassion and empathy are also great characteristics, like you said there are many traits that contribute to the development of a leader. I chose honesty, integrity, and courage simply because I believe that they must be present as a sort of foundation. Any leader who possesses the ability to critically reflect on behavior with regard for how they would honestly feel if it was themselves on the other end of the decision should naturally demonstrate compassion and empathy also.
Hi Josh, I agree with you that every nurse has some characteristics of a leader. Upon reading of the Ohio State Model,nurses should always try to use the two way communication, since this communication responds to the whole group needs. The two way communication involves opinions, beliefs, and desires from the team and not only delegation from the leader. Using the two way communication establishes mutual trust between and among group members, therefore facilitating interpersonal relationships.
Rigolosi, E.(2005). Management and leadership in nursing and health care: An experiential approach, 2nd Ed. Retrieved from http://www.ebookcentral.proquest.com