My Personal Leadership Analysis
Wendy Cepeda
New York City College of Technology
NUR 3110
December 18th, 2019
Professor Paradiso
My Personal Leadership Analysis
Introduction
There are nine concepts i feel every nurse should have in order to be a good leader that inspires others and themselves to be better each and everyday. The concepts include integrity, appreciation of ambiguity, diversity as a vehicle to wholeness, holding multiple perspectives without judgement, discovery of potential, quest for adventure towards knowing, knowing something of life, nurturing the intellectual and emotional self, and keeping commitments to oneself. In the daily challenges of a nurse all of these concepts are constantly being used, and are essential in creating a psychologically safe workplace, it is not only reserved for charge nurses as all nurses have to be leaders everyday. Especially as a new graduate nurse these are the ideals that should be taught from the beginning of your career to help you become the best leader and nurse you can be.
Integrity
Nursing is not just a profession but a call of service and has been consistently rated the number one most respected and trusted profession, because of this the presence of integrity as a key to leadership is essential. Nurse leaders should strive to promote environments in which the health and well being of others including nurses is fostered. “It is important that a nurse leader demonstrates integrity to create an atmosphere of trust” ( Hughes, 2017). Without trust others around are not able to build relationships with you, including both your staff and patients. This then leads to poor work environments and relationships. Patient care will suffer if there is no relationship, patients have to trust you in order for you to care for them. Your coworkers have to know that you are trustworthy in order for them to trust you, as a leader if staff cannot put their trust in you then negative patient outcomes are bound to occur. A successful leader always acts with integrity even when no one is looking, when leaders act with integrity it inspires others to do the same. Acting with integrity also promotes a healthy psychologically safe work environment, that results in positive patient outcomes and increased morale. Simple actions such as keeping your promises, and matching your actions to your words show patients and staff that you care and act with integrity. I believe in general all people, especially those in the healthcare profession should act with integrity. I strive everyday to act with integrity, and plan to utilize integrity when at work with patients , or in my personal life.
Appreciation of Ambiguity
In the nursing profession you have to be very comfortable with being able to function amid the ambiguity of the environment, every shift will always be different no matter what. Patients will come and go, they will either deteriotrate or improve, it is impossible to escape the ambiguity of the environment. It is much like life everyday we wake up not knowing what is in store for the day, yet we get up and tackle the day. This is a very important trait for a leader to have and be proficient in, transformational leaders tend to embrace the ambiguity and are able to use the possibilities to their advantage. Leaders are confronted with different situations all the time, and need to be able to take control of the situation and act accordingly. Much like nurses who in the face of an unpredictable situation must stay calm and use critical thinking to take action for the wellbeing of the patient. Nurses have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable for them to be able to successfully handle all and any situations that come their way. I know I have to work on being comfortable in the ambiguity of certain environments, I have to continue to push on in order to be able to face new challenges.
Appreciation of Diversity
An accomplished leader is one who appreciates diversity in all of its forms, whether it be race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, generational, and the dissenting voices and differences of all kinds. A transformational leader sees diversity as an asset, diversity allows for different types of solutions to problems, and allow for barriers to be broken down. In order to appreciate diversity you must be self aware, and culturally competent in order to broaden your horizons. “Increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce is often cited as a strategy for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities” (Glazer et. al. 2018). The more diverse staff or more knowledgeable staff we have, the more patients and our own staff will trust us. Cultural competency is a topic that is being pushed everywhere, it is important to be culturally competent in order to understand others and care for them properly. “Consequences of cultural competence are satisfaction with care, the perception of quality healthcare, better adherence to treatments, effective interaction and improved health outcomes” (Henderson et. al. 2018). Cultural competency improves patient outcomes, and promotes positive work environments. I myself have to force myself at times to be self aware, it is very easy to let your biases take over and influence decisions or actions. Growing up in New York City I do feel like I harbor very minimal biases to begin with, but I must remind myself to be self aware even if I think I have no biases to not compromise anyones care and feelings.
Accounting for Multiple Perspectives
In nursing we have to be able to consider many different options before deciding a course of action, being able to create and hold a space so that multiple perspectives are entertained before decisions are made is important. Leaders have to be able to hold these perspectives without judgement, not one person has all the answers so it is necessary for leaders to take all options into account. When considering all of the options it allows for your staff to have input and feel as if they are also contributing to solutions. I personally have an issue before considering multiple options, I usually stick with my first choice. In order to provide proper care to patients it is imperative that multiple perspectives are entertained before taking action, for example the patient is having trouble breathing and before checking to see if the oxygen is on you call a code and cause unnecessary trauma for the patient . In nursing you are a problem solver, you have to troubleshoot before getting ahead of yourself , or you can miss important details that can cost people their lives. I want to become a leader who is considerate and takes input from the staff, it makes for better working conditions, especially considering that your staff are the ones who feel the impact of your decisions. Thus i have to work on slowing down and thinking about what it is that needs to be done and considers others’ opinions.
Discovery of Potential
I feel that because I didn’t have anyone to push me to do better, that I can easily find the potential in myself and do the same for others around me. I often find myself telling others that they should push through the nursing program even though it is hard, that it is so worth it in the end. Leaders should be very competent in the ability to search for and find the potential in themselves. If they cannot find the potential in themselves how can they help others do so. In order to be a transformational leader you must be able to inspire others, which leads to having a staff that is proactive and wanting to further themselves. As nurses we have to be lifelong learners for the best outcomes of patients possible, if we do not have a leader is pushing themselves , then staff will not feel the need to also. As a leader I want to find the potential in my nurses, we do not know everything from the beginning and have to be pushed to learn and perfect new skills whether it be intravenous lines, suctioning patients , or being charge for the first time. These types of leaders create conducive working environments, and well rounded nurses who will be ready to step up when our current leaders step down.
Quest for Knowledge
A nurse is always learning, it is even required for her to maintain her license with continuing education credits. Now that I am a new graduate nurse i find that organizations require you to continuously learn and be up to date with healthcare, inservices are offered on updated policies for things such as wound care. A nurse has to be up to date in order to care for the ever changing patient population, for example care for transgenders is a topic that is trending now. This also goes for nurse leaders because our nurses are also changing, and the way in which you communicate and manage nurses must change as well. Evidence based practice is a product of lifelong learning, we have to continue to educate ourselves in order for best practice to come forward. During this course we actually have had to attend conferences where I found myself learning new things, it has further instilled in me the importance of being a lifelong learner. With expanding roles and their direct relevance to clinicians’ different clinical grades and capacities, lifelong learning becomes an essential component in the achievement of clinical expertise.
Experience and Reflective Learning
“Reflective learning and the use of stories about the experience of giving and receiving care can contribute to the development of the knowledge, skill and confidence that enable student nurses to provide compassionate relationship centred care within practice” (Adamson & Dewar, 2015). By using reflective learning and translation of that learning to the work at hand, it enables students to be intune with the learning process. In nursing self reflection is a critical component in your everyday professional life, nurses have to learn from their previous experiences and other peoples as well. Being a new graduate nurse reflective learning was heavily relied upon to be able to do my work, during orientation stories were told so that we could learn from them and avoid doing those things. With each and everyday I have to reflect on my experiences, and figure out how I can do it better the next time.
Nurturing the Emotional Self
As a nursing profession we all know we must nurture our intellectual self by being lifelong learners, but when do we stop and take time to nurture our emotional self. Leaders must be aware of their emotions at all times, especially when dealing with situations so as to not give off a different meaning. I feel like i could definitely work on keeping my emotions in check, being in the nursing field I am bound to encounter situations in which my emotions could affect my work. I wish to become a leader that can help my fellow nurses when i can see they need help in controlling emotions. If I see a situation is too stressful i would jump in and remove the nurse from the situation. I would want to be a leader that encourages my nurses to avoid stressful conditions that could affect work or them personally. Transformational leaders have a high emotional intelligence , and are accustomed to viewing issues as opportunities for improvement. Having emotional intelligence allows for increased work morale and less problems in the workplace. In the future I hope to be able to face tough situations, and help my staff when they need it.
Self Care
Self care is the most important thing a nurse can do for themselves, if self care is not done burnout or compassion fatigue can happen. Leaders need to be able to gauge whether or not staff is in need of self care, if staff is burdened then how can they cope with the stress of caring for someone. “Nurse leaders face stressful demands of numerous competing priorities. Some nurse leaders experience unmanageable stress, but success requires self-care” (Dyess et. al. 2017). Leaders must also practice self care and encourage others to do so, staff will then see that you also care about their well being thus increasing work performance and improved patient outcomes. As of now I do not believe I create the balance that regenerates and renews the spirit and body, so that it can continue to grow. I am still figuring out when I am too stressed to be able to care for patients, I need to work on blocking off time for myself. I am currently unable to take breaks because it is so busy, even so i will work on taking even 15 minutes to eat and relax before going back on the floor. I may even need to find a less stressful job if that is what it takes for me not to develop burnout so early in my career. When leaders put their staff and their wellbeing as a priority it make work more enjoyable, less stressful knowing that someone has your back and will make sure you are not too stressed. Patients will also be better cared for when rejuvenated nurses are caring for them , increasing positive patient outcomes.
References
- Adamson, E., & Dewar, B. (2014, September 19). Compassionate Care: Student nurses learning through reflection and the use of story. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471595314001164.
- Dyess, S. M. L., Prestia, A. S., Marquit, D.-E., & Newman, D. (2017, January 6). Self-Care for Nurse Leaders in Acute Care Environment Reduces Perceived Stress: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study Merits Further Investigation – Susan Mac Leod Dyess, Angela S. Prestia, Doren-Elyse Marquit, David Newman, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0898010116685655.
- Glazer, G., Tobias, B., & Mentzel, T. (2017, November 14). Increasing healthcare workforce diversity: Urban universities as catalysts for change. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S8755722317300595.
- Horne, M., Hills, R., Kendall, E., & Saras Henderson. (2018, March 7). Cultural competence in healthcare in the community: A concept analysis. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hsc.12556?casa_token=owPDOaMsxp0AAAAA:U2YkjGpGdaF-g4N0I3TyByqJHdn8u73a7pOKNRX2W9-usPeR0WLDIjbXoha0ynxJ-prLMh0q48HDuLM.
Hughes V. Leadership Strategies to Promote Nurse Retention. Sci J Nurs Pract. 2017; 1(1): 001-005. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a3c9/7f4491728fe817e5cb2de22b667dc1262c43.pdf
