Emotional Intelligence And Nursing Leadership

“Nursing is informed caring for the well-being of others” (Swanson, 1993, p. 352). Kristen Swanson’s relationship-based caring theory encompasses maintaining belief, knowing, being with, doing for, and enabling. Nursing is a profession with vast opportunities for growth and development. Each nurse has his or her individual passions; mine reside within obstetrics, women’s health, and nursing leadership. Nurse leaders play an integral role in the success of healthcare organizations. Nurse leaders shape the roles of nurses within their organizations. Nurse leaders seek methods to improve patient care. They also use innovation to gain efficiencies in care delivery and decrease healthcare cost. Many nurse leaders have an ultimate goal to aspire to be a chief nursing officer in a healthcare

A nurse in a position of a leader, like a charge nurse, who is not emotionally developed could hinder the function of the whole unit. A leader has to be able to manage their emotions, be motivating to their self and others, be empathetic, and handle relationships (). If a nurse comes to work with a bad attitude, this could potentially affect relationships with coworkers, and even contribute to lowering the whole morale of the staff on the unit.

This reflective essay is based on my strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) analysis (Appendix 1) in order to examine my leadership skills. Leadership is one of the essential component in nursing since all nurses are expected to demonstrate effective leadership skills to ensure patient’s well-being is protected and improve their experiences while receiving the care (Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015). Firstly, leadership will be defined within the context of the NHS and particularly nursing. Furthermore, some of the current health issues and challenges faced by health care practice that are related to poor leadership will be discussed. The essay will be continued by exploring various relevant leadership theories in relation to nursing practice and working within the Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs). Lastly, as mentioned earlier, I will also be reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses from practice, then develop a SMART (Specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) action plan to improve my leadership skills which will be followed by a brief conclusion.

In this essay I will discuss the leadership style of 3 nursing leaders, which I chose from Nursing Leadership DVD (Orazietti & Singh, 2014). I will then describe impact the leaders ' style has on improving nursing care, organizational processes, and inter-professional collaboration. In addition, I will provide some examples of a change process or difficult situation which leaders encountered. Finally, I will explain how I have dealt with difficult situation involving my colleague and one of physician in the hospital department where I worked. Throughout this essay I will analyze what leaders should have done differently. 3 Leaders which I have chosen were Debra Bournes from group 1 because of her political and administrative success, Mina Singh from group 2 because she is renowned for her educational style at York University, and Esther Green from group 3 because she is the sound and knowledgeable practitioner.

Leadership is a very important role for an advanced practice nurse. There are many leadership styles a person can utilize when working in a collaborative team environment. It is the responsibility of an advance practice nurse to take on a leadership role and finding which leadership style to adapt can determine the success of creating a successful work environment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze different styles of leadership, assess our emotional intelligence finding our strength and weakness and lastly defining leadership in our own terms.

“Emotional Intelligences and Reflective Practice are Integral Components of Building a Therapeutic Relationship in Nursing”

3). In this relationship, each must work through phases including conflict resolution and negotiation as part of the process. Transformational theory further explains leadership must include exhibiting a degree of emotional intelligence. This occurs when perceiving how others feel, understanding how the feelings lead to thinking, understanding the emotions, and managing emotions internally. In respects to this theory, emotional intelligence enhances this bi-directional relationship between the leader and the followers (Spears, 2002).

Nursing guidance is a complex but essential part of the nursing workforce. Guidance can come in the form of management and in the form of leadership. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but do not always mean the same thing. The nurse manager is often someone who has authority from the facility to be in management. The nursing leader may not have authority over other nurses, but may be a strong guide in the workplace for other nurses and nursing staff. Nursing as a profession is ever-changing and increasingly challenging. Nurse managers are tasked with an enormous variety of functions in their respective workplaces, budgeting, scheduling, hiring, disciplinary actions, implementing facility policies and procedures, and the

The nurse as a leader looks to achieve a workable unity. (Gardner, 2007) In an interdisciplinary format this is vitally important. There will be many factors that will prevent group cohesion and mutual tolerance in any environment. In an emotionally charged setting this is especially true. The nurse can help to manage conflict and promote a positive environment. This can

Nurse leaders are faced with issues or problems on a daily basis that are often expected and sometimes unexpected. It “comes with the territory” so to speak. If there were no issues to solve or hurdles to overcome the necessity of designating a leader would not seem quite as important. Nurse leaders can tackle issues that occur in their work environment using nursing theory to guide them. Nursing theory provides a framework that nurse leaders can use to implement interventions or changes to positively impact the staff they lead. This framework of the theory will set the standards for achieving the desired outcomes and is based on knowledge that is gleaned from practice and/or research.

Integrity is a deeply individualized phenomenon. It is the correlation between a person’s actions and their beliefs, principles, or convictions. Additionally, integrity correlates an individual’s actions and their self-understanding. When an individual identifies himself or herself as a nurse, there are often underlying personal characteristics that accompany. For example, most nurses identify themselves as caring individuals far before they become a practicing nurse. Ultimately, acting within an individual’s self-understanding is a demonstration of integrity (Nelson & Gordon, 2006). The integrity of the nursing profession has been challenged as the goals of healthcare delivery have shifted to improving the bottom line, leaving one to question if nursing has lost sight of its foundation, caring. In her reflection of the Caring Conference, Lou Reida’s expressed, “… I have been challenged to reflect on how I, as a future leader, will be able to find a balance between nurturing the caring spirit of nurses and the business component of healthcare,” (Reida, BSN, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to discuss how integrity of nursing may be compromised and the importance of leadership in the persistence of integrity throughout the profession.

Nurses are said to do the unthinkable and touch the untouchable (Canfield, Hansen, Mitchell-Autio, & Thieman, 2001). Why nurses can seem to do this remains a mystery yet investigated in peer reviewed literature. Professional nurses hold values to a high standard while performing their tasks. This is done by individuals who are astute in the language that may not always be expressed with words, the language of emotion. It is the nurse holding the hand of the troubled and simply listening to their need that places them in field that is spiritually unique (O 'Brien, 2014). The nurse offers the capacity to identify another’s emotions and encouraging the person, all the while continuing to manage the feeling and interactions with another (Beauvais, 2012). This ability is known as emotional intelligence and offers the nurse a capacity to assume successful leadership positions. Emotionally intelligent skill building for leadership is now a required competency and encompasses spiritually rich aspects of both nursing and leadership. This paper will discuss useful aspects of emotional intelligence in spiritually rich nursing leadership.

Emotional intelligence, or EI, has begun to make head way in the nursing world in its tie to leadership. Nurses are people, so they experience emotion just like every other person. Their work is stressful and trying, it provokes emotion due to the environment and situations at hand. The ability to recognize one’s own emotions, along with those that present in others is an important skill (Morrison, 2008). Being able to recognize emotions makes it easier to manage our lives and our relationship with others. These are the aspects that make a person competent enough to say that they have emotional intelligence. Supporters of emotional intelligence believe that EI may be more valuable in determining a good leader than intellectual

Nurses demonstrate the core values of professionally caring for others in two different prospects. Huber (2014), notes that “nurses have two basic roles: care providers and care coordinators” (p. 3). Most significantly nurses are valued in the setting of patient care, while the coordinator role revolves around management and organizing care, using thinking skills to coordinate complex activities. Nursing is multifaceted, although direct quality patient care is of significance, a positive leader or manager is also essential to support the recent changes to healthcare requirements. Having the right blend of qualities is vital to becoming a

“If you actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” (John Quincy Adams, as cited in Forbes, 2014, p. 1). A leader is mentor, guiding others to their best. In this paper, I will reflect on my personal values and beliefs regarding leadership. Next, I will discuss a leader in my life that personally resonates with me. I will then discuss the attributes of my chosen leader and relate them to theory on leadership, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, group dynamics and peace and power concepts and identify the leadership style that my chosen leader embodies. Finally, I will discuss how my leadership philosophy and the newly acquired theory will impact my future career as a nurse.