Catalano implies that leadership is the capability of a person to persuade the actions of peers and other members of an organization, motivate others within the circle to work towards a common shared goal that may include providing high-quality client care, maintaining a safe working environment, developing new policies and procedures, and increasing the power of the profession. (Catalano, 2015). Leaders generally emerge formally or informally and may consist of new nurses or seasoned well experienced nurses. The leader does not necessarily have authority delegated to him or her in the clinical setting the “power” usually emerges from peers within the group. (Anderson, 2012) Key attributes of an effective leader consist of: Providing effective
The next question posed to Rene inquired about essential characteristics of a leader. After giving the question some thought she responded by saying that a leader must be able to remain objective and prioritize. “Prioritizing in my job is essential,” Rene stated, “with so many issues to deal with some nights it can be difficult to determine which to tackle first. However, remaining calm and objective in your decision making can help a leader prioritize properly, which can improve patient outcomes.” Additionally, Rene emphasized that the best leaders lead by example. By displaying desired attitudes and behaviors, a nursing leader may inspire their staff to act in a similar manner. Another area Rene stressed when posed this question was a leader’s ability to support learning. She went on to state that “it is necessary to focus on learning, not chastising. Placing the blame on someone rather than stepping back and looking at the details of a problem, deters the team from achieving the overall goal. Incident reports remain vital to the process of learning.” Rene continued to emphasis that by filling out incident reports individuals can analyze a situation or process and determine where the flaws or errors remain present. Without incident reports and learning from mistakes, growth remains difficult. Diana S. Contino (2011), author of “Leadership Competencies: Knowledge, Skills, and Aptitudes Nurses Need to Lead Organizations Effectively,” believes that organizational and
Leadership has been defined in a number of ways, but the concept is still indefinable (Barr and Dowding 2016). Buchanan and Huczynski (2010, p. 596) define leadership as “a process of influencing the activities of an organised group in its efforts towards goal-setting and goal achievement”. In clinical practice, leadership translates to an ability to direct other to achieve evidence-based practice that supports enhanced patient outcomes (Kelly-Hiedenthal 2004). Like any other industries and organisations, an effective leadership skill is vital in the healthcare sector to improve the standards of the care and to achieve organisational goals (Bach and Ellis 2015). Sullivan and Decker (2004) stated that nurses often step up to the
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also
Leadership, one of the seven professional standards outlined by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), discusses how nurses are to be leaders in the workplace and with patients. This includes teaching health practices as well as promoting good health.
Effective nurse leaders are often flexible and are able to change style of leadership to suit changing circumstances. They ensure that their people are regularly being challenged to grow and learn. Nurses show leadership by giving feedback and empowering others to bring out their best and the opportunity to grow. I believe that good leaders help people to see that what they do makes a difference. Nurse further their education to expand and gain knowledge so they can render excellent quality care that patients deserve. Also, the leaders would also help other nurses to work as a team to help the facility run to deliver high-quality care. A leader, “should think and talk about future trends that will affect the team's work, and make sure you communicate your vision to your team regularly” (Pearce, 2007, p. 25). I vision a leader as someone who can move others in achieving their goals and mission. For instance, our nurse supervisor addresses the
Leadership and management are essential to any health care organization, balancing patient care, employees, physicians, and the organization. Nursing is founded on interpersonal relationships. As a people-oriented profession, nursing leadership styles are influenced by humanism. The mission, attitude, and behaviors of a health care organization begins with its leadership, which creates the direction and purpose of the organization. The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between leadership and management, describe views of leadership, and explain the
Not all nurses go into the profession with leadership ideas. The nursing profession must produce leaders throughout the health care system. Leaders must function as workers, and administrators with leadership qualities, while still meeting their budgets and running effective units with high functioning and happy staff members. They need to trouble shoot necessary and work with the medical faculty while pleasing their staff and the administers.
A leader does not simply have a basic definition, but instead, can be described in various ways that have various roles. According to the author Bessie Marquis, in the book, “Leadership roles and Management Functions in Nursing”, in simpler terms, a leader is the inspiration and director of the action. A leader has various roles such as making decisions, acting as a communicator, evaluator, a mentor, a critical thinker, a teacher, a visionary, and many more of which can make up a leader. In order to have leadership qualities, a person would need to have great communication skills as well as critical thinking skills. It is important in the
For the place of employment in question, it is clear that nursing leadership is needed. To that end, there must be a program set out to ensure that nurses are getting the leadership skills they need. The purpose of this program will not only provide nurses with the skills they need, but will better prepare them to be leaders for nurses who are new and just coming into the facility. All nurses who are part of the facility and nurses that will be hired by the facility in the future can benefit from this program, because leadership has great advantages for nurses (D'Antonio, 2010). When nurses also focus on leadership, they are able to provide management functions like decision-making and governance. This gives nurses extra skills and teaches them to manage facilities and help make things better for the nurses as a whole (Judd, 2009). Often, when nurses need something from management that can make their jobs significantly better and improve their ability to care for their patients, they are unsure how to ask for what they need. Leadership skills can help them with that issue.
Nursing leadership is when a person leaders and organizes teamwork and encourages other staff members to develop to his or her full potential (Mendes & Fradique Mde, 2014). Effective leadership plays a vital role in the quality of care that the patients are receiving. Having good leadership on a unit improves the quality of care that is being provided to the patients (Ma, Shang, & Bott, 2015). Effective leadership helps to improve the morality of the staff members, which in turn allows the staff members to provide the highest quality of care to his or her patients. Using supportive leadership style will also help to improve the quality of care that the patients are receiving (Ma, Shang, & Bott, 2015). Having an ineffective leader in charge
Being a leader is not a simple task. It involves planning and professionalism. A leader must have the trust and respect of its members to be able to form a strong system. A manager must be able to lead and communicate employees to achieve goals. Nursing involves strong leadership because the aim is to care and nurture patients. Chaotic work environments will not allow nurses to prosper in providing proper care. The right leadership and management style allow for more efficiency among members. Leadership is critical and should have a clear vision, inspire, and
Leadership may mean different things to different people, the consensus opinion of experts in this field is that leadership is using power to direct and influence activities of people to achieve set goals or targets. Nursing leadership is all about every nurse providing, facilitating and promoting the best healthcare services to client and to the public. Leadership is a shared responsibility. (CNO 2012). The nursing profession need leaders that can build the capacity of nurses through mentoring, coaching, supporting, developing the expertise and management skills of nurses to make a difference to the quality of patient care at all levels of the profession ( McIntyre & McDonald, 2014 ). At the core of every leadership either political or managerial is power and how the leader uses it. While it is practically impossible to lead without power, how the nurse leader uses this power not only determine the leadership style but also the results or outcomes of what is achieved through the process.
Leadership does not always come with a title or prestige. Every nurse has within themselves qualities that make them a great leader. Leadership by definition, “is a combination of intrinsic personality traits, learned leadership skills, and characteristics of the situation (Cherry& Jacob (2013 p. 335). A leader is one who has the capacity and skills to direct or encourage others in efforts to achieve an outcome. I recently completed a self-assessment on my perceived leadership abilities. The survey was called the Nurse Manager Skills Inventory (Nurse Manager Leadership Partnership, 2008). It consists of four content areas of which I will address and identify my strengths and weaknesses.
The Professional Performance Standard of leadership by the American Nurses Association 's Standards of Professional Nursing Practice (2010) states, “the nurse professional demonstrates leadership in the professional practice setting and the profession" (ANA, 2010). The definition of leadership in relation to the nursing profession is defined as; “Leadership refers to the ability to guide, motivate, and inspire, and to instill vision and purpose” (Ellis & Hartley, 2012). The application of leadership in the profession of nursing involves the ability for the nurse leader to “influence the beliefs, opinions, or behaviors of others and to persuade others to follow your direction” (Ellis & Hartley, 2012).