Nursing Leadership Qualities

In today’s ever-changing health care system, nurse leaders must possess key traits and skills that are needed to achieve goals, as well as face the multiple challenges across the different health care settings. Leaders take initiative, inspire followers with a vision, facilitate change and help with the development of coping mechanisms (Borkowski, 2016). Additionally, leaders are known to provide direction, empower subordinates and promote team work collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on my vision of a nurse leader by identifying three attributes that I consider essential in becoming a highly effective nursing leader. In my opinion, a nurse leader must have a drive for improvement, have the ability to communicate effectively

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

In graduate level nursing the most successful individuals will possess the following leadership attributes to include: setting the example, effectively communicating / listening to others, a willingness to always go the extra mile and the ability to connect with a variety of stakeholders. These different factors are important in helping to create a foundation of working with various

To be a leader, you not only need followers but also have to have something to follow.

The role of a nurse leader is invaluable to the performance and ultimate success of an entire nursing team whose goal is to provide excellent patient care. There are a few key characteristics that define a nursing leader. The first characteristic is one who communicates effectively and is accountable on all levels, from the patient and their family to the interdisciplinary members and senior staff. Effective communication and accountability are characteristics of an individual who

Nursing leaders are seen with many traits within one individual. A few important characteristics are the leadership skills that the individual can provide, ethics and legal issues that the leader can manage, and patient advocacy to care for another human being. These traits are the building blocks of a nurse leader in hospitals or any healthcare facilities.

Leadership in any profession is very vital. In the nursing profession, excellent patient care starts with good leadership in place to listen and attend to the needs of not only the patients but also the caregivers. Nunnery, 2012 discussed three types of leadership: democratic, authoritarian and laissez-farie. Every leadership style is unique and implies to different situations as they present themselves to leader.

Leadership is an important role in all aspect of the business world, including nursing. To be a great leader is to be on the frontline taking risks, while achieving shared goals and inspiring others to action as they follow (Marquis & Huston, 2015). Having the title of leader does not equate to one being an actual leader, it is the actions of the leader that must backup the actual title they possess. According to the roles of a hospital-based unit, a nurse may be a floor nurse one day and a charge nurse the next day. Flipping the role of a nurse from follower to leader can cause confusion to the nurse changing roles and to the followers who are expected to adjust their expectations from their peer one day to

leadership skills that come natural. The nurse is responsible for motivating, educating and directing the patient toward their healthcare goals. Although it sounds easy, being in a leadership role can be quite challenging and gets better over time and with different learning experiences. (Fagerstrom, 2011).

Being nurse leaders, we have to be AAO x3 at all times. It takes a lot to be a successful leader. We are the eyes and ears for our patients. The elements of leadership; vision, communication skills, change, stewardship, and developing and renewing followers (Grossman & Valiga, 2013, p. 9). Positive leadership is the key to good patient satisfaction. When patients are happy with their care, nurse’s self-confidence and self-satisfaction are increased.

Nursing is a profession of relationships; relationships with patients, colleagues and the multidisciplinary team. Without effective leadership these relationships can devolve into arguments and conflict. Effective leadership is a critical aspect to the success of these relationships as it contributes to the empowerment and self-efficacy on the practice behaviors of those they work with (Manojlovich, 2005), they impact unit performance, efficiency and culture positively (Downey, Parslow, & Smart, 2011). A leader is simply a person who possesses the ability to influence and inspire others, support

Having the ability to leader determines a person’s level of effectiveness of leadership. In order to be an efficient and effective nurse, they need to be an effective leader as the patients; organization and their peers are depending on them to influence others. A true leader never stops from learning and growing as leadership develops daily. There is an old saying, ‘who we are is who we attract’, and the writer does believe in this statement, it can be old however; it is still relevant and applicable for today’s leaders. To be a leader is not an easy task and to be a good leader, nurses need to start to lead and should never stop learning how to lead others (Dwyer, 2011).

I chose this article because honestly I was intrigued by the title as soon as I read it. I wanted to learn more about what it takes to become a great leader in the career field of nursing. This article can contribute to what we already have discussed about leadership in this class. Since we all know what leadership style we possess this article can also help us to identify the attributes and skills effective in becoming a positive nurse leader. “Recognise that leaders have drive, energy and vision, self-discipline and flexibility, with the ability to assemble a team and motivate others” (Scully, 2015, p. 443).

They must be able to think outside the box to meet the challenges of staffing, and to stay within budget. They must be the defender of the nursing staff at meetings that they may attend with board members. They must be innovators using evidence-based practice to better serve the patient population. They need to be experts in managing people, and their need to change and adapt according to what is needed now. They also must be the champion for patient safety and always expect that from their staff. They must be on top of all the metrics that are used to determine what is successful and what is not. They need to be a developer of people so that anyone working under them will know that following this person is going to take me places also. They should also have a keen sense of anything in their area that may be a risk or liability so that it can be minimized and handled before it ever developed into an issue. I feel that if I could be a leader and fulfill what I’ve just described that I would be head shoulders above all the previous leaders that I have served

These visiting nurses truly demonstrated all of the key leadership traits as described by Yoder-Wise (2015) by “articulating a vision for the desired future state; seeing possibilities in this midst of challenging, often complex, uncharted,