Leadership requires personal mastery – Nurses demonstrate personal mastery in many different aspects. In order to practice, nurses must pass a standardized exam. In order to work effectively on a hospital unit, or some other area of work, nurses have to master skills such as giving medication, placing catheters, placing IVs and so on.
Leadership is about values – The company I work for has listed five essential values for caregivers to emulate. They are:
Integrity: We are principled, honest, and ethical, and we do the right thing for those we serve. Nurses do this by doing what they say they are going to do. They don’t chart false information and they are honest.
Trust: We count on and support one another individually and as team members. In order for nurses to work effectively, we have to rely on one another to do our jobs well and to ask for help when we need it.
Excellence: We perform at the highest level, always learning and looking for ways to improve. Nurses are always learning and trying to improve. We attend trainings, do skills pass offs, and complete online learning modules.
Accountability: We accept responsibility for our actions, attitudes, and health. If a mistake is made, nurses accept responsibility and vow to improve.
Mutual Respect: We embrace diversity and treat one another with dignity and empathy. Nurses treat all kinds of patients from all kinds of different backgrounds.
Leadership is about service – Nurses are constantly serving. We often go above and beyond the minimum of what is expected to care for our patients.
Leadership is about people and relationships – Nurses possible have the most interaction with patients. We often get to know them as people and care for them as people. We also work as a team and strive to get to know each other.
Leadership is contextual – Leadership does not have a one size fits all meaning. Nurses can be leaders in many different contexts. There are nurse managers that are leaders for their units, charge nurses for the shift, and even a new grad nurse like myself can be a leader by following my leaders.
Leadership is about the management of meaning – I believe this is referring to universal meanings in the workplace. An example of this is the lists of approved abbreviations. It is what is meant by what is said. This is very important in nursing because miscommunication can have potentially fatal consequences.
Leadership is about balance – Nurses have to learn to have balance in their lives to avoid caregiver fatigue. Balance between giving too much of yourself and not giving enough. The best nursing leaders I know have found a good balance in this.
Leadership is about continuous learning and improvement – Nursing is constanting changing and improving. We have staff meetings and in services to help teach and assist in in this change and growth.
Leadership is about effective decision making – Nurses have to develop effective decision making especially in patient care. Nurses are constantly making decisions, whether or not to call a doctor, whether to give a medication, who needs to be seen first, how should I prioritize my day and so on.
Leadership is a political process – There are a lot of politics involved in nursing. Nurses have how to navigate the system to implement change.
Leadership is about modeling – Nurses are examples in how they do their jobs. They are often hard working team players. They try to make things better for the oncoming shift. They show what to do by doing it.
Leadership is about integrity – Nurses do this by doing what they say they are going to do. They don’t chart false information and they are honest. They admit to when a mistake is made.
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