Elsevier

Nurse Leader

Volume 9, Issue 3, June 2011, Pages 39-42
Nurse Leader

The Nurse Leader as Change Agent and Role Model: Thoughts of a New Nurse Manager

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2010.09.007Get rights and content

The concept of leadership is elusive. Is it a behavior, a combination of actions, personal characteristics, tangible and measurable, assumed? Are leaders born? Are leaders made? Can positive change really be made? What drives the thinking behind leadership behavior? Does a more seasoned nurse have more leadership potential or characteristics than a younger, enthusiastic, energetic nurse? With whom do organizational leaders take a chance? Do mentoring and coaching come into play? Are female leaders viewed as less competent than male? All these and many more questions are quite interesting to ponder.

Section snippets

Why Change?

Understanding the root cause of processes will enable effective change in team dynamics and outcomes via the use of data analysis and collections on various levels. In order that the team increases learning, learning must occur on all levels. Learning must come from the environment and from collaborations with other groups and newcomers. In order that performance improvement is consistent and accurate, change is needed for the organization, as well as the unit, to provide quality care.

The Skillful Nurse Negotiator

The nurse leader must also be a skillful negotiator to impart ideas, portray the value of emotional energy, increase balance within the organization, increase communication and educational knowledge, and provide input toward clinical and administrative decision making. The skilled nurse negotiator, in today's evidence-based and outcome-driven environment, must be able to recognize and deal with multiple issues within a given context, recognize the barriers to negotiation, and understand the

Cultural Understanding and Sensitivity

Understanding cultural factors are important aspects in changing and understanding various mindsets. Leaders can best use communication as a resource. Effective communication can ease cultural differences and distances if used as a core strategy in knowledge management. A successful organizational culture results from smart leadership strategy that understands how various cultural differences impact the whole. Useful methods to reduce cultural insensitivity include active listening,

Leadership Styles

My leadership style is, unsurprisingly, a combination of benevolent, consultative, collaborative, and participative, all of which may be used alternately, separately, and situationally. Strategically, thought leadership is most relevant in my own leadership role. I am aware that emotions guide interactions and behavior. Top-down leadership style has become a thing of the past. Gone are the days of Boss; the change to team player is welcomed. The innovative and futuristic thinking of a

Generational Differences

Generational differences affect organizational performance and interactions. Characteristics of today's workforce, with employees working up to or beyond retirement, set an atmosphere that may produce miscommunication and interpretations in core values, family issues, education, and communication. Within the workplace, there may also be difficulties in creating a cohesive workforce as a result of misunderstandings in leadership and interactive styles, feedback and rewards, and even the

Spirituality

In today's aggressive and challenging organizational environment, spirituality may be the edge that organizations require. The team concept of leadership entails that 21st century leadership be visionary and innovative in order to accomplish organizational goals. It may be effective to incorporate spirituality into organizational practices in order to increase unity, garner support, and promote a shared vision. It may also be practical to incorporate spirituality to counteract and soothe what

Crucial Conversations

Situations without structure create feelings of doubt in all those involved. These feelings of doubt stifle creativity, communication, trust, and productivity and create anxiety. In a situation where there is increased anxiety, group think can run rampant. Crucial conversations and confrontations are important tools for nurse leaders.

Ethical Decision Making

Nurse leaders must adhere to strategic organizational goals, approaches, and management. In an effort to meet performance measures, organizational pressures may influence conduct. Undoubtedly, conduct must be based on ethically and morally sound values that, in turn, influence decision making. However, as a result of the pressures required to maintain the flow of patient care through proper and timely use of resources, the team is tasked with creatively using time and organizational management.

Emotionalism

Ineffective emotions within the team stem from job dissatisfaction, multiple job roles and responsibilities, disagreement with organizational policy and procedure, and interpersonal difficulties within the department. Emotions exhibited include anger, envy, pride, and fear. Emotions such as these decrease team identity and decrease team effectiveness and performance, as well as fulfillment of team goals. These emotions cloud the decision-making process and create bias. The team identity

Women in Leadership Roles

In the past few decades, leadership by women has emerged as an important focus of researchers and practitioners in many countries across the globe. Throughout the years, there have always been women leaders, but for some unknown reason, this reality is not at the forefront of the media. Male leaders are always more visible in the public eye. When women assume a leadership role, they are not just getting the job done or honoring the commitment; they are also changing the perception of how

Self-Improvement

Intrinsic human goals are to experience fulfillment, longevity, and the benefits of hard work. Individual philosophies influence and empower creative thinking. If team members value the importance of creative thinking, accountability, and freedom of expression, then creative thinking can also be an empowering method to further strengthen team dynamics. However, individual philosophies may dampen the creative process if the team members value a more authoritarian type of leadership.

Concepts and Ideas

Strategic leadership is a complicated concept. Leaders, though unique in styles, have similar values and modes that enable credible leadership. Accountability, transparency, an atmosphere of trust and open communication, creativity, and productivity are all part of an effective strategic plan. These ideas can take any organization from good to great. Once ideas are identified and implemented through brainstorming and collaborative interactions, more efficient processes emerge to improve the

Conclusion

Viewing others within the leadership role can be quite perplexing. Most leaders appear to have processes under control, but in-depth interviewing reveals that most are struggling through some processes and have similar insecurities. It is beneficial to bridge the gap and open communications among other nurse leaders as a means of empathetic learning. I have learned that the human spirit is strong, nurses impact lives at a time when the spirit is weak, nursing and nurses are empowering, nursing

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Kathy A. Maragh, RN, MSL, is the nurse manager for Home- and Community-Based Programs at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in West Palm Beach, FL.

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