NURSING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT - Leadership is formal when practiced by a nurse with legitimate authority conferred by the organization

when practiced by a nurse with legitimate authority conferred by the organization and
LEADERSHIP described in a job description (e.g., nurse manager, supervisor, coordinator, case manager). Formal leadership
 It is the ability to influence other people. (Covey) also depends on personal skills, but it may be reinforced by organizational authority and position.
 Influencing some type of group, to work towards achievement of a group goals. (Bryman) - Insightful formal leaders recognize the importance of their own informal leadership activities and the informal
 It is the process of empowering beliefs and teaching others to top their full capabilities by shifting the leadership of others who affect the work in their areas of responsibility.
beliefs that have been limiting them. (Robbins)
 It is a process of persuasions and example by which an individual induced group to take work and action INFORMAL LEADERSHIP
that is accord to with the leader’s purpose or a shared purpose of all. (Gardner) - Leadership is informal when exercised by a staff member who does not have a specified management role. A
 It is a process by which a person inspires a group of constituents to work together using appropriate nurse whose thoughtful and convincing ideas substantially influence the efficiency of work flow is exercising
means to common mission and goal. (Holloman) leadership skills.
 It is the process of directing and influencing the task related activities of group members. (Stoner) - Informal leadership depends primarily on one’s knowledge, status (e.g., advanced practice nurse, quality
 It is the process of social transaction in which the person influences others. (Merton) improvement coordinator, education specialist, medical director), and personal skills in persuading and guiding
 It is the process of stimulating to strive willingly to attain organizational objectives giving them the others.
experience to attain the common objectives and satisfactions with the type of leadership provided. (Flores)
 It is the process of influence, in which the leader influences, inspires or encourages others towards NURSE LEADERSHIP
achieving a goal. (Yuki) ✓ The American Nurses Association (ANA) describes nurse leaders as individuals who excel in their career,
 It is a process in which leaders make vision so palpable and seductive that everybody is willing to sign on. represent the interests of their profession, and work in a leadership role in a healthcare organization.
(Bennis) ✓ The ability to inspire, influence and motivate nursing staff and other health care workers to work together to
achieve their highest potential and collective organizational goals. (Dr. Mandy Bell)
 Leadership occurs whenever one person attempts to influence the behaviors of an individual or group – up, ✓ Nurses are the cornerstone for any healthcare organization. Effective nurse leadership “is critical for
down, or sideways in the organization – regardless of the reason. It may be for personal goals or for the strengthening integration of safe, effective and high-quality care,” Bell said. “This, in turn, creates a positive work
goals of others, and these goals may or may not be congruent with organizational goals. Leadership is environment and promotes positive patient outcomes and experiences,” for patients and staff alike.
influence. (Hersey & Campbell, 2004, p. 12) ✓ Successful nurse leaders are those who engage others to work together effectively in pursuit of a shared goal
 A leader is anyone who uses interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish a specific goal. The (examples: providing excellent care, reducing infection rates, designing cost-saving procedures, or challenging
leader exerts influence by using a flexible repertoire of personal behaviors and strategies. The leader is the ethics of a new policy).
important in forging links—creating connections—among an organization’s members to promote high ✓ Nursing leadership is the practice of leading initiatives that improve nursing practices and outcomes. Nurse
levels of performance and quality outcomes. leaders rely on their ability to motivate and inspire nursing teams and staff in the development of high-quality
 The functions of a leader are to achieve a consensus within the group about its goals, maintain a structure practices and patient care methodologies. These professionals usually work in higher-level nursing and
that facilitates accomplishing the goals, supply necessary information that helps provide direction and leadership roles and take a less hands-on approach to nursing than nursing managers do.
clarification, and maintain group satisfaction, cohesion, and performance.
How does one become a Nurse Leader?
 According to Hersey & Campbell 2004, in order to lead, one must develop three important competencies:  All nurses within the healthcare organization can assume a leadership role. They do not need to be in a
1. Diagnose. Having the ability to understand the situation you want to influence defined nurse leadership role or role of authority to exhibit leadership skills and traits.
2. Adapt. Make changes that will close the gap between the current situation and what you are hoping to  Leadership in nursing can be accomplished “through experience, pursuing certification and an advanced
achieve degree.
3. Communicate. No matter how much you diagnose or adapt, if you cannot communicate effectively, you will  Above all, a nurse leader must be agile and flexible in adapting to a rapidly changing environment. Nurse
probably not meet your goal. leaders must be prepared to respond swiftly to:
FORMAL LEADERSHIP ▪ Changes in regulatory and legislative requirements
▪ New treatment modalities
▪ New and ever-changing technologies, including computer use, artificial intelligence (AI), ■ Be supportive of new ideas and new directions suggested by others.
telemedicine, and electronic patient care documentation ■ When you disagree, explain why.
▪ Evidence-based practices, which includes staying current on the latest best practices, ■ Listen carefully and reflect on what your leader or manager says.
conducting research, and sharing research findings ■ Continue to learn as much as you can about your specialty area.
■ Share what you learn.
FOLLOWERSHIP
Leaders cannot lead without followers in much the same way that instructors need students to teach. Nor is ✓ Being an effective follower not only will make you a more valuable employee but will also increase the
anyone a leader all the time; everyone is a follower as well. meaning and satisfaction that you get from your work.
✓ Followership is interactive and complementary to leadership, and the follower is an active participant in the
relationship with the leader. Managing Up
✓ A skilled, self-directed, energetic staff member is an invaluable complement to the leader and to the group. Most team leaders and nurse managers respond positively to having staff who are good followers.
✓ Most leaders welcome active followers; they help leaders accomplish their goals and the team succeed.  There is still more a good follower can do. This is called managing up. Managing up is defined as “the
✓ Miller (2007) describes followership along two continuums: participative and thinking. process of consciously working with your boss to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and
- Participation can vary from passive (ineffective follower) to active (successful follower). your organization” (Zuber & James quoted by Turk, 2007, p. 21).
- Thinking can fluctuate between dependent and uncritical to independent and critical.  This is not a scheme to manipulate your manager or to get more rewards than you have earned. Instead, it
✓ Courage to be active contributors to the team and to the leader characterizes the effective follower. is a guide for better understanding your manager, what he or she expects of you, and what your manager’s
✓ Followership is fluid in another way. The nurse may be a leader at one moment and become a follower soon own needs might be.
afterward. In fact, the ability to move along the continuum of degrees of followership is a must for successful  Every manager has areas of strength and weakness. A good follower recognizes these and helps the
teamwork. manager capitalize on areas of strength and compensate for areas of weakness. For example, if your
✓ The nurse is a leader with subordinate staff and a follower of the nurse manager, possibly at the same time. nurse manager is slow completing quality improvement reports, you can offer to help get them done. On
✓ A constructive follower has several positive characteristics: the other hand, if your nurse manager seems to be especially skilled in defusing conflicts between
● Self-directed attending physicians and nursing staff, you can observe how he handles these situations and ask him how
● Proactive he does it.
● Supportive  Remember that your manager is human, a person with as many needs, concerns, distractions, and
● Commitment ambitions as anyone else. This will help you keep your expectations of your manager realistic and reduce
● Initiative the distance between you and your manager.
✓ Followership and leadership are separate but complementary roles. The roles are also reciprocal: without  Keep your manager informed. No one likes to be surprised, least of all a manager who finds that you have
followers, one cannot be a leader. One also cannot be a follower without having a leader (Lyons, 2002). known about a problem (a nursing assistant who is spending too much time in the staff lounge, for
✓ It is as important to be an effective follower as it is to be an effective leader. In fact, most of us are followers: example) and not brought it to her attention until it became critical. When you do bring a problem to your
members of a team, attendees at a meeting, staff of a nursing care unit, and so forth. manager’s attention, try to have a solution to offer. This is not always possible, but when it is, it will be very
✓ Followership is not a passive role. On the contrary, the most valuable follower is a skilled, self-directed much appreciated.
professional, one who participates actively in determining the group’s direction, invests his or her time and  Finally, show your appreciation whenever possible (Bing, 2010). Show respect for your manager’s
energy in the work of the group, thinks critically, and advocates for new ideas (Grossman & Valiga, 2000). authority and appreciation for what your manager does for the staff of your unit. Let others know of your
appreciation, particularly those to whom your manager must answer.
Becoming a Better Follower
There are a number of things you can do to become a better follower: Occasionally, you will encounter a poor leader or manager who can confuse, frustrate, and even
■ If you discover a problem, inform your team leader or manager right away. distress you. Here are a few suggestions for handling this:
■ Even better, include a suggestion for solving the problem in your report. ■ Avoid adopting the ineffective behaviors of this individual.
■ Freely invest your interest and energy in your work. ■ Continue to do your best work and to contribute leadership to the group.
■ If the situation worsens, enlist the support of others on your team to seek a remedy; do not try to do this alone
as a new graduate.
■ If the situation becomes intolerable, consider the option of transferring to another unit or seeking another
position (Deutschman, 2005; Korn, 2004).

CONCLUSION
 To be an effective nurse, you need to be an effective leader. Your patients, peers, and employer are
depending on you to lead. Successful leaders never stop learning and growing. John Maxwell (1998), an
expert on leadership, wrote, “Who we are is who we attract” (p. xi). To attract leaders, people need to start
leading and never stop learning to lead.

TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORIES

 The most effective leadership style for a nurse manager is the one that best complements the
organizational environment, the tasks to be accomplished, and the personal characteristics of the people
involved in each situation. A. Autocratic leadership (also called directive, controlling, or authoritarian).
1. Trait Theories  The autocratic leader gives orders and makes decisions for the group. For example, when a decision
 In the earliest studies researchers sought to identify inborn traits of successful leaders. Although needs to be made, an autocratic leader says, “I’ve decided that this is the way we’re going to solve our
inconclusive, these early attempts to specify unique leadership traits provided benchmarks by which most problem.” Although this is an efficient way to run things, it squelches creativity and may reduce team
leaders continue to be judged. member motivation.
 An important 5-year study of 90 outstanding leaders by Warren Bennis published in 1984 identified four B. Democratic leadership (also called participative).
common traits. These traits hold true today:  Democratic leaders share leadership. Important plans and decisions are made with the team (Chrispeels,
1. Management of attention. These leaders communicated a sense of goal direction 2004). Although this appears to be a less efficient way to run things, it is more flexible and usually
that attracted followers. increases motivation and creativity. In fact, involving team members, giving them “permission to think,
2. Management of meaning. These leaders created and communicated meaning and speak and act” brings out the best in them and makes them more productive, not less (Wiseman &
purpose. McKeown, 2010, p. 3). Decisions may take longer to make, but once made everyone supports them
3. Management of trust. These leaders demonstrated reliability and consistency. (Buchanan, 2011).
4. Management of self. These leaders knew themselves well and worked within their C. Laissez-faire leadership (also called permissive or nondirective).
strengths and weaknesses (Bennis, 1984).  The laissez-faire (“let someone do”) leader does very little planning or decision making and fails to
encourage others to do it. It is really a lack of leadership. For example, when a decision needs to be made,
2. Behavioral Theories a laissezfaire leader may postpone making the decision or never make the decision at all. In most
 Research on leadership in the early 1930s focused on what leaders do. In the behavioral view of instances, the laissez-faire leader leaves people feeling confused and frustrated because there is no goal,
leadership, personal traits provide only a foundation for leadership; real leaders are made through no guidance, and no direction. Some mature, self-motivated individuals thrive under laissez-faire
education, training, and life experiences. leadership because they need little direction. Most people, however, flounder under this kind of leadership.
 Pavitt summed up the differences among these three styles: a democratic leader tries to move the group
toward its goals; an autocratic leader tries to move the group toward the leader’s goals; and a laissez-faire 3. Contingency Theories
leader makes no attempt to move the group (1999, pp. 330ff ).  Contingency approaches suggest that managers adapt their leadership styles in relation to changing
situations. According to contingency theory, leadership behaviors range from authoritarian to permissive
and vary in relation to current needs and future probabilities. A nurse manager may use an authoritarian
 style when responding to an emergency situation such as a cardiac arrest but use a participative style to - Transformational leadership emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships.
encourage development of a team strategy to care for patients with multiple system failure. - Transformational leadership is not concerned with the status quo, but with effecting revolutionary change in
CONTEMPORARY THEORIES organizations and human service.
 Leaders in today’s health care environment place increasing value on collaboration and teamwork in all - Transformational leadership focuses on merging the motives, desires, values, and goals of leaders and
aspects of the organization. They recognize that as health systems become more complex and require followers into a common cause.
integration, personnel who perform the managerial and clinical work must cooperate, coordinate their - The goal of the transformational leader is to generate employees’ commitment to the vision or ideal rather than
efforts, and produce joint results. Leaders must use additional skills, especially group and political to themselves.
leadership skills, to create collegial work environments. - Transformational leaders appeal to individuals’ better selves rather than these individuals’ self-interests. They
1. Quantum Leadership foster followers’ inborn desires to pursue higher values, humanitarian ideals, moral missions, and causes.
- Quantum leadership is based on the concepts of chaos theory. - Transformational leaders also encourage others to exercise leadership. -The transformational leader inspires
- Reality is constantly shifting, and levels of complexity are constantly changing. followers and uses power to instill a belief that followers also have the ability to do exceptional thing
- Movement in one part of the system reverberates throughout the system.
- Roles are fluid and outcome oriented. 4. Shared Leadership
- It matters little what you did; it only matters what outcome you produced. - Reorganization, decentralization, and the increasing complexity of problem solving in health care have forced
- Within this framework, employees become directly involved in decision making as equitable and accountable administrators to recognize the value of shared leadership, which is based on the empowerment principles of
partners, and managers assume more of an influential facilitative role, rather than one of control (Porter-O’Grady participative and transformational leadership
& Malloch, 2010). (Everett & Sitterding, 2011).
- Quantum leadership demands a different way of thinking about work and leadership. Change is expected. - Essential elements of shared leadership are relationships, dialogues, partnerships, and understanding
Patients and staff alike can access untold amounts of information. The challenge, however, is to assist patients, boundaries. The application of shared leadership assumes that a welleducated, highly professional, dedicated
uneducated about health care, how to evaluate and use the information they have. Because staff have access to workforce is comprised of many leaders.
information only the leader had in the past, leadership becomes a shared activity, requiring the leader to - It also assumes that the notion of a single nurse as the wise and heroic leader is unrealistic and that many
possess excellent interpersonal skills. individuals at various levels in the organization must be responsible for the organization’s fate and performance.
2. Transactional Leadership
- Transactional leadership is based on the principles of social exchange theory. Different issues call for different leaders, or experts, to guide the problem-solving process. A single leader is not
- The primary premise of social exchange theory is that individuals engage in social interactions expecting to expected always to have knowledge and ability beyond that of other members of the work group. Appropriate
give and receive social, political, and psychological benefits or rewards. leadership emerges in relation to the current challenges of the work unit or the organization. Individuals in formal
- The exchange process between leaders and followers is viewed as essentially economic. Once initiated, a leadership positions and their colleagues are expected to participate in a pattern of reciprocal influence
sequence of exchange behavior continues until one or both parties finds that the exchange of performance and processes. Kramer, Schmalenberg, and Maguire (2010) and Watters (2009) found shared leadership common in
rewards is no longer valuable. Magnet-certified hospitals. Examples of shared leadership in nursing include:
- Transactional leadership is aimed at maintaining equilibrium, or the status quo, by performing work according ● Self-directed work teams. Work groups manage their own planning, organizing, scheduling, and day-to-day
to policy and procedures, maximizing self-interests and personal rewards, emphasizing interpersonal work activities.
dependence, and routinizing performance (Weston, 2008). ● Shared governance. The nursing staff are formally organized at the service area and organizational levels to
- The nature of these transactions is determined by the participating parties’ assessments of what is in their best make key decisions about clinical practice standards, quality assurance and improvement, staff development,
interests; for example, staff respond affirmatively to a nurse manager’s request to work overtime in exchange for professional development, aspects of unit operations, and research. Decision making is conducted by
granting special requests for time off. Leaders are successful to the extent that they understand and meet the representatives of the nursing
needs of followers and use incentives to enhance employee loyalty and performance. staff who have been authorized by the administrative hierarchy and their colleagues to make decisions about
3. Transformational Leadership important matters.
- Transformational leadership goes beyond transactional leadership to inspire and motivate followers (Marshall, ● Co-leadership. Two people work together to execute a leadership role. This kind of leadership has become
2010). more common in service-line management, where the skills of both a clinical and an administrative leader are
needed to successfully direct the operations of amultidisciplinary service. For example, a nurse manager - Frederick Herzberg and David McClelland also studied factors that motivated workers in the workplace. Their
provides administrative leadership in collaboration with a clinical nurse specialist, who provides clinical findings are similar to the elements in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
leadership. The development of co-leadership roles depends on the flexibility and maturity of both individuals,
and such arrangements usually require a third party to provide ongoing consultation and guidance to the pair.

5. Servant Leadership
- Founded by Robert Greenleaf (Greenleaf, 1991), servant leadership is based on the premise that leadership
originates from a desire to serve and that in the course of serving, one may be called to lead (Keith, 2008; The
Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 2011).
- Servant leaders embody three characteristics: ● Empathy ● Awareness ● Persuasion (Neill & Saunders,
2008)
- Servant leadership appeals to nurses for two reasons. First, our profession is founded on principles of caring,
service, and the growth and health of others (Anderson et al., 2010). Second, nurses serve many
constituencies, often quite selflessly,and consequently bring about change in individuals, systems, and
organizations.
6. Emotional Leadership
- Social intelligence (Goleman, 2007), including emotional intelligence (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009; Goleman,
2006), has gained acceptance in the business world and more recently in health care (Veronsesi, 2009).
- Emotional intelligence involves personal competence, which includes self-awareness and self-management, 2. Emotional Intelligence
and social competence, which includes social awareness and relationship management that begins with - The relationship aspects of leadership are also the focus of the work on emotional intelligence and leadership
authenticity. (Goleman, Boyatzes, & McKee, 2002). From the perspective of emotional intelligence, what distinguishes
- Goleman (2007) asserts that attachment to others is an innate trait of human beings. Thus, emotions are ordinary leaders from leadership “stars” is that the “stars” are consciously addressing the effect of people’s
“catching.” feelings on the team’s emotional reality.
- When people feel good, they work more effectively. - How is this done? First, the emotionally intelligent leader recognizes and understands his or her own emotions.
- Emotional intelligence has been linked with leadership (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009; Cote et When a crisis occurs, he or she is able to manage them, channel them, stay calm and clearheaded, and
al., 2010; Lucas, Spence-Laschinger, & Wong, 2008). suspend judgment until all the facts are in (Baggett & Baggett, 2005).
- One study, however, found no relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership - Second, the emotionally intelligent leader welcomes constructive criticism, asks for help when needed, can
(Lindebaum & Cartwright, 2010). juggle multiple demands without losing focus, and can turn problems into opportunities.
- Third, the emotionally intelligent leader listens attentively to others, recognizes unspoken concerns,
Other Leadership Theories acknowledges others’ perspectives, and brings people together in an atmosphere of respect, cooperation,
1. Motivation Theories collegiality, and helpfulness so they can direct their energies toward achieving the team’s goals. “The
- The concept of motivation seems simple: we will act to get what we want but avoid whatever we don’t want to enthusiastic, caring, and supportive leader generates those same feelings throughout the team,” wrote Porter-
do. O’Grady of the emotionally intelligent leader (2003, p. 109).
- The study of motivation as a focus of leadership began in the 1920s with the historic Hawthorne studies. 3. Situational Theories
Several experiments were conducted to see if increasing light and, later, improving other working conditions - People and leadership situations are far more complex than the early theories recognized. Situations can also
would increase the productivity of workers in the Hawthorne, Illinois, electrical plant. This proved to be true, but change rapidly, requiring more complex theories to explain leadership (Bennis, Spreitzer, & Cummings, 2001).
then something curious happened: when the improvements were taken away, the workers continued to show - Instead of assuming that one particular approach works in all situations, situational theories recognize the
increased productivity. The researchers concluded that the explanation was found not in the conditions of the complexity of work situations and encourage the leader to consider many factors when deciding what action to
experiments but in the attention given to the workers by the experimenters. take. Adaptability is the key to the situational approach (McNichol, 2000).
- Situational theories emphasize the importance of understanding all the factors that affect a particular group of QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER
people in a particular environment. The most well-known is the Situational Leadership Model by Dr. Paul If leadership is seen as the ability to influence, what qualities must the leader possess in order to be able to do
Hersey. The appeal of this model is that it focuses on the task and the follower. that?
4. Moral Leadership ■ Integrity. Integrity is expected of health-care professionals. Patients, colleagues, and employers all expect
- A series of highly publicized corporate scandals redirected attention to the values and ethics that underlie the nurses to be honest, law-abiding, and trustworthy. Adherence to both a code
practice of leadership as well as that of patient care (Dantley, 2005). of personal ethics and a code of professional ethics (Appendix 1, American Nurses Association Code of Ethics
- Moral leadership involves deciding how one ought to remain honest, fair, and socially responsible (Bjarnason & for Nurses) is expected of every nurse. Would-be leaders who do not exhibit
LaSala, 2011) under any circumstances. these characteristics cannot expect them of their followers. This is an essential component of moral leadership.
- Caring about one’s patients and the people who work for you as people as well as employees (Spears & ■ Courage. Sometimes, being a leader means taking some risks.
Lawrence, 2004) is part of moral leadership. ■ Positive attitude. A positive attitude goes a long way in making a good leader. In fact, many outstanding
leaders cite negative attitude as the single most important reason for not hiring someone (Maxwell, 1993, p. 98).
Sometimes a leader’s attitude is noticed by followers more quickly than are the leader’s actions.
■ Initiative. Good ideas are not enough. To be a leader, you must act on those good ideas. No one will make
you do this; this requires initiative on your part.
■ Energy. Leadership requires energy. Both leadership and followership are hard but satisfying endeavors that
require effort. It is also important that the energy be used wisely.
■ Optimism. When the work is difficult and one crisis seems to follow another in rapid succession, it is easy to
become discouraged. It is important not to let discouragement keep you and your coworkers from seeking ways
to resolve the problems. In fact, the ability to see a problem as an opportunity is part of the optimism that makes
a person an effective leader.
■ Perseverance. Effective leaders do not give up easily. Instead, they persist, continuing their efforts when
others are tempted to stop trying. This persistence often pays off.
■ Generosity. Freely sharing your time, interest, and assistance with your colleagues is a trait of a generous
leader. Sharing credit for successes and support when needed are other ways to be a
generous leader (Buchanan, 2013; Disch, 2013).
■ Balance. In the effort to become the best nurses they can be, some nurses may forget that other aspects of
life are equally important. As important as patients and colleagues are, family and
friends are important, too. Although school and work aremeaningful activities, cultural, social, recreational, and
spiritual activities also have meaning. You need to find a balance between work and play.
■ Ability to handle stress. There is some stress in almost every job. Coping with stress in as positive and healthy
a manner as possible helps to conserve energy and can be a model for others.
■ Self-awareness. How sharp is your emotional intelligence? People who do not understand themselves are
limited in their ability to understand people with whom they are working. They are far more likely to fool
themselves than are self-aware people. For example, it is much easier to be fair with a coworker you like than
with one you do not like. Recognizing that you like some people more than others is the first step in avoiding
unfair treatment based on personal likes and dislikes.
BEHAVIORS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER - Many misunderstandings and mistakes occur because people fail to share enough information with each other.
Leadership requires action. The effective leader chooses the action carefully. Important leadership behaviors - The leader’s role is to make sure that the channels of communication remain open and that people use them.
include setting priorities, thinking critically, solving problems, respecting 3. Providing feedback.
people, communicating skillfully, communicating a vision for the future, and developing oneself and others. - Everyone needs some information about the effectiveness of their performance.
■ Setting priorities. - Frequent feedback, both positive and negative, is needed so people can continually improve their performance.
- Whether planning care for a group of patients or creating a strategic plan for an organization, priorities - Some nurse leaders find it difficult to give negative feedback because they fear that they will upset the other
continually shift and demand your attention. person. How else can the person know where improvement is needed?
- As a leader you will need to remember the three E’s of prioritization: evaluate, eliminate, and estimate. - Negative feedback can be given in a manner that is neither hurtful nor resented by the individual receiving it. In
- Continually evaluate what you need to do, eliminate tasks that someone else can do, and estimate how long fact, it is often appreciated.
your top priorities will take you to complete. - Other nurse leaders, however, fail to give positive feedback, assuming that coworkers will know when they are
■ Thinking critically. doing a good job. This is also a mistake because everyone appreciates positive feedback.
- Critical thinking is the careful, deliberate use of reasoned analysis to reach a decision about what to believe or - In fact, for some people, it is the most important reward they get from their jobs.
what to do (Feldman, 2002).
- The essence of critical thinking is a willingness to ask questions and to be open to new ideas or new ways to ■ Communicating a vision for the future.
do things. - The effective leader has a vision for the future.
- To avoid falling prey to assumptions and biases of your own or others, ask yourself frequently, “Do I have the - Communicating this vision to the group and involving everyone in working toward that vision generate the
information I need? Is it accurate? Am I prejudging a situation?” (Jackson, Ignatavicius, & Case, 2004). inspiration that keeps people going when things become difficult.
■ Solving problems. - Even better, involving people in creating the vision is not only more satisfying for employees but also has the
- Patient problems, paperwork problems, staff problems: these and others occur frequently and need to be potential to produce the most creative and innovative outcomes (Kerfott, 2000).
solved. - It is this vision that helps make work meaningful.
- The effective leader helps people identify problems and work through the problem solving process to find a
reasonable solution. ■ Developing oneself and others.
■ Respecting and valuing the individual. - Learning does not end upon leaving school. In fact, experienced nurses say that school is just
- Although people have much in common, each individual has different wants and needs and has had different the beginning, that school only prepares you to continue learning throughout your career.
life experiences. - As new and better ways to care for patients are developed, it is your responsibility as a professional to critically
- For example, some people really value the psychological rewards of helping others; other people are more analyze them and decide whether they would be better for your patients than current ones.
concerned about earning a decent salary. There is nothing wrong with either of these points of view; they are - Effective leaders not only continue to learn but also encourage others to do the same.
simply different. - Sometimes, leaders function as teachers. At other times, their role is primarily to encourage others to seek
- The effective leader recognizes these differences in people and helps them find the rewards in their work that more knowledge.
mean the most to them.
■ Skillful communication.
- This includes listening to others, encouraging exchange of information, and providing feedback:
1. Listening to others.
- Listening is separate from talking with other people; listening involves both giving and receiving information.
- The only way to find out people’s individual wants and needs is to watch what they do and to listen to what they
say.
- It is amazing how often leaders fail simply because they did not listen to what other people were trying to tell
them.
2. Encouraging exchange of information.