Leadership is the ability of an individual to have a significant influence on his or her followers. The notion of whether leaders are made or born is subject to discussion. Regardless of the type of a leader one claims to be, there are characteristics that make one influential and hence, his or her leadership traits acceptable. The traits of a good leader are likely to fall under the characteristics of leadership styles such as transformational leadership, visionary leadership, servant leadership, democratic leadership among others that ensure positive change and the achievement of the strategic goals of an entity lead by the leader in question. Good leadership is not only characterized by ethics and solid character but most importantly, vision, mission, and values that guide the leader.
As a leader, my core values are those that ensure I am a good example to those I lead. Integrity, responsibility, emotional intelligence, honesty, trustworthiness, commitment, open-mindedness, efficiency, and reliability are some of the core values that I consider indispensable in conducting my leadership roles (Shirey, 2006).
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I envision a world where the inevitable change is positive, one that is mostly driven by environmental forces such as technology (Marshall & Broome, 2017). My mission statement is hence harnessing technology and using it as a tool that drives positive change for the betterment of not only the employees I lead but the community we serve as an organization at large. My vision statement is a world where all have an opportunity to thrive regardless of their background. Both of these help to stipulate my objectives as a leader and hence, are pacesetters. With strategic planning, it is possible to achieve the vision while living by the mission.
Clifton Strength Assessment results show that I have a high sense of responsibility; I am an analytical person, an achiever, I have a high sense of belief, and an arranger. Being responsible implies that I do not deny outcomes that are a result of my actions. Being analytical, on the other hand, means that I can identify aspects that affect a given situation. Being an achiever means I have stamina, and I am hardworking. Belief helps in living a purposeful life, and being an arranger helps in having a flexibility that ensures good outcomes at the workplace. All of the above complement my values to ensure I achieve my vision.
To even be a better leader, I would like to strengthen my listening skills and Judgement. I want to be a good listener to learn the most from other leaders as well as colleagues in healthcare. Besides, while dealing with patients and clients, being a good listener will help me in developing a rapport between us and hence, dispensing services in the best way possible. I would also like to be more of a non-judgmental person. This will help in ensuring I do not work with assumptions when dealing with employees, patients, or other stakeholders in healthcare. This will not only help me to learn from others, but also, it will ensure, each of the individuals I interact with will have a chance to drive change in their own personal way (Sherman, Rose & Pross, 2010).
To be a good listener, I plan to watch more for the non-verbal cues and the tone of the speaker and relate to what they are speaking about. I will also practice silence after asking probing questions. Also, I will try to empathize with the speaker and put myself in their shoes to develop a rapport. On the other hand, to be non-judgmental, I will practice being a good listener and preventing jumping into conclusion before the speaker is done putting across their point. Besides this, I plan to improve my interpersonal skills to be able to interact with a variety of people and understand them better than judge them.
References
Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Shirey, M. R. (2006). Authentic leaders creating healthy work environments for nursing practice. American journal of critical care , 15 (3), 256-267.
Sherman, R., & Pross, E. (2010). Growing future nurse leaders to build and sustain healthy work environments at the unit level. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 15 (1), 1-11.
