The Attributes of a Good Leader

3 attributes of a leader and 

Nurse leaders must demonstrate transformational leadership that is based on a clear vision and focus. A vision of the future is a precursor to strong emotional bonds that motivate nurse leaders to develop the desire for the willingness to exceed their previously set expectations. The willingness to perform better is the foundation for creating a professional practice environment that is considered appropriate for Magnet designation (Sherman, 2012). Nurse leaders with a clear strategic vision are able to provide topnotch quality healthcare, which is referred to as person-centered, evidence-based, and outcome-oriented care. Generally, nursing leaders focus on improving the quality and safety of patient care while striving to attain excellence in nursing practice. 

Additionally, nurse leaders are passionate about their work and are committed to excellence. Mostly, the leaders demonstrate a higher degree of a shared vision with their colleagues. Therefore, they are visionary individuals who can leverage their potential and talents to adapt the nursing practice to the rapidly changing world to ensure that healthcare organizations trail towards the future. This implies that nurse leaders build new visions, which lie on the foundation of love for the organization, the patients, and themselves. Therefore, they are willing and ready to help others and improve the quality of health for their clients. In this regard, the leaders strive for excellence since they continually strengthen nursing practice to ensure the delivery of topnotch patient care. Consequently, the passion and struggle for excellence enable them to focus on quality, safety and encourage evidence-based practice to reduce health disparities while reinforcing their relationships with patients. The key feature of nurses who are committed to excellence is perseverance and the fact that they follow what their hearts desire the most while sharing their skills and talents (Sherman, 2012). 

Also, nurse leaders are trustworthy, meaning that they demonstrate professionalism, authenticity, adhere to work ethics and create a supportive and empowering environment. Leaders’ integrity, therefore, becomes an important aspect that guarantees trustworthiness and reinforces interpersonal relationships within the context of health care provision (Sherman, 2012). Therefore, a leader must possess a set of skills and competence to enable him/her to exert some degree of influence within a given domain. Precisely, leaders adhere to a given set of ethical principles to ensure that they present themselves as upright individuals in all situations without any impartiality while doing the utmost good to the trusting person. 

3 attributes of a manager 

A manager is someone who communicates tasks and expected results effectively. This implies that the manager has excellent communication skills in both written and oral communication to avoid possible miscommunication with colleagues. Good communication is an attribute that enables managers to interact with both subordinates and superiors, especially when developing and presenting performance reports and proposals to the workforce (Sherman, 2012). Again, a manager is accountable for tasks to reinforce the connection to expectations and encourage high performance in any organization. Both effective communication and accountability result in adherence to defined goals that enhance performance at all levels of the organization (Sherman, 2012). Therefore, accountability gives subordinates and supervisors a comprehensive framework of how their tasks should be handled and delivered. Finally, managers support leadership decisions as a way of encouraging a positive change. The support enhances how the entire management makes decisions and policy implementation strategies. 

Direct supervisors have been manager, not leaders? 

My direct supervisors have been managers rather than being leaders. They strived to communicate adequately when delivering messages that directly impact the organization’s operations. Again, the supervisors set goals to be achieved over a specified duration and thereafter, measured work progress in relation to the possibility of achieving the goals within the available time. They were not leaders because most often, they did not create a vision for the organization. 

Reference 

Sherman, R. O. (2012). Key Leadership Qualities Followers Expect. American Nurse Today, 7(9).