Leadership in nursing entails influencing others so that they can improve the quality of care by directly participating in clinical care. It is important to understand that nurse leaders demonstrate different leadership styles depending on their experiences, backgrounds, and skills These experiences, backgrounds, and skills enable nurse leaders to respond to complex clinical situations and demands. Betty Irene Moore Speaker Series is an attempt to put together the main aspects of nursing leadership by focusing on individuals who possess desirable leadership qualities. An analysis of two of the nurse leaders demonstrates what sets them apart in terms of their leadership skills.
Focus on Shirley Chater, RN, Ph.D., FAAN Leadership
Shirley Chater establishes that leadership is about being persistent and having determination. Dr. Chater has adopted a leadership style that emphasizes on the transferability of leadership skills to others by influencing them to be better leaders (Moore Foundation 2015a). This kind of leadership means that Chater does not view others as competitors but rather as individuals who could enhance her network in the course of rendering healthcare services. Chater understands the power that leaders could yield if they realized their roles as patients’ advocates. What appeals to me most about Chater’s style of leadership is the fact that she is ready to learn even from trivial situations, as she does not consider herself as an ultimate leader yet. However, Chater asserts that a leader ought to have high levels of self-esteem and confidence so that they can handle the complex demands of healthcare.
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Chater has offered me a valuable lesson on great leaders who are capable of differentiating between work and job. According to Chater, people who go to a job do tasks, while those that go to work do not just do things but understand that they deal with people as opposed to tasks. In this case, people who go to work see their patients in a larger context of family and community as opposed to only focusing on their illnesses.
Chater seems to take a different approach in leadership by making the leader belong to a lower hierarchy than the followers. A leader in Chater’s view ought to maintain networks so that others know where he or she is or doing at any particular moment. Of importance here is the need to be persistent just like a pest by following up on the patients to ensure that receive the attention they need as their advocate. Aij & Rapsaniotis assert that leaders should adopt the Lean leadership model which requires leaders to “commit to managing from the shop floor and making decisions based on firsthand knowledge” (2017, p. 4 ). This kind of view establishes that the leader is not someone who just sits in the office but rather an individual who comes down to the level of others.
Focus on Marla Salmon, RN, Sc.D., FAAN
Marla Salmon asserts that leadership concerns itself with finding the issue that one cares about and then doing something about it. Salmon’s leadership is about being strategic when approaching issues by finding common ground as opposed to reaching a consensus. What appeals to me most about her leadership style is that she emphasizes the need to personalize issues as opposed to working on the thoughts of others about the same issue. Salmon establishes that leaders need to know what they want to achieve before designing strategies to ensure that they are not overwhelmed (Moore Foundation 2015b). This kind of approach ensures that the leader owns the goals and from puts on the right mechanisms, and sets aside resources to achieve the goals.
Salmon’s assertion that leaders ought to make a difference to their followers by delegating duties instead of wanting to get all the credits resonates with me. Most leaders do not trust that others can realize the set goals and do all work to get all the credit. Salmon, however, establishes that leaders do not have to always carry the water but instead should think who else could carry the water and from here equip the person. Such an approach helps others to grow professionally and personally so that they too can take up leadership positions.
Salmon’s leadership style resonates with conventional leadership approaches as it enforces the need for finding a middle ground for organizational sake. Salmon accepts that differences will always be part of leadership but these differences provide a wide array of options to consider. Sfantou et al (2017) establish that leaders ought to respect their staff and communicate loyalty through a shared vision while making exchanges with employees. Instead of ignoring differences, leaders must find what is common to them and from there strive to find common ground. This approach underscores the importance of all stakeholders who deserve to be respected and heard no matter their position.
References
Aij, K. H., & Rapsaniotis, S. (2017). Leadership requirements for Lean versus servant leadership in health care: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Healthcare Leadership , 9, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S120166
Moore Foundation. (2015a, March 3). Lessons in Leadership: Shirley Chater, RN, Ph.D., FAAN. [Video]. YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTZ6FbSXBkQ&list=PLopRJPO6GaifsYPGP_jcWXZzU10H3AaX7&index=1
Moore Foundation (2015b, March 3). Lessons in Leadership: Marla Salmon, RN, Sc.D., FAAN. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTZ6FbSXBkQ&list=PLopRJPO6GaifsYPGP_jcWXZzU10H3AaX7&index=1
Sfantou, D. F., Laliotis, A., Patelarou, A. E., Sifaki-Pistolla, D., Matalliotakis, M., & Patelarou, E. (2017). Importance of leadership style towards the quality of care measures in healthcare settings: A systematic review. Healthcare , 5(4), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare5040073
