It is cliché, but being a leader can be challenging. Many people depend on their leader and the leader depends on many people to achieve goals for the organization. Motivating people is an interesting process. It is challenging to motivate staff to participate in activities that are difficult, not interesting, or do not directly affect patient care. I feel that being a nursing leader is more challenging than many other leadership positions. You ask why that is? A nursing leader is not only responsible for their own staff and departmental issues, but they are also responsible for coordinating interactions with other departments (professional and non-professional) within the organization. Nursing leaders are also responsible for all of the patient care direct and indirect. According to Donna Cardillo, “Manager is a title and leader is an attribute” (Nursing Spectrum 2004). Warren Bennis was quoted by Donna Hewett as saying, “A manager does things right and a leader does the right things” (Modern Medicine 2007). A manager is behind the staff pushing and a leader is in front of the staff setting an example. A leader cannot be afraid of change, confrontation or failure. A good leader knows how to “fail forward”. This means that if you fail, make adjustments to where you are still moving forward and making progress. The number one attribute for a good leader is respect. Earn respect (don’t demand) and be respectful of others. You can disagree and be respectful. Tim Porter O’Grady was quoted by Susan O. Valentine in a University of Arizona article, “Motivate leadership from the bottom up…develop staff self direction rather than giving direction” (Nursing Leadership and The New Nurse). He also wrote that “10% of unit-level decisions should belong to management” (O’Grady 2006). A majority of the time if the front line staff is presented with a challenge or issue, the staff will brainstorm and solve the problem. This helps the staff to become more engaged in the departmental challenges and goals. Now the department has a multifaceted leadership structure. Face it, a vast majority of the employees in healthcare want to do what is best. We as leaders just have to communicate to the staff what the goals are. The staff will make the goal a reality by incorporating decisions into their daily work processes.
Dr. Stephen Covey, John Maxwell, and Tim Porter O’Grady are considered to be authorities on leadership. All are internationally known for their leadership knowledge and ability to pass on useful information to leaders. All three of them have written many books on leadership and have simplified the steps to becoming a good leader. Covey wrote the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and John Maxwell wrote The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. O’Grady wrote Interdisciplinary Shared Governance: Integrating Practice, Transforming Healthcare. Many organizations’ (healthcare and non-healthcare) leaders hang on every word these men write. Are the writings evidence based? These organizations take to heart what these men write, apply the teachings and are very successful. So, I would say the evidence shows strongly these men are correct in their teachings. All three teach that a goal can be achieved when everyone works together (O’Grady, shared governance), “the sum is greater than its parts” (Covey, #6 of the 7 Habits), and “secure leaders give power to others” (Maxwell, Law of Empowerment). In short, all three of these men are teaching and encouraging leaders to build a team, set a goal and let the team work together to make the goal become a success.
I have been in the nursing leadership role for over 3 years. It is exciting and challenging, but it is very rewarding when one has a great group of people to work with. I want to be able to motivate people and get the most production out of a strong working relationship with my staff. The only way to motivate people is to also be self-motivated. If the leader is not motivated the staff will follow suit. Leaders and staff must take ownership in the department and the department’s goals. The leadership authorities mentioned above know how to motivate leaders. Once we become motivated and enthusiastic, the tasks at hand become less troublesome and more exciting. Excitement and enthusiasm is contagious and more people jump in and work toward the goal. TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More.
Nursing Spectrum: http://www.nursingspectrum.com/StudentsCorner/StudentFeatures/MakingLeader.htm
This article was written by Donna Cardillo to let all nurses know that they are leaders. It encouraged nurses to pursue becoming formal leaders. It is intended for new nurses and new nursing leaders.
Nursing Leadership and the New Nurse: http://juns.nursing.arizona.edu/articles/Fall%202002/Valentine.htm
This site’s article contained different nursing theories. It gave examples for each theory. Intended for new nursing leaders and for nursing leaders wanting to improve their leadership skills.
Modern Medicine: Donna Hewitt RN, BSN: http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Nursing/What-it-takes-to-be-a-leader/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/425319
This is an RN’s reflection on what it takes to be a leader. Written during Nurses’ Week in 2007. Written to let nurses know they can be leaders. You do not have to be a manager or charge nurse to be a leader in your respective department.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2632862/Laws-of-Leadership-John-C-Maxwell
Presentation of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Power Point presentation. This presentation allowed the reader to get the main points of the book and the ideas John Maxwell was trying to make. Intended for all people wanting to be better leaders.
This article contained the “7 habits” that Stephen Covey wrote about. It was a walk through the 7 steps with explanations of each. Each step is very applicable to nursing leadership as well as outside of nursing. The steps can also easily be applied to everyday life.
http://www.strategiesfornursemanagers.com/supplemental/4428_book.pdf
The Concept Behind Shared Governance 2006.
Shared Governance is a theory taught by Tim Porter O’Grady. Application of the theory allows larger groups of people be involved in the decision making processes. It applies mostly to the nursing profession, but many of the theories can be applied outside the nursing profession. Shared Governance is a foundation to achieving Magnet Status for hospital organizations.
