1 What is your vision for a new and improved healthcare environment and what needs to change for your vision to become a reality?
As a healthcare professional my vision has always been to provide safe, effective and affordable health care services to the community. A number of players contribute to the health care system: the service providers, payers, suppliers of medicines and other inputs. Thus, the biggest challenge is to collaborate the different actions of the stakeholders in the healthcare system and to effectively execute once vision. It is not possible for a single dedicated person to achieve this broad vision, by working alone in a vacuum with no one to help. In order to make this vision a reality; I should develop the skill to influence and lead people into believing and contributing.
2 How will you as a nurse with an advanced nursing practice degree begin the transformation?
I will begin the transformation right from myself. When I am a model for the transformation I expect to see in other, I would attract likeminded people to be on my team and help me attain the healthcare vision.
3 Do you see yourself as an evolving transformational leader?
A transformational leadership is a successful leadership trend in health care. In this leadership, every member of the healthcare team is transformed into a leader and are inspired to achieve common health care goals. Transformational leaders can achieve extraordinary outcomes. My enthusiasm and interest to work towards the vision are my greatest strengths as a transformational leader. I can use this to inspire other followers as well. My enthusiasm has been my key driver and it helps me evolve with each experience. The practice of reflecting on one’s experiences, is a good way to learn skills and evolve into a competent leader. Each day presents new challenges and new opportunities. It would be impossible for a leader to succeed if he is not flexible enough to adapt to these challenges and opportunities that help to communicate once vision to the team.
4 Use the strength-based assessment findings to contemplate the strategies for leveraging your leadership strengths to facilitate improvement.
In order for leaders to perform well, they need to have skill and competence. According to strength finder assessment, my strengths are: responsibility, achiever, learner, idealism and analytical. The best system of improving leadership performance would be to identify the strength of a leader and capitalize on it. This is a much more efficient system, when compared to coaching a person to overcome his weakness (Welch, Grossaint, Reid, & Walker, 2014). The strength that I have, will enable me to become a responsible professional. Further, my attitude of being a learner will help me evolve with the changes that happen in health care. I can learn other skills like communication and relationship building as well. In addition, traits like idealism and analytical skills will help me with effective execution of tasks.
5 How can you use your strengths to build effective teams?
Communicating once vision to people and seeing who buys your vision, is the first step of constructing a team. So I will start with communicating and convincing members on why a particular action is important. Everyone on a healthcare team would agree with my vision of safe, effective and affordable care. There could be a difference of opinion on the ways to achieve it. My reflective practice and openness to constructive criticism, will help me to overcome these differences and keep the team motivated towards the common goal.
6 What strengths from others do you need to build a successful team?
A successful team usually has a broader grouping of strengths. These strengths can be categorized into four distinct domains: executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking. Executing strength is required to make things happen. The ability to influence, is required when a broader team is involved. People with the ability to build relationship, help to hold the team together. Strategic thinking is required to keep the team focused. (Onyah, 2012)
7 Reflect on how your strengths could potentially weaken your team's success.
Transformational leadership model comes with its own defect. No leadership model can be foolproof, as leadership is a very complex, changing entity. One of the bad effects of transformational leadership, is the controlling attitude of each leader, which can impede the progress of the team (Malloch, 2014).
8 Based on your assessment findings, how will you begin this important work as a leader?
Many people have confusion identifying their strength and knowing where they belong. Feedback analysis is an important way of knowing once strength (Drucker, 2007). Based on the strength finder, developed by Gallup (Rath & Conchie, 2008), I would start about my work as a leader by communicating and forming effective relationship. I will talk to them about this vision and try making it their vision as well.
References
Drucker, P. (2007). Managing Oneself. The American Swimming Coaches Association, pp. 1-2.
Malloch, K. (2014). Beyond Transformational Leadership to Greater Engagement: Inspiring Innovation in Complex Organizations. Nurse Leader, 12(2), 60-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2014.01.004
Onyah, I. (2012). Strengths-Based Leadership Guide (1st ed., pp. 1-13). Gallup.
Rath, T. & Conchie, B. (2008). Strength based leadership. New York: Gallup press.
Welch, D., Grossaint, K., Reid, K., & Walker, C. (2014). Strengths-based leadership development: Insights from expert coaches. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice And Research, 66(1), 20-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000002
