The quiz “What’s Your Leadership Style” indicates that my style of leadership is predominantly participative. In other words, I am open to input from group members when decision-making and problem-solving are required, but my decision is always final. That is consistent with my belief about my leadership style. I prefer to have a final say in decision-making or problem-solving because the leader takes responsibility for the outcomes. However, I also understand that input from team members is valuable because the decisions I make affect the entire team.
According to Kouzes and Posner (2009), honesty and planning ahead are perceived as the most important attributes of leaders. While those attributes are universal to leaders in various disciplines and should be developed by a graduate nurse, nurses specifically prefer group leaders who are independent and proactive rather than leaders who impose control over the group members (Azaare & Gross, 2011). Finally, self-reflection is one of the key attributes that helps nurses develop their leadership attributes in the future because it enables them to learn from experience and continually improve.
Because my graduate nurse role is Family Nurse Practitioner, my roles and responsibilities include managing acute and chronic illnesses, conducting physical examinations, inspecting the patients’ medical histories, providing prenatal care, prescribing age-specific therapies or pharmacological interventions, patient education, and various other roles. Therefore, I believe that effective communication, integrity, and honesty are my attributes that help me in my graduate nursing role. All of those attributes are important to maintain the efficiency and safety of care delivery to patients who may consist of different age groups, different education levels, and vulnerable populations.
In order to further improve my competence as a graduate nurse, I would like to develop several leadership attributes. The most important attributes I want to develop are self-confidence, long-term planning, and resilience. According to Hanson and Spross (2005), self-confidence is one of the most important leadership attributes. Although I am currently confident in my abilities, I believe that my confidence can further improve with experience in clinical practice. Creating and sharing long-term visions with my group is another attribute I would like to develop because it will enable me to improve the coherency among group members. I believe that resilience is one of the most important leadership attributes for nurses because it helps them overcome obstacles. For example, changes in healthcare policies and organizational expectations are inevitable, and nurse leaders are required to be resilient when responding to those changes and assist group members in embracing changes in a positive way (Frankel, 2011).
Although my preferred leadership style is participative leadership, I also want to develop different leadership attributes that will help me use different styles of leadership because different settings require different approaches. For example, I would like to develop attributes of democratic leaders, which include less control and empowerment, because that style can be effective in groups that have been working for a long time together and groups that require frequent collaboration with other groups (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Practicing a democratic leadership style also provides an opportunity for team members to develop because it provides them with learning opportunities by focusing more on empowerment and less on control (Frankel, 2011).
While it is possible to adapt leadership styles in response to different settings or situations to improve team efficiency, it is important to remember that integrity and a proactive attitude must remain consistent attributes of nurse leaders. “Subordinates want a leader with a clearer leadership style than the manager themselves think is accurate In this world of change it can be safe to have one person who points out the direction and lead the way” (Sellgren, Ekvall & Tomson, 2006).
References
Azaare, J., & Gross, J. (2011). The nature of leadership style in nursing management. British Journal of Nursing, 20(11), 672-676, 678-680.
Frankel, A. (2011). What leadership styles should senior nurses develop? Nursing Times, 104(35), 23-24.
Hanson, C. & Spross, J. (2005). Clinical and professional leadership. In A. Hamric, J. Spross, & C. Hanson (Eds.). Advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach (3rd ed.) (pp. 301-340). St Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2009). To lead, create a shared vision. Harvard Business Review, 87(1), 2021.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2012). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Sellgren, S., Ekvall, G., & Tomson, G. (2006). Leadership styles in nursing management: Preferred and perceived. Journal of Nursing Management, 14(5), 348-355.
