Servant leaders are those who achieve organizational objectives by fulfilling the needs of their team members (Greenleaf, 1996). A nursing professional can lead her team effectively by constantly looking into the problems of her fellow team members and provide an atmosphere that helps them to accomplish their personal and professional development. Servant nurse leaders are also good coachers and mentors to people under their supervision. Many nurse leaders have embraced the philosophy of servant leadership that continually guides them to provide impeccable healthcare services to their patients and families. The key advantage of a servant leader is her ability to ensure superior quality of employee engagement since the trust she builds with her followers provides them psychological safety (Greenleaf and Spears, 2002).
As a servant to her followers, a servant leader removes the barriers that thwart them from doing their work through her valuable actions (Depree, 1990). Listening and empathizing that help a nurse leader to understand the problems of her team members from their own perspectives are the key attributes that drive her relationship with her followers. Servant leaders also ensure a friendly environment in the workplace by effectively negotiating conflicts and helping employees to solve their problems and get along freely with each other. Servant nurse leaders do have high degree of self awareness and emotional intelligence that help them to view workplace situations on a holistic perspective to give high quality patient outcomes. More importantly, servant leaders exercise moral authority to influence their followers rather than formal authority. Furthermore, servant leaders exhibit a genuine interest on the personal development of their fellow team members that gives several reasons for the followers to contribute their best for the achievement of common organizational goals. Servant nurse leaders are always proactive and motivate patients and family members with their pleasing attitude, however uptight situations may be. In brief, servant nurse leaders, through their selfless actions, create a friendly community in the healthcare setting that unconditionally serves the patients.
References
Depree, M. (1990). Leadership is an art. New York: Dell publishing.
Greenleaf, R.K. (1996).On becoming a servant leader. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Greenleaf, R.K. & Spears, L.C. (2002). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness 25th Anniversary Edition. Mahwah: Paulist Press.
