Qualities Of A Good Nurse Leader – Nurses play an important role in healthcare organizations. How their leaders manage them can affect their performance and affect patient outcomes. It is important to understand the different leadership styles commonly found in the workplace, as well as the effects they have on the team and those under their care. For more information, check out this infographic created by Bradley University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
This type of leader tries to ensure that the group follows the rules by establishing a system of rewards and punishments. Those people who follow his instructions and achieve the set goals will be rewarded accordingly. On the other hand, those who fail to fulfill and achieve the goals, will be punished for their transgressions. This style is well focused on managing subordinates, maintaining organizational activities smoothly and improving team performance. There is a lot of interest in what job trackers do to detect deviations. This leadership style is effective in managing a crisis and completing highly detailed projects.
Qualities Of A Good Nurse Leader
This style is leadership by example. Followers see their leader’s behavior, and they are inspired to change for the better. They see the hard work from above as well as the concern for their safety. They perform above all expectations because they put in more effort than usual. They no longer put themselves first because they give more importance to what is good for the organization. Leaders provide a clear vision of the future that motivates team members to succeed. Old assumptions and traditions are questioned to generate new ideas to more effectively solve problems.
Solution: Qualities Of A Nurse Leadership & Personality Characteristics Summary Lesson 1
With this style, the team is encouraged to speak up and participate in the decision-making process. Open communication makes all staff feel their voice matters. They are more concerned with the things happening in the organization knowing that they can influence the situations if they act on it. Employees receive their own personal responsibility and are responsible for achieving specific goals. They receive feedback on their performance, which allows them to adjust if necessary. The focus is on improving the quality of systems and processes, and not on identifying mistakes made by individual team members.
This approach is the opposite of the democratic style as the leader calls all the shots. Decisions are made immediately without any form of staff consultation. All power is concentrated at the top, and individuals at the bottom can only follow. Those members of the group who disagree and do not do as they are told are often punished to keep them in line. Knowledge can be kept in the hands of a few to keep power within their ranks. When mistakes happen, authoritarians make an example of criminals by punishing them in front of their peers. Blame is always on individuals despite poor processes. On the other hand, this style may be required in emergency situations when quick action is required.
In this style, very little supervision is done by the leaders. They prefer to take a hands-on approach to daily activities. They prefer to let people do what they need to do on their own, perhaps confident that they will succeed without guidance. Although it promotes independent thinking, this approach can have many negative consequences. Important decisions are not made in time. Some changes have taken place in the workplace. Quality improvement occurs only when the situation calls for it. This style is often used by inexperienced leaders who are still learning, as well as transition managers who are just waiting for someone to take their place.
Several studies have examined the relationships between nursing leadership and patient outcomes. The results are very interesting, because they reveal clear connections between the two. For example, transformational leadership has been associated with a reduction in medication errors in most studies. It seems that things are done very carefully inside the hospital when this procedure is performed. Style was also associated with lower patient mortality in half of the studies. Patients somehow get better care and treatment, enabling them to survive their ordeal.
Leadership Goals For Nurses
Relational leadership types including transformational and collaborative styles have reciprocal effects on patient satisfaction. People are generally more satisfied with the service they receive for acute care and home care. The need for restraint is also reduced because patients are more cooperative with their nurses. Besides the lower incidence of medication errors, there are also fewer hospital-acquired infections. If one goes to a hospital, then it is better to be admitted to those who promote these leadership styles in the relationship, because the outcome is likely to be more positive.
The National Institutes of Health as well as the Journal of Nursing Administration have previously published relevant studies. Transformational leadership has been found to be a positive contributor to a safer hospital climate. This is linked to reduced employee turnover compared to others. Nurses are more satisfied with their work and choose to stay as a result. On the other hand, it has been proven that the laissez-faire approach negatively contributes to the socialization of the units. It also creates a culture of blaming team members which only serves to unnecessarily stress everyone out.
Additional findings indicate that nurses readily distinguish between transactional leadership and transactional leadership. They may be similar styles, but the application and results are different. Nurses are more in favor of the transformational approach because it promotes intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. They like the idea of positively influencing behavior and encouraging motivation, which many consider to be the most effective of all available options. In fact, all styles have their place and the mark of a good leader is the wisdom to use the right style at the right time. There is no denying the call to enter nursing leadership for many nurses. Others may feel motivated, but hesitate or perhaps doubt their ability to manage a nursing staff, solve patient care problems, and cooperate with the administration. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, deciding to become part of a care leadership team can be a big decision. It’s important to remember that everyone can be a pacesetter that advancing your nursing career doesn’t always require additional training.
Nurse leadership titles and job descriptions vary. Many leadership roles begin at the bedside. Become a responsible nurse or manager of the unit, which requires daily supervision of staff and patients. If you have your sights set a little higher, you can take on executive-level leadership roles such as chief nursing officer or VP of patient services.
What Qualities Should A Good Nurse Leader Have?
Wherever you find yourself on the nurse leadership spectrum, it’s important to understand just a few of the qualities that successful nurse leaders possess. Here are some characteristics of successful nurse leaders that may make it easier for you to decide if nursing leadership might be a good fit for you.
Being a good communicator is just knowing how to put some words or sentences together. You want to have a decent understanding of how to actively listen to colleagues and staff. Good communicators also know that visual communication can also convey a powerful message.
If you are not comfortable with your current communication skills, you may want to request a category or continuing education course in Healthcare Communication Skills.
Being a decent teacher is essential in healthcare. Mentoring requires you to quickly identify learning opportunities so you can work with staff to increase their clinical and non-clinical skills. Successful nurse leaders can demonstrate mentoring qualities by remembering that they were once in a staff nurse role and encouraging their staff to ask questions. These simple strategies will empower your nursing staff and guide them throughout their career journey.
Management Vs. Leadership In Nursing
Demonstrating commitment to achieving and exceeding health outcomes can be a critical part of maintaining health. Nurse leaders must be dedicated to managing the care process to ensure patients are at their highest level of health. Patient outcomes dictate payments and regulatory milestones, suggesting that nurse leaders must keep institutional goals in mind and think about them as much as possible. Other health outcomes you need to address during a leadership role are related to your team. You want to work on initiatives that reduce attrition rates for the entire team under your leadership. The performance of patient and team results will make it easier for you to realize a high level of success as a care leader.
As a leader, you may be faced with many challenging decisions. You may still be involved in patient care decisions. You want to use critical thinking in other areas as well. Some examples include conducting disciplinary actions against staff and managing facility or unit budgets.
Serving others can be an important characteristic that some nurses possess. Nurse leaders serve others in some way. You will educate or deal with a staff nurse
