The interview was with a nurse leader at a senior care section of a healthcare facility. The nurse leads a team of 15 nurses working in the section. The interview aimed to examine how the nurse leader viewed leadership and compare it with the BSN Leadership Essentials (AACN, 2008). AACN (2008) explains nurses need leadership skills to make critical and ethical decisions. Leadership skills are essential in cultivating healthy relationships in the workplace. Nurses work within inter-professional collaborative teams where they need to communicate, delegate and solve various workplace conflicts effectively. Therefore, nurse leaders must possess essential skills, such as understanding the system’s politics, regulations and compliance. They must recognize that the environment where they operate is constantly changing; thus, they should be flexible to adapt to the changes (Jankelová & Joniaková, 2021). They should be creative and productive in developing inter-professional teams in healthcare settings. Therefore, the interview reflection helps to understand how nurses can develop and enforce their leadership skills within the operations of a healthcare system.
The Interview Reflection
The interview takes place at a geriatric section of the hospital where they deal with care for the different needs of people above 65 years old. She got a BSN qualification and then got her RN licensure before completing her MSN in nursing degree. She has worked as an RN for 11 years and has added responsibility as the nurse leader in charge of 15 other nurses for the last four years. This background shows that experience, education qualifications, practice knowledge and teamwork are critical pillars of leadership. The interviewee defined leadership as ‘actions that inspire and motivate others to follow you.’ She indicated that a leader models the way by ‘being an example to others and making them want to be you.’ Being assertive and an effective conflict solver is essential in leadership as there are cases where the team members disagree, and you have to decide without appearing to favour any side. In my case ‘I have to be firm when allocating roles to the team members as the roles are different, and some might fail unfavourably. However, I have to ensure that the roles rotate for fairness.’
The interviewee noted that she had a variety of communication styles. However, she likes to show empathy and ensure everyone understands the message. The interviewee stated that involving the rest of the nurses in planning and decision-making inspires them to support her vision. It also reduces resistance to change as the nurses see they are part of the process. According to the interviewee, ‘You must be honest and dedicated to your beliefs. When you are honest to yourself, you can influence others to follow a different approach for the organization’s good. Others act when they have freedom and flexibility to do what they feel is correct. In this case, ‘I ensure that the nurses have delegated responsibilities that match their skills, knowledge and experience. I give different responsibilities to perform independently, thus helping them gain confidence in their skills and knowledge.’ When delegating, the leader should ensure that the patient is comfortable with the nurse. For instance, some patients want nurses they can comfortably talk to or hare their cultural and religious beliefs. Therefore, when delegating ‘I tend to be culturally competent and emotionally intelligent.
Inspiration or motivation can come from historical nursing figures, current leaders, or colleagues. In this regard, the interviewee indicated, ‘ I have always been inspired by the works of Florence Nightingale and her contribution to the nursing profession as a whole. Currently, my biggest inspiration has to be my former boss and mentor who helped me a lot when I started practice. She guided me on how to apply the theories we learnt into practice, use available evidence and communicate with colleagues and patients.’ She adds, ‘ my mentor was consistently honest, committed and looking to help me learn something new. She inspired me to mentor and help other young nurses to develop and achieve their career goals.’ In line with what she learnt from nurse leaders from theories, workplace leaders, and mentors, the interviewee explained that she sought to ‘inspire the nurses by leading by example, showing them what to do in different situations, seeking feedback and questions and supporting their personal goals.’ Other nurses should see that you are one of them and are there to support them, not direct them.
From the interview, there are many lessons that one can learn from the transformational leadership style of the nurse. According to Ajanaku and Lubbe (2021), a transformational leader is a person who helps the rest of the team members to become better versions of themselves. Exemplary leaders help people to reconnect with their values and show kindness and compassion. In the current case, the leader attempts to engage other nurses in planning and decision-making. The leader wants other nurses to own the processes, including changes, decisions and the organization’s culture. She wants the nurses to feel comfortable and be able to apply their knowledge without much hindrance. Also, transformational leaders have high standards that they respect, and they are fearless about upsetting the system when the processes do not prioritize the well-being of the people. Therefore, the interviewed leader is exemplary but also compassionate, participative and visionary.
Transformational leadership style is suitable for solving different problems at the workplace. For instance, transformational leaders ensure clear communication between the leadership and members. For instance, the nurse leader is transparent and assertive in communicating what needs to be done without appearing to support any side (Poels et al., 2020). The nurse leader should always think positively, be open-minded and closely monitor results. Through this, they can minimize the opportunities for errors, mistakes or miscommunication that can result in nurse conflicts. Transformational leadership helps nurse leaders solve workplace conflicts as it is proactive and solution-oriented. It recognizes that challenges are part of the process and inspires other nurses to embrace them and find solutions. The nurse leader inspires others by leading by example and demonstrating what they should do during difficult moments (Poels et al., 2020). As such, she positively influences other nurses to become better. Therefore, exemplary leadership is about learning, embracing challenges and growing professionally and personally.
The interview showed that transformational leaders can positively impact nursing and care outcomes. For instance, they create a workplace environment that encourages shared vision, collaboration, and innovation to ensure high-quality care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction (Wei et al., 2020). Therefore, one crucial practice that can significantly improve nursing outcomes is ensuring that all the nurses participate in vision development and gain a sense of ownership of the organization’s programs. As a transformational leader, I should ensure that nurses connect with their work emotionally and that there is a high commitment to delivering the organization’s goals.
Also, one area I can model around the interviewee regards her empowerment of the other nurses. Ajanaku and Lubbe (2021) indicate that empowering others by giving them a degree of autonomy in decision-making helps them to gain intrinsic motivation as they feel responsible for the patient outcomes. Empowerment is about ensuring that the other nurses have sufficient opportunities to learn, enhance their skills and gain appropriate knowledge that would help them improve patient care. Finally, the nurse leader can help improve the healthcare institution by helping them cultivate a supportive culture with proper recognition and appreciation for nurses’ hard work and dedication. According to Wei et al. (2020), a supportive culture helps address conflicts effectively and creates a healthy work environment that allows nurses to succeed and prosper.
Conclusion
The paper examined an interview with a nurse leader to identify the leadership style and some essential qualities. It noted that the nurse leader had adopted transformational leadership, focusing on empowering other nurses and supporting them to become better. It noted that as a transformational leader, the nurse leader should motivate others to own the company’s vision, plans and operations. Transformational leaders encourage effective collaboration and teamwork in the delivery of care to patients. However, they should strive to create a healthy organizational culture with support resources for other nurses and a conflict resolution process. Overall, transformational leadership helps challenge processes and help nurses improve professionally and personally.
References
Ajanaku, O. J., & Lubbe, W. (2021). Applying transformational leadership in nursing through the lens of Kouzes and Posner’s leadership practices. Gender and Behaviour, 19(2), 17788-17794.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN]. (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. Washington, DC: Author.
Jankelová, N., & Joniaková, Z. (2021, March). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers about job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 3, p. 346). MDPI.
Poels, J., Verschueren, M., Milisen, K., & Vlaeyen, E. (2020). Leadership styles and leadership outcomes in nursing homes: a cross-sectional analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1-10.
Wei, H., King, A., Jiang, Y., Sewell, K. A., & Lake, D. M. (2020). The impact of nurse leadership styles on nurse burnout: A systematic literature review. Nurse Leader, 18(5), 439–450.
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