NR 504 Week 3 Assignment: Leadership Reflective Essay
NR 504 Leadership
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Leadership
... [Show More] competencies are important to the foundation of the advanced practice nurse. Some of the competencies leaders should possess are adaptability, the ability to influence others, good communication skills, self-care, ability to help others to grow, and a positive attitude. This all contributes to the knowledge, skills and attitudes of a successful leader. (Krepia, Katsaragakis, Kaitelidou, & Prezerakos, 2018). I hope to gain insights into more effective and productive leadership skills. In order to do this I need to perform a self-analysis and identify my strengths and weaknesses. In this essay I will be addressing my own leadership competencies through self-analysis, the implications leadership competencies have for the advanced practice nurse, and then I will conclude with an overview of the value of leadership competencies while addressing opportunities for growth.
Personal Leadership Competency
I will start with how I feel regarding my personal leadership competencies. I am very charismatic and positive. I have a wide array of knowledge in different aspects of nursing, am very adaptable to the situation, encourage others to develop to their full potential, and have good communications skills. (Yu & Ko, 2016). I am an excellent mentor and enjoy teaching others by empowering them to master new skills and to work out the circumstances to find a positive solution. ( Marcellus, Duncan, MacKinnon, Jantzen, Siemens, Brennan, & Kassan, 2019). Transformation leadership promotes all aspects of the leadership competencies and allows for personal and professional growth of the entire team. This is how I practice nursing. I feel that my conflict resolution and poor self-care are definite areas for growth. Conflict resolution is an essential skill needed by leaders in order to promote a cohesive team. Self-care is essential to being able to care for others. I am actively practicing self-care, but it is with baby steps considering nurses care for others but tend to neglect their needs.
Implications for Advanced Nursing Practice
Currently I am on the nurse educator track. As a future nurse educator it is important that I am able to be a proficient and effective leader. Leadership competencies are important for a nurse educator. It is imperative that nurse educators develop leadership competencies. Communication is a primary function of the nursing profession but is especially important for nurse educators to convey much needed information to students effectively to promote learning. (Burton, 2018). Nurse educators are also role models, mentors, and coaches to their students. (Blazun, Kokol, & Vosner, 2015). Therefore, nurse educators need to be aware of their behaviors and attitudes in order to promote healthy growth of students. Since educators use mentoring to demonstrate problem solving in a systematic and organized approach they must be knowledgeable and consistent. This will inspire students to reach their full potential and provide them with a strong foundation to navigate the ever changing world of healthcare.
Conclusion
Leadership is viewed as essential for the advanced practice nurse. The ability to lead means recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses and working to grow. Self-care and self-awareness are often difficult for nurses as we are taught that patient care is primary and nurses needs as secondary. I have learned to recognize where I fall short in my nursing competencies and will seek opportunities for growth through this new found self-awareness. Further, I have grown to realize that being a leader is more than guiding others it is also about guiding myself in thoughts and actions. There is always room for growth within nurses, after all, it is a lifelong learning process.
References
Blazun, H., Kokol, P., & Vosner, J. (2015). Survery of specific nursing competencies: Students’
perceptions. Nurse Education in Practice, 15 (2015) 359-365. Retrieved from:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2015.02.002
Burton, A. (2018). Leadership and communication competencies in nursing: What are we
missing? Journal of Nursing Education, 57(5), 259-260. Retrieved from:
http://doi.or/10.3928/01484834-20180420-01
Krepia, V., Katsaragakis, S., Kaitelidou, D., & Prezerakos, P. (2018). Transformational
leadership and its evolution in nursing. Progress in Health Sciences, 8(1), 189-194.
doi: 10.5604/01.3001.0012.1114
Marcellus, L., Duncan, S., MacKinnon, K., Jantzen, D., Siemens, J., Brennan, J., &
Kassam, S. (2019. The role of education in developing leadership in nurses.
Nursing Leadership, 31(4), 26-35. doi: 10.12927/cjnl.2019.25758
Yu, S. & Ko, Y. (2017). Communication competency as a mediator in the self-leadership
to job performance relationship. Collegian, 24(2017), 421-425. Retrieved from:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2016.09.002 [Show Less]