Running head: LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS Leadership Skills/ Characteristics Name Institution 1 LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS 2 Leadership Skills/ Characteristics Most Transformative Lesson Initially, my perception of a leader was someone in an administrative position, which made it hard to consider myself a leader. However, as I progressed through the course I have developed a completely different perspective because I now understand that I am a leader in my every day activities. This transformation is largely attributed to Kelly’s (2012) concept of a leader who asserts that leadership constitutes the day-to-day operations of an individual and their influence on others towards achieving some common goals. All these concepts and others have enabled me realize that I am a leader in everything I do as a nurse or an individual. Applying this Lesson to my Current Practice Essentially, this realization will enable me to uphold the integrity of the nursing profession by being mindful of others, collaborating with my colleagues towards achieving team and organizational goals, and being accountable of all my operations while working as a nurse. Most specifically, I now realize that patients are my responsibility and whatever may come, I must always try my best to save a critical situation to the best of my knowledge. Alongside I will always affirm the uniqueness among all the patients I interact with and always care for them with excellence. Assessing Lesson Application Self-assessment helps in evaluating and improving one’s leadership skills. One way I will determine if I have successfully applied the lesson to my leadership practice is by consistently maintaining the integrity of the nursing profession, observing a balance in my working relations towards achievement of personal and organizational goals. Highly Developed leadership/ Management Characteristic or Skill LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS 3 Effective leaders have a variety of characteristics and traits that normally encourage their teams to follow them. These qualities are naturally possessed or learnt through formal training or experience. One of my strongest leadership characteristic that I posses is self-confidence. I am certain of my abilities and skills. It also helps boost my self-esteem and self-assurance a characteristic highly necessary for nurses to take risks and accomplish goals. Evidence of Leadership skills/ characteristics Leadership requires a demonstration of skills and characteristics when leading teams. Ostensibly, one of the ways I demonstrate my self-confidence is by setting goals and accomplishing them on time. It is obvious for individuals to shield ourselves from accidents by covering all the bases and staying in a cocoon of safe decisions. These fearful individuals always try to make the safe choices, while the confident always strive to use their knowledge and skills to take action. Not only does self-confidence allow one to make tough decisions (Daft and Lane, 2015); it also enabled me to interact and communicate effectively with families and patients to provide adequate care. This has also helped me to remain vocal in seminars while addressing the importance of patient safety and care. To-Be-Developed Leadership/ Management Characteristic or Skill Skills Needing Further Development Many people assume that they are multitasking when in reality what they do is just making more work. One important concept associated with multitasking is time management and the ability to focus intensely on each task we undertake equally. In fact, many people believe they can do it, but instead end up making a total mess of things. Strategies to Utilize Multitasking LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS 4 With this in mind, I have formulated a strategy that will enable me to efficiently serve all the tasks I set my focus on without neglecting one. Firstly, I need to eliminate any unnecessary items on the list, either professional or personal. For example if I set my goal in cleaning my mailbox, I should not spend the time on social media. Secondly, I need to plan my work ahead of attempting to accomplish it. This includes a mental plan or literally writing down everything I intend to do, as it will help my brain get accustomed to the workload and accept it beforehand. The other step is to prioritize what I need to do first, considering deadlines and acquaintances. In case all the tasks are not urgent, I will start with the most familiar ones and later focus on the rest of the tasks. Lastly, I need to keep the drive going whatever obstacles. Obviously, it can be tempting to leave tasks unfinished to take rest, but as Houston, Cole and Sokolow (2013) assert, one should not allow to lose their creative edge. Rather, they must always yield to the power to choose to continue. The resolve is to stop only when you have done everything you have set to do. Multitasking is not a talent possessed by everyone. Realizing that I have accomplished more work in less time will significantly determine that I have improved on my multitasking skills. Leadership/Management Impact Normally, I work in a busy holding area with an approximate of 8 beds. To ensure that there is not backlog in the ED, we first withhold the patients here, then transfer then to the next available bed. The idea is to admit patients and transfer then to the necessary ward in a timely manner. The most challenging element about the job is time constraint as it is usually a cycle that has to be adhered to strictly. While in the past I have had difficulties managing this, the ability to multitask and my self-confidence has largely helped me to quickly accomplish my work on time. Similarly, as a nurse leader I have realized it is my responsibility to get involved with nursing LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS 5 organizations to address the necessary resources required to improve patient care. Besides, I now realize the importance of working as a team and that everyone has a role to play. The dimension of an effective leader involves creating an impact in other people’s lives. As a nurse leader one of the ways that my leadership skills will influence others is by being more understanding especially to patients and their families. Secondly, in my everyday work, I meet and work with people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Thus, I need to be more culture sensitive to both colleagues and patients as well. Leadership is critical especially in the nursing profession. Nurses are both alternate leaders and followers when they work as a team with other health care members to ensure patient goals are achieved. The most valuable of them all however is realizing that in their operations, they are all leaders and must all invest their time and work towards achieving both individual and organization goals. LEADERSHIP SKILLS/ CHARACTERISTICS References Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2015). The leadership experience. Australia: Cengage Learning. Houston, P. D., Cole, R. W., & Sokolow, S. L. (2013). The wise leader: Doing the right things for the right reasons. Bloomington [Indiana]: iUniverse LLC. Kelly, P. (2012). Nursing leadership & management. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning. 6
