Page 23 - Essentials of Nursing Leadership and Management, 5th Edition

CikguOnline
2208_Ch01_001-012.qxd 11/6/09 5:54 PM Page 10
10 unit 1 | Professional Considerations CikguOnline
like. Recognizing that you like some people more ■ Skillful communication. This includes listening
than others is the first step in avoiding unfair to others, encouraging exchange of information,
treatment based on personal likes and dislikes. and providing feedback:
1. Listening to others. Listening is separate from
Behaviors of an Effective Leader
talking with other people: listening emphasizes
Leadership requires action. The effective leader that communication involves both giving and
chooses the action carefully. Important leadership receiving information. The only way to find
behaviors include setting specific goals, thinking out people’s individual wants and needs is to
critically, solving problems, respecting people, com- watch what they do and to listen to what they
municating skillfully, communicating a vision for say. It is amazing how often leaders fail simply
the future, and developing oneself and others. because they did not listen to what other
people were trying to tell them.
■ Setting priorities. Whether planning care for a
2. Encouraging exchange of information. Many
group of clients or setting the strategic plan
misunderstandings and mistakes occur because
for an organization, priorities continually
people fail to share enough information with
shift and demand attention. As a leader you
each other. The leader’s role is to make sure
will need to remember the three “E’s” of
that the channels of communication remain
prioritization: evaluate, eliminate, and esti-
open and that people use them.
mate. Continually evaluate what you need to
3. Providing feedback. Everyone needs some infor-
do, eliminate tasks that someone else can do,
mation about the effectiveness of his or her
and estimate how long your top priorities
performance. Frequent feedback, both positive
will take you to complete.
and negative, is needed so people can continu-
■ Thinking critically. Critical thinking is the care-
ally improve their performance. Some nurse
ful, deliberate use of reasoned analysis to reach a
leaders find it difficult to give negative feedback
decision about what to believe or what to do
because they fear that they will upset the other
(Feldman, 2002). The essence of critical think-
person. How else can the person know where
ing is a willingness to ask questions and to be
improvement is needed? Negative feedback can
open to new ideas, new ways to do things. To
be given in a manner that is neither hurtful nor
avoid falling prey to assumptions and biases of
resented by the individual receiving it. In fact,
your own and those of others, ask yourself
it is often appreciated. Other nurse leaders,
frequently, “Do I have the information I need?
however, fail to give positive feedback, assum-
Is it accurate? Am I prejudging a situation?”
ing that coworkers will know when they are
(Jackson, Ignatavicius, & Case, 2004).
doing a good job. This is also a mistake because
■ Solving problems. Client problems, paperwork
everyone appreciates positive feedback. In fact,
problems, staff problems: these and others occur
for some people, it is the most important
frequently and need to be solved. The effective
reward they get from their jobs.
leader helps people to identify problems and to
work through the problem-solving process to ■ Communicating a vision for the future. The
find a reasonable solution. effective leader has a vision for the future.
■ Respecting the individual. Although people Communicating this vision to the group and
have much in common, each individual has dif- involving everyone in working toward that
ferent wants and needs and has had different vision create the inspiration that keeps people
life experiences. For example, some people really going when things become difficult. Even better,
value the psychological rewards of helping involving people in creating the vision is not
others; other people are more concerned about only more satisfying for employees but also has
earning a decent salary. There is nothing wrong the potential for the most creative and innova-
with either of these points of view; they are tive outcomes (Kerfott, 2000). It is this vision
simply different. The effective leader recognizes that helps make work meaningful.
these differences in people and helps them ■ Developing oneself and others. Learning does
find the rewards in their work that mean the not end on leaving school. In fact, experienced
most to them. nurses say that school is just the beginning, that