Leadership in nursing is all about integrating your professional values, communication skills and nursing abilities to foster a healthy atmosphere for your patients and your peers. Whether it’s as a director of nursing, a chronic dialysis technician, or a new nursing graduate on the general surgery floor, respect goes to those with good leadership skills. While there are many more, here are three leadership skills worth building!
Leading By Example
People make decisions by what they see, so leading them by example is a sure way to convey confidence and adaptability. Along with this comes consistency! Your peers will be confused if they see you acting one way most of the time and different when times get stressful. How one reacts in a conversation with a patient also reveals a person’s leadership qualities.
Advocating Growth
Being open to new ways of doing things and always looking to improve systems is a huge attribute and trait of a leader in a nurse. Always ask yourself, “How could their approach help me?” when meeting someone new, observing another nurse or when talking to superiors.
Respecting All Roles
Every role has it’s purpose in a hospital, and when you can respect and treat everyone the same, it will only look great for you and make everyone around you feel good! Soliciting suggestions and comments from various colleagues or asking questions and complimenting people on their work are among the traits of good leaders.
By virtue of work ethic, communication skills and interaction with patients and peers, the nursing leader will be singled out, with many opportunities to advance a career.
