Running head: LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY PAPER 1

Leadership Philosophy Paper

Courtney Moore

Delaware Technical and Community College

Nursing Leadership

NUR 400
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Leadership Philosophy Paper

Leadership conjures many different images such as; a manager, CEO, the President even.

Leaders and Managers are different. You may have a manager be a leader, but a leader might not

be a manager. Managers are focused on the day to day operations such as budget, schedules, etc.

(Finkelman, 2016, p. 15) Leaders influence others around them to effective change, and

productivity. Leaders motivate, take risks, and help other to improve. Managers may be stuck in

a very rigid routine and may not be able to except change as readily. When a manager has

developed strong leadership skills, they will be more equipped to handle “non-routine

situations”. (Finkelman, 2016, p. 17) Because a manager holds an official position this is where

their authority come from and have expected responsibilities based on what position and the type

of organization they are involved in. Leaders are committed to learning which plays a role in

effecting change, evidence based practice is a common term but effecting change from this and

helping to teach others allows for the implementation of change. Leaders set an example and act

as mentors to others, managers may not be prepared to be effective leaders.(Finkelman, 2016, p.

17) Sometimes it may simply be that some people are born leaders, but this does not mean that

other cannot learn leadership skills. Transformational leadership theory is the theory that during

reading this author felt matched the leadership style that best fits this author. Transformational

leadership is “a leadership process that is systematic, consisting of purposeful and organized

search for changes, systematic analysis, and the capacity to move resources from areas of lesser

to greater productivity to bring about strategic transformation” (Luzinski, 2011, p. 502) Because

this style combines elements from many other theories, this aspect of the theory resonates with

this author. This author has never really fit into one “box”, so in reading the different theories bit

and pieces from a few seemed to match, but transformational fit the best. Transformational
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leaders “embrace change, and guide staff in understanding their roles”. (Finkelman, 2016, p. 13)

Although this nurse has no desire to be in a management position, a non official leadership role

may fit this author perfectly. Transformational leaders face change head on and help others in the

organization to accept and help this change moving forward. They have a vision for the future,

with this they are able to look for ways to improve. These leaders tend to be self-confident, have

self-direction, honest, loyalty, and commitment. (Finkelman, 2016, p. 14) This author when in

the right setting has passion for improvement and commitment to seeing it through. A vision of

what the best possible future, and will spend time figuring out how change can be implemented

in a way that leads to that vision becoming reality. Being a leader also means staying current on

research, evidence based practice helps to lead nursing forward by growing and learning from

the newest research. A leader must always be willing to stay up to date on research and be ready

to effect change whenever possible for the best patient care.

Transformational leaders tend to focus more on quality improvement and less on the

mistakes of the individual. (Frandson, 2014, p. 2) Building up staff and motivating them can help

them to achieve and strive for better outcomes. These leaders are focused on imparting their

vision unto others, and be doing so inspire them to achieve as opposed to tearing them down for

one mistake which leads staff to be less likely to contribute to change. It’s not enough to say you

are a transformational leader, these leaders take risks because they know the reward that come

with risks. They communicate what their staff wants to those that can help effect change. (Onwe,

2014, p. 203) With communication between other staff and this leader the communication goes

both ways, there is emphasis on “we” and not “you” or “I”. (Mitchell, 2013, p. 34) This allows

for open dialog that can help to uplift staff, they feel heard which can improve morale.
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As a transformational leader this author hopes to feel confident enough in this whole to

really effect change. For some leadership must be learned others they are born leaders. So in

order for this author to become a better leader they must embrace working as cohesively with

their cohorts. Learning to lead by example, they are the driving force in change when it occurs,

but they must also listen to those that are their subordinates for them to be an effective leader.

When they experience a failure they should take these as something to learn from in order to

move forward, not to be deterred by it but to grow. (Onwe, 2014, p. 205) “Leadership in nursing

should be fostered throughout their education, not just at the end when they make the transition

to practice.” (Curtis, Vries, & Sheerin, 2011, p. 309) This statement really embodies leadership

in nursing. Nurses must stay current on education with continuing education, they must also

continue in learning with leadership. Leadership is not cut and dry, people and circumstances

will change and this author will have to be prepared for that if they are in a leadership position.

Having the skills to understand people, how to rise up and stand up for staff or even a patient.

This can be a very hard thing to do and harder to learn. This will take time and at first it may not

work out as planned and through these times will this author truly learn how to become an

effective leader.

In leadership with nurses some may not think this involves the patients directly, but just

as staff need someone to step up and help address their grievances the same goes for patients.

Sometimes the only person that is advocating for them is the nurse, because nurses spend the

bulk of the time with these patients. So being an effective patient advocate and even standing

behind another nurse who is advocating what is in the best interest for a patient is part of

leadership. Patients depend on their nurses, and some of these patients for example; medically

fragile children do not always have a voice or a parent to stand up for them. A nurse needs to be
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able to put aside any fears they may have and be that voice, which ultimately leads to better

outcomes for the patient. Staying current on evidence based practice is a great place to start

because then the nurses voice is backed up by facts and not just opinion. One way this gets

accomplished is when all those involved on the care team have regular meetings in regards to the

care plan of a patient, this is best done for those that require long term care. Although it could

also be used in an outpatient setting, but this is not always the case. This author hopes to use

leadership in helping to effect change that can and will help those that I care for.

Leadership can be difficult to learn, but the benefits of a strong leadership base are very

rewarding. Transformational leadership helps a leader follow through a shared vision with

others. It allows for change to be a smoother process, instead of telling others “this is how it is”.

This leadership theory has the leader communicate with the staff to hear what they may or may

not like about a topic and have an open discussion to alleviate fears, and to address other

concerns. Ultimately this leader is trying to bring their cohorts into the vision they have for the

organization and help them to see that change happens but it doesn’t have to be scary or abrasive.

Change can move smoothly and if done right can make for higher morale and better patient

outcomes. This author has much to learn in the way of leadership, but with the time it can be

achieved by hearing others and responding to them in a constructive way to helps to foster

communicate and inspiration even. Sometimes the greatest ideas may come from an unlikely

source. Evidence based practice starts with an idea, and that idea leads to someone effecting a

change to see if that idea has merit. The same goes for leadership, it starts with an idea and

grows from there, if you don’t succeed at your first attempt that does not mean you quit it means

you try something else.

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References

Curtis, E. A., Vries, J. D., & Sheerin, F. K. (2011). Developing leadership in nursing: exploring

core factors. British Journal of Nursing, 20(5), 306-309. Retrieved from

www.nurse2nurse.ie/upload/na6873leadership.pdf

Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and Management for Nurses (3rd ed.). USA: Pearson.

Frandson, B. (2014). Nursing Leadership: Management and Leadership styles. American

Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination, 1-10. Retrieved from www.aanac.org

Luzinski, C. (2011). Transformational Leadership. Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(12),

501-502. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e3182378a71

Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing

Management, 20(1), 32-37. Retrieved from www.nursingmanagement.co.uk

Onwe, S. N. (2014, December 26). Transformational leadership in nursing: The case of Ebonyi

State in Nigeria. International Research Journal of Public and Environmental Health,

1(10), 202-206. https://doi.org/10.15739/irjpeh.009