Leaders in healthcare need to capitalize on the diversity of the profession so as to effectively deploy available resources to meet patient needs, enhance quality and promote safety. However, healthcare leaders can only attain these goals when they are effective leaders. Being an effective leader in health care implies that one is self-aware about their strengths and weaknesses. In his article, Gavin (2019) observes that building self-awareness and understanding one’s tendencies and drivers of motivation allows a leader to unlock their potential and the team’s capabilities to attain set goals. Self-assessment allows leaders to enhance their self-awareness and understand both their strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this paper is to identify personal leadership styles, theories, and skills that can impact patient outcomes (positively or negatively) by conducting a self-assessment, applying concepts learned and Quality Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) principle.
The IOM report has significant influence on nursing education and leadership. Firstly, as equal partners, nurses are leaders and have increased power to advocate change and revise restrictive barriers to practice. Nurses are recognized as primary care providers in certain states and can lead in care provision among inter-professional and multidisciplinary teams (Shelton et al., 2020). The IOM report has improved nurses access to better and advanced education as it recommended an increase in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) prepared-nurses to respond to the changing nature of healthcare provision. Through the recommendation and evidence-based practice (EBP) findings, many facilities introduced tuition reimbursement, instituted continuing education plans and promotions to incentivize nurses to attain higher educational qualifications.
Self-Assessment to Identify Strengths and Weaknesses of Personal Leadership Skills
Self-assessment of a leader is essential, especially in healthcare, where nurse leaders deal and interact with different stakeholders and players. Leaders can assess their strengths and areas that need improvement using a host of tools or techniques like reflective journaling technique to 360-degree feedback surveys and tests like Myer-Briggs and emotional intelligence assessment (Gavin, 2019). Leaders should have emotional intelligence to understand their subordinates in their areas of expertise and use effective leadership theories to fulfill their roles. Tools like leadership blind-spot assessment survey are ideal for leaders that seek to not just understand themselves but also their influence on those around them.
Effective leaders have five qualities that include cognitive abilities, competence, stability, motivation and emotional intelligence. Based on the self-assessment test by Galford Maruca survey tool, my leadership strengths include being an advocate, a people’s mover implying that I am concerned about my subordinates and can spot their talent, help them build their careers, motivate them and being a parent and nurturer. As a truth seeker, my strengths include being fair, possessing good judgment, focusing on people and seeking neutrality and being objective. As a creative builder, I am visionary and provide guidance since I possess experience, information and expertise (Galford & Maruca, n.d). The implication is that as leaders in health care should possess attributes that endure them to subordinates and allow them to offer inspiration, especially in health care for better patient care delivery and quality outcomes.
Conversely, areas that need improvement include being effective in communicating, enhancing personal attributes like interpersonal interactions, and improving collaboration as healthcare sector requires different professionals working together in multidisciplinary and inter-professional collaboration n teams. Self-awareness, situational awareness and effective negotiation skills and cultural competence are essential attributes of effective healthcare leaders. Therefore, as a leader, I should improve by intercultural sensitivity skills to enhance care provision.
Leadership Theory
Effective leaders have characteristics and attributes that align with certain theoretical perspectives. For instance, competent leaders are hardworking and serve as role models for their subordinates. They also inspire their team and focus on achieving set objectives (Alilyyani et al., 2018). Therefore, the leadership theories that align with my personal leadership assessment are relationship theories and behavioral leadership theory. According to relationship theory of leadership, effective leaders are transformational and motivate and inspire their subordinates to enhance productivity and achieve their goals. The personal leadership assessment demonstrates that relationship-focus
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