Week 8 Portfolio: Empowerment Empowerment, a multidimensional concept, is cultivated through our experience, knowledge, core values, and beliefs. Empowerment involves the ability to influence and facilitate change in our environment (Grossman & Valiga, 2009). Historically, nurses have struggled with the lack of support in the health care community for empowerment and recognition as leaders. The purpose of this assignment is to establish the degree my organization empowers and supports leadership in their nurses based on results concluded from a leadership environment assessment survey. Empowering Nurses in my Organization Scoring 10 yes and 8 no responses on the Leadership Environment Assessment Survey by Grossman and Valiga (2009) reveals my organization, on a scale of 2 to 3, is slightly to moderately empowering to nurses. Grossman and Valiga (2009) define these results as an organization supporting, encouraging, and expecting leadership among its employees; however, the organization’s priorities do not include leadership development. While these results do not surprise me, anticipating competent leaders without the educational component promoting quality leadership abilities is discouraging. Cultivating an environment conducive to providing exceptional patient care requires competent, informed leaders involved in the decision-making processes within the institution (Grossman &Valiga, 2009). No Responses That Should Become Yes Responses One identified no response implicates a gap in communication within the organization. According to Barnsteiner (2012), open communication promotes collaboration, two essential elements of teamwork in a healthy workplace environment; encouraging conflict resolution and 17 progression of shared visions and goals. Encouraging communication amongst leaders and followers provides members a feeling of self-worth and importance resulting in increased job satisfaction (Barnsteiner, 2012). The next identified no response involved insufficient educational and training among the organization's nurse leaders. Manojlovich (2007) denotes that knowledge is the foundation on which leadership commences and cultivates leaders. Nurses acquire successful leadership abilities through experience and knowledge (Grossman &Valiga, 2009). Unsurpassed leadership ability contributes to both employee and patient satisfaction. Empowerment to Change the Noted No Responses to Yes Responses Accounting for the future is contingent on the ability of the organization to empower nurse leaders by opening up the channels of communication and providing knowledge to attain leadership status and allowing/encouraging a say in operations of the organization. Aligning with professional nursing organizations provides forums by which nurses empower each other and reinforce leadership abilities through networking, exchanging ideas, sharing information, resolving issues, and advocating toward a common goal (Grossman & Valiga, 2009). Attaining certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC, 2012) validates nursing excellence and competency while facilitating professional growth. The opportunity to serve on a committee provides a better understanding of the inner workings of the organization thus empowering nurses. The committee acts as a media for communicating goals, propagating ideas, and collaborating efforts ensuring an environment of excellence. 18 Summary The future of nursing depends on confident nurse leaders influencing health care institutions to create environments empowering nurses to demonstrate autonomy over their practice. Understanding barriers within organizations discouraging empowerment among nurse leaders provides a basis for developing a professional plan to facilitate change. In summary, empowerment requires skilled communication techniques between leaders and followers and the tools necessary for the professional growth and competence for leadership.
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