NR 506 Week 3: Effective Coalition Leadership

There are many necessary elements for effective leadership within a coalition. To be effective, coalitions require multiple things from leadership including effective communication, conflict resolution, perception of fairness and shared decision –making (SAMHSA, 2017). Shared leadership is also an important element. Leaders within the group need to have a defined role and also needs a group of people that are actively participating. Shared leadership is a way for the coalition to tackle the most challenging tasks as a group. It is the job of the leaders to create a positive work environment for each employee as well, which can be a difficult thing to do.

Knowledge development and skill building are other necessary elements for any leader as well. The nursing profession is constantly changing and as younger nurses come in, the leaders need to continue to develop knowledge not only about the nursing practices, but also about the management side of things. Skill building is an element that needs to occur in order for the team to work effectively and efficiently (MacDonald & Shriberg, 2016).

Effective leadership affects many areas of both my personal and professional life. Managers in our facility are required to go to a leadership development seminar 4 times every year. This keeps the leaders up to date on not only the new practices in the nursing profession, but also new leadership strategies. Our department has had some difficulty in the past taking accountability for their actions, which our leader was in tuned to and has worked with our department very closely in order to correct this. For staff members, this is great in multiple ways. We trust our manager as a leader and know she has the ability to coach us to be better. We also see that she might not be working with us every single day, but can recognize when something is not working well in the department. Having effective leadership is so important in every coalition, especially in the nursing profession.

References:

MacDonald, L., Shriberg, M. (2016). Sustainability leadership programs in higher education: alumni outcomes and impacts. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 6(2), 360-370.

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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHAS), (2017). Components of an effective coalition. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/capt/tools-learning-resources/components-effective-coalition

I believe that the leadership skills between a coalition and a nursing manager in an acute care setting have no difference between the two. Both demand a leader that will help mold his or her team into a cohesive unit. This is only done when the leader has those necessary skills to do so. “Effective leaders inspire loyalty and goodwill in others because they themselves act with integrity and trust.” (Ulrich, 2018) In, this website article Ulrich goes on to say that there are 5 rules to leadership: the ability to shape the future, make things happen, engage today’s talent, build the next generation and lastly investing in oneself.

A good leader can see what everyone’s personality and characteristics is like within the unit or coalition to now move the members toward a specific goal together. A leader builds everyone including his or herself up. A leader happily hears the opinions of those around him before taking matters into their hands. A leader delegates tasks that each member of the team or coalition can handle and/or what can push both forward by stretching boundaries. If any individual can cultivate these rules and skills, then leadership isn’t too far from their grasp. They would just need to reach for the stars. Once he or she does then the rest is sure to follow.

Reference

Ulrich, D. (2018). What Is an Effective Leader? Retrieved from http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/what-is-an-effective-leader.aspx

I think that leadership skills needed for a coalition would also be good skills for a nurse manager in acute care. Being on the nursing floor can be a tough job a lot of times. Leadership skills for a coalition like inspirational and organizational would be very important to keep you staff motivated, especially in times that are very busy or tough, but being able to show your staff how to manage time and ask for assistance and what is needed for the unit is important as well. In the article by Wendl & Cramer, 2018, they discuss good leadership skills of a coalition as having clear goals, making sure the path is clear to reach these goals, and being able to have an environment of being able to foster learning for those in the coalition. These are all good leadership skills that should be being utilized by a nurse manager. There can be an overall goal for the unit, and then individual ones for employees that work to help meet the overall goal. When things are not clear or are always changing like in healthcare you need a strong leader to rely on, many times in nursing this does not happen causing a lot of problems within the unit. These same things can happened in a coalition causing it to dissolve. Leadership skills are transcendent with most top positions and what is needed.

Reference:

Wendl, M. J., & Cramer, M. E. (2018). Evaluating Effective Leadership and Governance in a Midwestern Agricultural Safety and Health Coalition. Workplace Health & Safety, 66(2), 84-94. Doi:101177/2165079917729172

You have made some excellent points about what takes to become an effective leader. During my undergraduate nursing studies, all of my professors would say that “nurses have made a professional commitment to learning.” They would also say that “nurses in leadership positions should become experts in relationship-building and accountability.” Effective leadership in coalitions includes these three aspects, just as effective nurse leaders should hone and build on these skills to lead their teams and organizations to successful outcomes. In my area of nursing (LTC), I see that nursing competency does not always prepare a person to become a leader. I have been employed at medical facilities in which the Director of Nursing is well-skilled in nursing techniques and procedures, but less than apt at supervising nursing staff. I have also been supervised by LTC charge nurses who did awesome jobs of assessing patients and making sure the appropriate care had been given, but who were intimidated by staff nurses. I stated in my post that leadership is a skill or ability that must be taught. You allude to skill building in your post, as well. A featured blog post on the Nurse.com site by Williamson (2017) says that there is a difference between a nurse manager and a nurse leader. I think the author’s explanation makes good sense. Do you believe there is a difference between the two, they complement each other, or they are one in the same?

Thank you

Reference:

Williamson, E. (2017, May 23). Nurse manager vs. nurse leader: What’s the difference?. Retrieved from https://www.nurse.com/blog/2017/05/23/nurse-manager-vs-nurse-leader-whats-the-difference/