Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

Introduction

In the sphere of nursing, nurse practitioners, supervisors, and managers are expected to demonstrate developed leadership qualities to complete their tasks, cooperate with colleagues and patients, and promote health care goals effectively. To understand what qualities are associated with good nurse leaders, it is important to focus on studying nursing leadership competencies (Wong & Laschinger, 2013). However, a better understanding of these competencies is possible concerning analyzing a role model: a nurse leader who has achieved certain results in developing leadership qualities and realizing this potential in practice. For this assignment, N. G. is selected as a nurse leader who has influenced my personal and professional development as a family nurse practitioner. The purpose of this paper is to describe characteristics typical of the selected nurse leader, identify a leadership domain, present a definition of leadership, discuss a leadership model, describe leadership in the context of cultural diversity, focus on approaches to handling controversies, discuss collaboration techniques, and provide the self-reflection on the presented aspects.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

The Leader’s Qualities and Characteristics

N. G. is selected as a nurse leader to be described in this paper because she works as a supervisor for a group of family nurse practitioners in the context of a preceptorship program, and she can educate, support, and motivate novice nurses. To be regarded as a leader, a nurse should demonstrate qualities and characteristics related to the following areas: mentoring, innovation, and activism (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, & O’Grady, 2014). When nurse leaders perform as mentors, they focus on coaching, sharing the vision, supporting, and empowering others. The focus on innovation means that nurse leaders demonstrate the preparedness to implement and promote the change, they have developed skills in critical thinking and evaluation, and they assess and take risks, as well as demonstrate flexibility. Thus, leaders are expected to be oriented to future progress, development, and positive changes that can improve current situations (Hamric et al., 2014; Wong & Laschinger, 2013). Activism is demonstrated by leaders through their knowledge of factors that contribute to implementing the change, their involvement in social activities and promotion of policies, and their interactions with colleagues and patients.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

While taking the discussed attributes and characteristics into account, it is possible to describe leadership qualities related to N. G. and her activities. In her work and cooperation with novice nurses, N. G. pays much attention to coaching and guiding nurses. She performs as a role model for novices and stimulates them to develop skills and competencies to become professionals and leaders in the future. As a result, novice nurses’ self-esteem and confidence increase, as well as their level of adaptability (Saeed, Almas, Anis-ul-Haq, & Niazi, 2014). In this context, the discussed qualities and characteristics are similar to those related to mentoring and associated leader attributes.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

Furthermore, N. G. can be viewed as a leader focused on promoting innovation. In her practice, this nurse leader assesses applied programs, plans, and methods of working with other nurses and patients and develops new projects to implement in her organization. For instance, N. G. is one of the nurse leaders who participated in the development and implementation of a new preceptorship program that is currently used in the organization. Thus, these qualities are correlated with the competency of innovation discussed by Hamric et al. (2014). Also, N. G. is good at advocacy for nurses, promoting social justice, and protecting nurses’ and patients’ interests. As a result, this quality of N. G. is correlated with such leader competency as activism.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

The Leadership Domain

It is possible to identify four domains related to nursing leadership: clinical leadership, professional leadership, systems leadership, and health policy leadership (Hamric et al., 2014). While analyzing leadership qualities and characteristics of N. G., it is important to note that this nurse leader works in the domain of professional leadership. Thus, N. G. is responsible for mentoring several novice nurses and leading several teams to train and educate nurses to achieve higher professional results. N. G. demonstrates an ability to motivate and empower other nurses to organize their work effectively, obtain knowledge, and develop skills. A nurse leader who operates in the field of professional leadership should be oriented to mentees’ needs and be able to help them overcome professional challenges while developing their competencies (Hamric et al., 2014; Wong & Laschinger, 2013). Furthermore, the focus should be on promoting the continuous education and training.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

The Leadership Definition

Two basic leadership definitions are related to transformational and situational leadership. While analyzing approaches to leading nurses that are used by N. G., it is possible to state that she follows principles of transformational leadership in contrast to situational leadership oriented to addressing and resolving different immediate situations or problems that depend on the context and circumstances (Hamric et al., 2014). Thus, N. G. seems to apply the standards of transformational leadership. In nursing, transformational leadership can be defined as a type of leadership that “can lead to changes in values, attitudes, perceptions, and/or behaviors on the part of the leader and the follower and lays the groundwork for further positive change” (Hamric et al., 2014, p. 272). From this perspective, transformational leaders are expected to not only lead and support followers but also motivate, empower, and inspire them while demonstrating higher targets to achieve.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

N. G. performs as a transformational leader because, in her work with novice nurses, she is aimed at explaining the principles of nursing from the point of not only health care but also ethics. She tries to share the vision and motivates nurses to realize their potential and develop their skills to become professionals who serve patients’ needs (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013). Nursing is a challenging field, and much attention should be paid to assisting and stimulating novices when they make the first steps in this profession (Wong & Laschinger, 2013). At this stage, the creation of a positive team, motivation, education, and empowerment are important to train novice nurses as not only professionals but also change agents.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

The Leadership Model

Researchers identify several leadership models that can be related to the field of nursing: the models oriented to transformation and the models that address changes in systems and orient to innovation (Hamric et al., 2014). It is possible to state that the specific leadership model followed by N. G. is related to the category of models that lead to transformation. Thus, in her practice, N. G. realizes the principles of the Fifth Discipline model developed by Peter Senge (Hamric et al., 2014). According to this model, to become a good leader, a person “must practice and commit to lifelong learning” (Hamric et al., 2014, p. 273). The model is based on developing an individual’s skills regarding the following disciplines or areas: the personal mastery, the awareness of mental models, team learning, the shared vision, and systems thinking (Hamric et al., 2014; Slatyer, Coventry, Twigg, & Davis, 2016). While applying this model, N. G. helps novice nurses set personal goals for developing their leadership skills, builds successful or strong teams, and helps nurses learn through collaborations.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay

Furthermore, N. G. can be described as being aware of mental models that influence her thinking, and she assists nurses in developing their skills in critical thinking, reasoning, and evaluation. These activities are also connected with the development of systems thinking that is important for viewing large pictures and resolving complex problems (Hamric et al., 2014; Slatyer et al., 2016). As a result, novice nurses become not only motivated but also trained regarding thinking over different types of situations and problems. This approach helps develop nurses as professional workers, critical thinkers, and proactive inspired performers.Nursing Leadership and Cultural Diversity Essay