Nursing is one of the most important and rewarding career paths out there. It’s also an evergreen career that is expected to see a lot of growth in the coming years, which means it’s going to be the most promising career by 2025. Despite progress on its demand, the challenges remain. More nurse leaders are needed for nurses who are pursuing their career; to guide them on their career path and educate them on certain crucial skills in the healthcare industry.
Effective leaders are needed and a crucial part of any team. They guide others on their career choices by providing encouragement and support. They also play an important role in an organization by developing a sense of unity among other staff, and they empower others to achieve their personal and organizational goals.
So, do you think you have the best leadership skills to become a successful nurse leader? Here are some of the best characteristics of leadership skills!
Table of Contents
Communication
Communication is the most effective way to express yourself in the most effective way to make an effect on the listeners. It is one of the most transformative skills a nurse should have and develop more to unity staff, inform complex news, and encourage others. Good communication skills allow a nurse to build quality connections among their patients and their loved ones. It’s a critical factor for maintaining quality patient care, as well as improving their recovery rates and patient satisfaction.
It’s not just all, communicating with other nurses, healthcare staff, and maintaining a sense of unity among them is all part of being a nurse leader. Being a nurse leader, you must be more open and honest in situations where you should make critical decision-making aspects. As a nurse leader, your best skills to manage and unite all the tasks and staff represent your organization.
Coordination
Coordination is really a skill set. Especially when you’re on top of an organization coordinating all the complex and minor tasks to the right staff. It can involve assigning certain tasks to skilled nurses, before assigning some tasks to someone, you should have a ground knowledge of their skillset to understand whether they can complete this task in a fast and effective way. That’s not all, organizing roles and duties of each staff member, directing and supervising others to know whether they have completed a certain task or not, shifting tasks between nurses, and all. Building and maintaining a coordination mindset between the staff is a good trait of a successful nurse leader.
Problem – solving skills
Nurse leaders should develop their problem-solving skills. You might already know time is valuable and your quick decision-making skills will impact a person’s critical healthcare policies. Especially in the field of emergency healthcare departments where patients require immediate action. They are able to define a problem that must be addressed even before they take place. Based on their findings, they have to propose proper solutions and effectively implement them in action. They are able to do this due to their extensive knowledge and years of experience in the nursing field.
These days, nurses can advance their education by enrolling in an RN-BSN program or any other relevant higher education choices. With an emphasis on nursing leadership in healthcare systems, advanced degree options further equip a nurse to develop problem-solving skills and leadership competencies in nursing.
Quality service
Nurse leaders know the value of quality services in the healthcare industry and make it the focus of their practice. They place the needs and comfortness of their patients as top of their priority and encourage others in their organization to provide the same quality care plans. They take an important part in developing an organization’s culture. An organization’s culture is developed by its quality of care, successful patient care plans, and by core values. Nurse leaders can develop and improve an organizational culture of service by treating their patients and their families with great care and respect.
This can lead to more successful interaction between healthcare workers and patients and their families. This will set a good example for other staff also. Time being, all these quality skill sets will get you widely recognized in your field and ultimately you will set a live role model for others on how to be a good nurse leader.
Social awareness
Are we avoiding social awareness as a skill set here? No. Be socially aware of what’s going on here in your industry and in the world. Being socially aware can be complex during your heavy shifts and duty times. But it involves caring about what others are going through, understanding other organizations and healthcare worker’s needs, and responding to those needs. It also involves understanding social media platforms and how nurses can best utilize them. It further helps you to understand the network and norms within people, groups, and cultures.
You can be a part of these online groups and cultures. They might be located within your facility, region, or throughout the world. But reaching out and getting information and building connections with other professionals in your field is a great advantage. Listen to what they have to say about something informational and respond in a way that isn’t judgmental.
Be aware
Nurse leaders must live within your team. As an authoritative person, you should know who’s struggling and who’s excelling. When a staff member fails in their duties and quality of healthcare plans, like a good nurse leader you should be the one to take notice, look into the cause, and take relevant steps to bring back on their tracks. Sometimes it could be something from their personal life – for example, they might be down because they had an argument between their better half or a death in their family, and might need some time to cope up with their personal issues.
Or it might be they are displeased with their work schedule and would like it to be rescheduled or revised as per their comfort. Whatever might be their reason, as a supportive nurse leader, help them to get back on their feet.
Being an extraordinary nurse leader and setting an example for others is no easy task. Sometimes it might get physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding and exhausting. Being a strong nurse leader uses your years of experience, education, and life lessons to create a positive and efficient hospital environment.
