Reflective Journal Due April 26th

Identify as an entry in your Blog (“Reflective Journal”), examples of Nursing Role Activities for each of the following twelve (12) Characteristics of Leaders.  An example is given for number 1.

1.       Leadership requires personal mastery – Nurses demonstrate leadership when they show competence and mastery in the tasks they perform. Nurses are deemed competent by means of a license to practice nursing (NLN 2010).

2.       Leadership is about values –

• "The truth is, you will have more influence by listening by listening to people than you will by telling them what to do." -LDSYOUTHLEADERSHIP.COM
• "When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier." 
• "The CEO is not in charge of the company. The values are. If, at the end of our careers, we have not passed along positive values, we have abdicated our leadership role." -Dave Logan, Ph.D
• "True leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders."

3.       Leadership is about service –

• "Leadership is about being of service to others, not being served by others. Be a mentor, not a boss." -Patrick-the-Educaiter
• "True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others."
• "Leadership is service, not position." -Tim Fargo

4.       Leadership is about people and relationships –

• "People before tasks even if you are an engineer, rocket scientist, uber nerd. Get this right and the rest will happen in the right order."-Amy Hedin, CEO, HumanPoint
• "A big part of leadership is recognizing that your fruit often grows on other people's' trees."-Todd Adkins
• "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't want to go but ought to be."-Rosalynn Carter
• "You don't build a business. You build people and then people build the business."

5.       Leadership is contextual –

• Intelligence is defined by Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria as the ability to understand an evolving environment, and to capitalize on those evolving trends...contextual leadership is an intuitive diagnostic skill that helps a leader to align resources with objectives. The leader understands the distribution of different power resources and moves with, rather than against, the flow of events to implement a strategy." http://www.business-leadership-qualities.com/contextual-leadership.html

6.       Leadership is about the management of meaning –

http://images.slideplayer.com/34/10276075/slides/slide_7.jpg

7.       Leadership is about balance – In the movie Ender's Game, "Ender has two older siblings. His brother was not accepted for battle school because he was too violent. His sister was rejected for being too compassionate. Ender has a compassionate nature. He says he triumphs by understanding his enemy, actually being able to love him, and that gives him the ability to win over him." http://www.stevenhwilson.com/leadership-lessons-in-enders-game/

This reminds me that as nurses we sometimes have to do things that patients don't enjoy, such as giving children vaccinations or having post-op total knee replacement get up with physical therapy. We need to have compassion and empathy, but we also need to encourage our patients to do difficult things that cause pain. 

Another aspect I learned from Ender's Game is that leaders are often alone. They need to learn how to be independent and make decisions for their team, however, they also need to rely upon their team. 

8.       Leadership is about continuous learning and improvement –
A meta-analysis study article named Leadership Training Design, Delivery, and Implementation, states the significance of continuing education and finding the most efficient way to deliver education, retain it and apply it to the workforce. Changes and improvements are always in motion so continual learning and training are important. 

9.       Leadership is about effective decision making –
Ender Wiggin showed the importance of this. He was very careful and strategic in his decisions. Examples are how he handled his bullies. Back at school he was cornered by a bully and his friends. Ender defended himself. Once the bully was down, Ender kept kicking him when he was down, not out of hatred, but as a strategy to stop all future attacks. It proved effective.

10.   Leadership is a political process –

"Leadership as a Political Process. There is a common implication, in scholarly as well as popular literature, that although the leadership process may sometimes be political in nature the best leadership is somehow above politics." https://voegelinview.com/leadership-political-process/

11.   Leadership is about modeling –One leader, Joanne Kossuth, states the following: 
Overall, what does a "leaderful" education encompass? It includes conflict resolution, team building, delegation skills, listening, facilitating, coaching, and goal setting. In addition, during the course of my career, I have developed a "Top 10" list of tips to remind myself that what I do is as important as what I say and that role-modeling "leaderfulness" is critical:

1. Really listen.
2. Encourage and empower your team members and others to give you feedback.
3. Understand the implications of body language.
4. Play nice in the sandbox.
5. Remember that you're only as successful as your team and your organization.
6. Try new things.
7. Be present and aware.
8. Embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.
9. Actively practice persuasion and influence.
10. Don't forget about your own professional developmentneeds.https://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/4/modeling-leadership

12.   Leadership is about integrity -

"Leadership and integrity. Integrity is one of the top attributes of a great leader. It is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes. It connotes a deep commitment to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the circumstances."
https://leadonpurposeblog.com/2012/01/21/leadership-and-integrity/