Leadership Qualities and the Graduate Nurse
Angela Quilty
South University
Leadership Qualities and the Graduate
Quiz Results and Impact on Current Beliefs
Based on the quiz results, I was not surprised to learn that my leadership style is participative. I believe a good leader surrounds themselves with strong team members capable of making decisions independently and confident enough to collaborate with other team members as needed for meeting the needs of the patient. Although my quiz results displayed that I have traits indicative of a participative leader I know that strong leaders are required to utilize other leadership traits when the situation arises. In my paper I will discuss the attributes needed for graduate nurses, my leadership attributes that will help me and what I need to develop. I will conclude with a quote I feel can be an inspiration to leadership.
Attributes of Leadership
Leadership is often described as the art and science of influencing a group toward the achievement of goals (McArthur, 2006, p. 8). As leaders, graduate nurses need to develop certain qualities that will make them a valuable team member. Some of these are integrity, vision, courage and communication. Practicing with integrity requires a nurse to know and trust themselves and know others in order to give capable care. In 2001, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics stated that “nurses have a duty to remain consistent with both their personal and professional values and to accept compromise only to the degree that it remains an integrity-preserving compromise” (American Association of Nurses, 2001).
Having a clear vision can mean a lot of things to different leaders. Understanding your organizations mission statement is very important to defining how you are going to lead. After a leader identifies and understands the mission statement it is important that they set an example for others...