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discussion 1
Developing a leadership style is a complex process that has many factors. While is it clear that a stable approach and be built overtime, it is important to acknowledge the pieces that make up the entire puzzle. Things like personality traits, personal characteristics, comfortability of communication, and many other add to how a leader can develop their personal leadership styles. (Unknown. 2023). After reviewing my Gallup Signature theme report, I was not surprised by my results. Infact, I was impressed that I felt the results were very accurate, and I was excited to learn more about how I could align it with my leadership style. Understanding the best way that we communicate and lead is essential if you have hopes of being a nurse leader.
Connectedness was the first theme on my list. I am known to be able to both create and foster relationships with my patients. I enjoy finding a common ground, so to speak, of something we have in common and build on that to create a trusting rapport. When looking at this trait, it can be a key value that I pull on to encourage successful relationships with coworkers and employees. Especially in a high stress situation, it is important for people to feel heard, understood, and listened to. Using my connectedness, I am able to draw a trust in a relationship that even if the outcome of a scenario is not what someone may have wanted, at least they know that I fought to find a solution that would make them feel heard and understood.
Another strength in my report is the WOO, which stands for winning over others. This strength can also be essential when building a leadership style. When looking at this strength compared to the one above, it doesn’t seem to have much difference. From the reading I have done, I believe that is it more on the application side of using said attributes to foster relationships and encourage others to feel comfortable opening up and sharing. It seems that those who possess the WOO strength have a tendency to putting people at ease, creating relationships that can act as a catalyst for a career or sale, building strong networks and interacting successfully with a wide range of personalities.
While these strengths are beneficial, it is also important to be mindful of the potential negatives as well. It is easy to become too open with people, leaving boundaries with blurred lines that can lead to enormous issues down the line. Ensuring the principal of secure boundaries is very important. Another side of this that can lead to an individual needing to work on their leadership theory would be that the big heart feels too much. What I mean by this is that you can not save everyone or fix every problem. Being able to separate work from home can be difficult when possessing the above qualities. It comes back to boundaries, and ensuring you continuously remind yourself what is healthy versus what is not.
Discussion 2
Recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial for nurses to enhance their performance and have a strong professional foundation in their practice. Nurses acquire leadership qualities by their innate talents, extensive knowledge, demonstrated competence, and exceptional abilities, in addition to possessing a clear vision. Self-awareness provides individuals with the will to advance by acknowledging their areas of weakness and enhancing their skills to become a proficient leader in their field of expertise (O’Driscoll et al., 2018). The Gallup StrengthsFinder enables individuals to gain insight into their fundamental principles by identifying and exploring various themes that they exhibit. The recent StrengthsFinder testing has identified five themes that may describe my leadership skills as a leader. The examination reveals five prominent themes: responsibilities, focus, restorative, belief, and learner (Rath, 2007). These findings are not surprising to me since they accurately depict my characteristics. I am consistently motivated by the desire to resolve problems in every circumstance and identify places where we can find a shared approach, particularly in the provision of treatment. Patients rely on nurses to get a more profound understanding of their diseases and achieve improved results (Thomas, 2022). I respect novel surroundings and embrace encounters that may enhance both my professional and social life.
The two core values that I would like to strengthen in this process of developing a leadership philosophy include the ability to formulate a compelling vision and the skill to effectively persuade peers to act accordingly. These two areas are crucial for me to develop into a transformational leader that I wish to be. I aim to acquire self-assurance and charisma, which will enable me to influence the behavior, attitudes, views, and choices of others. To successfully do this task, one must possess a comprehensive grasp of organizational intelligence, adeptness in self and team promotion, proficiency in trust building abilities, and the capability to establish, use, and enhance effective networks (Collins, Owen, Digan, & Dunn, 2020).
According to Marshall and Broome (2017), as nurses progress through their careers and seek leadership roles, they must reflect upon their skills, weaknesses, and strengths. When leaders identify these characteristics, they can work toward becoming a leader everyone values. My two strengths include having resilience and consistency and being disciplined in what I undertake in my nursing practice. Being a disciplined nurse practitioner allows one to address patient situations in an orderly manner. Discipline allows one to thrive in workplace environments that entail strict deadlines and planning ahead of emergency situations (Allan et al., 2019). Resilience and consistency are essential for nurses as they demonstrate one’s commitment to their roles, responsibilities and the motivation to attain set goals and vision.
Two characteristics I would like to improve upon are developing resolution skills and situational awareness. While I am aware of what is going on around me, I do not focus on other units, management, or administration. I believe this is detrimental to myself at times because I don’t see the whole picture. Also, I can improve on conflict resolution and further develop these skills. I am not a person who likes conflict and I try to avoid it. This is not realistic while in leadership positions. My leadership skills would be improved if I improved upon these skills.