My Leadership Class

The Best Qualities in the Nursing Profession

My leadership class was very productive for me, because I have learned many important things about good leaders. First of all, I learned that a good leader should possess such qualities as honesty, trustworthy, perfect communication skills, and others. Nurses are considered to be ones of the most honest people in the United States. I am sure that most people have some stereotypes upon nurses. As in any other profession, there could be both honest and unfair people. However, the profession of nurses is a respectable one. That is why most people consider that the largest amount of nurses are honest. Those who dedicate their lives to sick people are supposed to be somehow special. Honesty is a unique quality that could be seldom observed in the everyday reality. People often lie to each other without any hesitation. A nursing profession requires individuals with high moral standards. Amadeo (2008) concluded that sometimes in the field of health care, honesty can be substituted by untruth. When a patient is desperately ill and his/her close ones do not want him/her to know the truth, nurses should be rather flexible. 

Most patients trust nurses, because they are the first whom they communicate with in the hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. People who need professional health care assistance trust nurses who are always ready to help them. Trust and honesty are interrelated: when there is no honesty, there would be no trust. It goes like this not only in the health care establishments, but also in everyday life. Communication skills are of paramount importance in the nursing profession. People with serious diseases or disabilities are often rude and inpatient. Some of them do not want to take the medicines and even to live. Nurses can manage the temper of such patients and make them rethink their attitude to life. Good nurses should be good communicators, sometimes even negotiators. A good nurse is not only the person who knows their professional responsibilities, but also can communicate with their co-workers, subordinates, patients, and other stakeholders.

Leadership Styles

I have learned a lot about leadership styles. People who direct others can stick to autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles. Autocratic or authoritarian leaders are very strict. They prefer to keep everything under control and do not tend to develop friendly relationships with their subordinates. They act like they are a key in the organization. Autocratic leaders consider that they should know everything about the staff and control their actions (Glazer & Fitzpatrick, 2013). As a rule, they do not ask an advice from their co-workers. They know exactly what they want. Their close supervision often irritates people who do not feel free under the autocratic leadership. Autocratic leaders are focused on the work process and do not take care of the followers. Though considered to be old-fashioned, this leadership style still exists in some organizations.

A democratic leader tries to share his/her leadership role with the followers. He/she encourages people to share ideas and take part in the decision-making process. Democratic leaders are not as strict as autocratic ones. Thus, they need some additional supervision from the top. Democratic leaders are good communicators; they are honest, intelligent, competent, imaginative, forward-looking, courageous, and fair-minded. A democratic leadership style encourages people to work as a team where they can share ideas and take part in decision-making. Such leaders are able to show equal treatment to everybody. Democratic leaders know how to manage a group of people of different backgrounds that is rather important in a diverse working environment. I think that democratic leaders are more productive and trustworthy than other leaders.

Laissez-faire leaders allow subordinates to make decisions and give them freedom. They are not deeply involved into the working process. As a rule, organizations that have highly skilled, professional, competent, and experienced workers can afford to have laissez-faire leaders. This leadership style cannot be accepted in the organizations where people do not feel protected and secure under this leadership style.

The Joint Commission Leadership Standards

These standards empower leaders to care about people and create an effective atmosphere in the organization. They are encouraged to provide involvement and consideration about everything what is happening at workplace. These standards require pursuing the policy that is efficient to all subordinates and their well-being. Leaders should inform the subordinates about the organizational initiatives and goals. According to these standards, leaders in the health care settings should be able to solve problems that may occur in a diverse working environment. Leaders should create a code of conduct policy and encourage people to work as a team that is reaching the common goal.

Class Culture

Students who participated in class came from different cultures and backgrounds. All of them had different job positions. Some of them were working as nurse supervisors, others – as case managers or stuff nurses. They worked in different health care establishment, such as hospitals, home care, nursing homes, and other places. Everybody had their experience and personal skills that influenced my perception of people. In class, we shared ideas, searched for problem solution, and developed plans for the future. Collaboration with diverse students was rather useful for my future expectations, work development, and career growth.

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