The main leadership traits that a nurse should have include self-management, social awareness and social skills.
Social Awareness
A leader in a health care setting should be able to understand the situations of others. Besides, he should be able to understand the political atmosphere of his institution and use power and politics to aid action and movement towards his vision for the organization. Further, the leader should be able to meet the needs of different groups of stakeholders. The key stakeholders in a hospital organization include patients, local communities and governments.
Social Skills
A leader should be able to encourage initiatives towards the vision. He should be able to understand the future of the health care organization and create a vision that inspires (McSherry & Warr, 2010). A leader should also be able to set goals that will lead to attainment of the vision. While it is not necessary for him to set the goals physically, it is his role to make sure that the goals are set. A leader should also have good communication skills to explain his vision to others. Other social skills that are central include the ability to build others, resolve conflicts, create social networks and manage teams.
Self-Management
A leader in a health care setting should be able to control his emotions, be trustworthy, conscious and flexible. Flexibility is vital in informatics because there could be need for different leadership styles at different times.
The main leadership styles in the health care sector are transformational leadership and laissez-faire leadership.
Transformational Leadership mostly occurs when new leadership emerges. The leader tells his followers about his vision and motivates them to support change.
In laissez-faire leadership, the leader lets followers to get on with things, and does as little as possible in terms of providing leadership (Lorenzi, 2005). At times, the leader may not even know what is happening. The leader believes that their leadership responsibility depends on rank or class in the organization.
Differentiate Formal and Informal Power and Leadership
A formal leader is someone who has organizational authority and power. Examples of formal leaders are managers, executives, administrators and directors. The place that these leaders occupy defines the amount of power that they have. On the other hand, informal leaders do not have official leadership designations, although they have power to influence on others. Such leaders are able to influence due to their personal attributes, superior performance or charisma.
Describe the Significance of Political Action Awareness among Nurse Leaders
Nurse leaders should feel the political atmosphere in their institutions and use power and politics to aid action and movement towards their dream of the organization.
Nurse Leaders and Political Awareness through Professional Organizations
There are many professional associations in health care sector, which act as resources on political actions related to nursing. These organizations keep close ties with states so that they can watch political activities of governments closely. One professional organization that offers many resources for nurse leaders is the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA has over three million registered nurses and it protects the welfare of its members. The organization keeps its members updated on all political developments in the health sector.
ANA has a modern website that has information about health care policies and research in the health sector. Nurse leaders can use this website for updates on ongoing political developments.
Importance of Maintaining Political Awareness among Nurse Leaders
Nurses should embrace political awareness because this is the only way in which they can protect the nursing practice and keep a safe environment for themselves and their patients.
References
Lorenzi, N. M. (2005). Transforming health care through information. New York: Springer.
McSherry, R., & Warr, J. (2010). Implementing excellence in your health care organization: Managing, leading, and collaborating. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Open University Press.