Introduction
Leadership plays an integral role in both my private and professional life, impacting my values and approaches. I have worked as a registered nurse in a variety of settings since 1986. After decades of commitment to improving public health, I learned that I want my actions to have a bigger impact on society. At the moment, I am seeking a position that will allow me to apply my advanced knowledge and administrative, technical, and leadership abilities to improve disadvantaged communities by fostering community involvement and organizational collaboration. While I focus on improving my skills in emotional intelligence, collaboration, and continuous learning, I apply my knowledge in practice, engaging with my team and delivering quality care to patients.
Preferred Leadership Style
As a public health leader, my preferred leadership style is transformational leadership. The primary goal of transformational leadership is to demonstrate to staff members the inherent energy of this approach (Lin et al., 2020). Workers who take in this energy frequently exhibit higher levels of motivation and surpass performance goals (Lin et al., 2020).
In the end, transformational leadership can foster employees’ innovative thinking and help them implement new concepts and techniques, which, in turn, greatly influences the vitality employees bring to their work (Lin et al., 2020). I believe that transformational leadership is especially effective when addressing the complex needs of disadvantaged populations. By fostering collaboration and innovation, I aim to create a positive and supportive environment where individuals feel valued and empowered to make an impact.
Drawing on my experience, I have observed many times that transformational leadership yields positive results. For instance, during my tenure as a charge nurse at a VA Medical Center, I worked in a unit for veterans who experienced mental health issues. One time, I had to develop a strategy to improve patient outcomes and foster a recovery-oriented culture. To achieve such results, I embraced transformational leadership.
The first step that I took was to communicate to the team the importance of shifting the culture. I inspired them by highlighting that holistic care must focus not only on treating the illness but also on the recovery process. Recovery-oriented care, which emphasizes patient empowerment, optimism, and holistic healing, has become a guiding concept in mental health nursing (Kumar, 2024). The second crucial step was to conduct regular team meetings that encouraged innovation and creativity. By collaborating with team members to develop new approaches to care, I fostered a sense of ownership and accountability among them.
One instance gained particular attention and demonstrated the effects of transformational leadership. In order to address the complex mental health needs of the veterans with substance abuse issues, the team and I engaged in brainstorming to create a new group therapy program. I motivated the employees to take creative approaches to offer supportive, evidence-based activities. As a result, such an approach not only boosted workplace morale but also increased patient satisfaction.
Goals as a Public Health Leader
Moving on, my primary goal as a healthcare professional is to address health inequalities and help individuals from marginalized communities gain better access to the services they require. As a case management nurse at a psychiatric hospital, I worked with patients who had psychological conditions and saw firsthand the difficulties they had in getting high-quality care. Due to its ability to impede access to resources and medical treatment, poverty has a significant impact on patients’ experiences (Witting, 2023).
In my experience, many individuals who encountered such issues struggled to navigate the complex healthcare system and required extra support. Motivated by such situations, I aim to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including local clinics, community leaders, and social service agencies, to address these needs. My goal is to create programs that would establish outreach efforts and deliver educational services and resources to underserved populations. Consequently, by partnering with the stakeholders mentioned, I can bridge the gap between healthcare providers and disadvantaged communities.
At the same time, as a public healthcare worker, I recognize the importance of other factors that may affect community well-being, such as social determinants of health. Social determinants define the conditions that influence health, how they significantly impact it, and how people can work together toward better health (Chelak & Chakole, 2023). Long-term health effects are a consequence of certain social determinants (Chelak & Chakole, 2023).
A person with less education, for instance, might not know as much about how to use resources as someone with more education, which could limit their capacity to make the most of them (Chelak & Chakole, 2023). As a result, social determinants are important and should be improved, which is why I aim to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in this situation again. Here, my primary aim is to advocate for the needs and interests of communities that are affected by the outlined factors. By communicating and collaborating with policymakers and advocacy groups, it will be feasible to develop programs and policies to drive social and environmental change.
Improving Leadership Skills
Finally, because the healthcare field faces countless challenges, healthcare professionals need to recognize the importance of improving their leadership skills. For example, I have an extensive background in nursing, including roles as a charge nurse and a case management nurse. I additionally have a Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
At the same time, I acknowledge that a stagnant approach will not make me an effective leader who inspires others and provides quality care. A key component of lifelong learning for nurses is ongoing professional development, which is also essential for maintaining their current knowledge and skills (Mlambo et al., 2021). As a result, I now pursue a Master’s degree in public health at Chamberlain University. Such an academic endeavor allows me to stay up to date on the latest industry trends and learn essential evidence-based practices beyond the fundamentals.
Moreover, in my field, I recognize that successful leadership requires effective communication and collaboration. To provide high-quality care, effective teamwork is necessary, which requires the integration of various healthcare professionals (Paganin et al., 2023). Leaders play an important role in helping teams work together by mediating disputes and encouraging collaboration (Paganin et al., 2023). In my experience, I strive to create a supportive environment where each team member can engage in the decision-making process. I value others’ input, which is why I believe collective wisdom and teamwork can lead to better health outcomes for patients.
Meanwhile, I do not forget about emotional intelligence and its leadership role. Self-awareness, self-management, interpersonal abilities, and resilience are the main components of emotional intelligence (Cavaness et al., 2020). Their ability to modify leadership approaches enables them to enhance the leader’s ability to handle conflicts, persuade others, implement change, and foster acceptance (Cavaness et al., 2020). By understanding my own emotions as well as the feelings and perspectives of others, I try to be a better leader who can inspire others. To identify my strengths and weaknesses, I constantly seek feedback from my mentors.
Conclusion
In summary, as I focus on enhancing my emotional intelligence, teamwork, and lifelong learning, I put my knowledge into practice by collaborating with my colleagues and providing patients with high-quality care. My favorite leadership style as a public health professional is transformative leadership. The objective is to establish a constructive, encouraging atmosphere that fosters teamwork and creativity, enabling people to feel appreciated and capable of making an impact.
My primary aim is to fight for the needs and interests of communities affected by internal and external factors. Programs and policies to achieve social and environmental improvements can be developed by engaging with advocacy organizations and legislators. To address the issues and navigate the industry’s complexities, I understand how important it is to develop my leadership abilities.
References
Cavaness, K., Picchioni, A., & Fleshman, J. W. (2020). Linking emotional intelligence to successful health care leadership: The Big Five model of personality. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, 33(4), 195–203.
Chelak, K., & Chakole, S. (2023). The role of social determinants of health in promoting health equality: A narrative review. Cureus, 15(1).
Kumar, S. (2024). Beyond healing: Pioneering recovery-oriented care in mental health nursing. International Journal of Nursing Research, 5(1), 198-203.
Lin, C. P., Xian, J., Li, B., & Huang, H. (2020). Transformational leadership and employees’ thriving at work: The mediating roles of challenge-hindrance stressors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
Mlambo, M., SilĂ©n, C., & McGrath, C. (2021). Lifelong learning and nurses’ continuing professional development, a metasynthesis of the literature. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 62.
Paganin, G., De Angelis, M., Pische, E., Violante, F. S., Guglielmi, D., & Pietrantoni, L. (2023). The impact of mental health leadership on teamwork in healthcare organizations: A serial mediation study. Sustainability, 15(9).
Witting, L. (2023). Limited access: Poverty and barriers to accessible health care. National Health Council.
