Characteristics of Leaders

1.  Leadership requires personal mastery- Peter M. Senge, a senior lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management said this, "People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode.  They never 'arrive'...it is a process."  To be leaders nurses need to continue learning knowing that there is always something new to learn and research.  By doing this nurses can become great leaders.  (www.infed.org)
2. Leadership is about values- Some of the values important in good leaders are also important in good nurses and can include: Caring, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence (NLN, 2017)
3. Leadership is about service- According to the American Nurses Association, nursing, like leadership, is about providing "protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations. (ANA, 2016)  These are all examples of the services we provide as nurses. 
4. Leadership is about people and relationships- "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." -Bill Gates (Forbes Magazine, 2013)  Being a leader means having followers, but to be a true leader you will empower and courage these followers to do their best, and be their best.  In nursing helping those around you, and encouraging them to be better is a way to be a leader.
5. Leadership is contextual-Reach for Infinity is a management development company run by Sunit Rikhi who worked for 30 years as an Intel executive.  On his blog he defines contextual leadership as "knowing when and how to lead, follow and collaborate".  I like that this includes collaborating and following as characteristics of a leader, and knowing when this is appropriate.  Nurses as leaders also need to know when they need to collaborate with others and follow depending on the context of the situation and individuals involved.                   (www. reachforinfinity.com)
6. Leadership is about the management of meaning-  Nurses as leaders need to create a work environment that can be interpreted as positive, service-oriented, safe, and the importance of teamwork. 
7. Leadership is about balance-Finding balance in all things in life is important regardless of a nurses stage of life.  Early on it is the balance of school, homework, new job training, family life, etc.  Later on it may be the balance of RN-BSN school, work, family, etc  Regardless of what stage of life one is in, finding balance allows finding success and allows for leadership qualities to develop and grow. 
8. Leadership is about continuous learning and improvement-Nurses demonstrate this form of leadership when they have a desire to always finding ways to expand their knowledge.  This includes understanding how and why they are doing what they are doing.   
9. Leadership is about effective decision making- During stressful situation nurses can show their leadership by being able to make decision effectively, and delegating appropriately in order to complete the task at hand.  
10. Leadership is a political process- Nurses can be leaders by showing respect for those in who hold leadership roles due to their position in the unit.  But not all leaders in nursing must be appointed through the "political process".  Leaders can be found in many ways via their actions and standards portrayed while performing their duties as a nurse.  
11. Leadership is about modeling- Nurses can show leadership by being the type of nurses they would want taking care of their own families.  This includes being an example that others should follow, setting achievable goals, always doing the right thing, dressing and acting professionally, etc.  
12. Leadership is about integrity-Integrity is viewed as one of the core values of nursing, and the definition provided by the National League for Nursing applies to both nursing and leadership "A culture of integrity is evident when organizational principles of open communication, ethical decision-making, and humility are encourage, expected, and demonstrated consistently.  Not only is doing the right thing simply how we do business, but our actions reveal our commitment to truth telling and to how we always see ourselves from the perspective of others in a larger community." (www.nln.org)