One situation where I “followed” and, in doing so, showed leadership was early in my nursing role, when our unit was short-staffed. Instead of waiting to be told what to do, I took the initiative to organize my tasks, prioritize resident needs, and offer assistance where needed. I managed my responsibilities independently, kept focused on the team’s goal of safe care, and stepped outside my comfort zone to support others during a busy shift.

By acting this way, I did more than just follow instructions. I helped the team work together, encouraged others by staying calm, and made decisions that supported resident care, even when things were stressful. Followership and leadership go hand in hand. Good followers step up when needed, often before being asked, and this can really make a difference for the team.

One example where I demonstrated as leader at my workplace by following strict rules during a busy project. Even I was not a leader , I assisted my supervisior by completing task on scheduled time , maintaining discipline and offering helping hand to colleagues when they needed help.
When our teammates felt stress , I stayed calm and encouraged everyone to concentrate on our goal. I made sure the project run smoothly without any barriers so I followed the directions of supervisior carefully and communicate effectively with colleagues.
I learned from the experience that being in charge isn’t the only aspect of leadership. Being accountable, positive and active allows to achieve goals. Collaboration and support from team members are important to get success.

I found myself taking on too much workload because my co-worker doing the same work (that was to be shared) became rather dependent on me to do this on a daily basis. I was following all workflows and policies so was acting as a “follower” however, when this went on for too long, I decided to approach my co-worker to see if I could fix this issue first. The leadership piece came in to play when I sat down with her and showed her my schedule in comparison to her own, in a positive and humorous way so as not to come across as abrasive. I did my best to identify her strengths in the hopes of inspiring her to help more. Once she saw the imbalance in workload right in front of her, she did not dispute this and in the coming weeks began picking up much more of the workload. Remaining diplomatic, factual and empathetic and kind, we were able to come to a positive resolution, and maintain a great co-worker relationship.

A situation where I followed but still showed leadership was when I was working on a busy shift in long-term care. The charge nurse had a plan for how we were going to manage the workload because we were short staffed. I followed her direction, but I also helped support the team by prioritizing my tasks, helping other staff, and communicating any changes with the nurse. By working together and supporting our team, the shift ran more smoothly. This experience showed me that even when you are following someone else’s leadership, you can still show leadership by being responsible, supportive, and working as part of the team.

A time when I demonstrated leadership by following was when I stepped into a new role with minimal training or orientation. Instead of becoming discouraged or waiting for direction, I took the initiative to self- learn, ask questions and actively seek out the knowledge I needed to succeed. My motivation and willingness to learn not only helped me become confident in the responsibilities in the role , but also allowed me to support my colleagues rather than fall behind or rely on others to carry the workload. By showing commitment accountability, and a strong work ethic I demonstrated that leadership isn’t always about being in charge, it is about setting a positive example and contributing to the already established team in a meaningful way.

According to the article, an effective follower manages themselves well, are committed to a higher purpose, they build their strengths and they take risks. One instance of “following” and showing leadership was admitting to a med error.
We were running a very busy mass covid/flu clinic. We had our client front facing area and we had our vaccine coolers in the back. We were pre-drawing covid/flu and holding them in separate coolers. I had a client that requested both vaccines. I went to back area to get the vaccine, one cooler was empty, so I grabbed a vile that was in front of the cool and drew it up. I then administered the two vaccines. Later on, we realized that our count was out and I knew in the back of my mind that I did not look at the vial and could only assume that I had administered two of the same vaccine to the individual. We still don’t know truly what happened. In our incident reporting, one of the questions was how can we do this better. I made a few errors that day – I trusted what the other nurses were doing, I did not look at the vial to do my medication rights. As a result of that incident, each immunizer is now responsible for their own vials and drawing up vaccines. That occurred about 4 years ago and I still remember it, you remember the med errors!
That day, I managed myself well (as soon as I said it may be a possibility, I was thrown under the bus by my colleges), I held myself to higher standards by admitted the error, I built my strength by contacting the company (0 risk to client) and the client (said he now had “superpowers” – could have gone so many different ways), and I definitely took a big huge scary risk. As much as it sucks to make a med error, I am proud of myself for doing what was right and for following through.

When modeling the way, a leader takes on a follower role. “Leadership is not about who you are, it’s about what you do” (Kouzes and Posner, 2007). This sentiment guides me as I reach into the depths of experience in order to reach the pinnacle of success. Referring to my role as described in the first discussion, and as a new RPN claiming her role and her team, I found myself taking on a different role, or scope of practice, in order to demonstrate two things. The first that I was willing and able to complete a challenging task as part of a team; and secondly, to demonstrate that the waltz between a co-worker, a resident, and a leader/follower is in constant motion and negotiation.
The keen observation of my team member as we navigated a challenging situation informed me that as I followed the protocols and adhered to the resolution of the needs of the resident, a model of care was transferred into action. This transfer of knowledge into practice was accomplished only as a result of my taking a follower role as I relied on the expertise of my co-worker and the information the resident was conveying as well as the facility’s policy and procedures to guide my steps. Although re-affirming this practice must be ongoing, we did make headway into activating a theory of a model of care into practice. Hence, my role as a leader was re-enforced through taking on a follower role.

Followership is something I do in my daily work practice to help create a positive work environment. I treat my colleagues with respect so in return I get trust and respect. For example, if the charge RN notifies me that we are down a staff member I will let my team know that I am available for support if needed. I continuously check in with my PSW staff throughout the shift to ensure patient care is complete. Although this may be one of the most common examples where followership happens it also takes place within all departments as we are all there for one common goal.

Throughout my nursing career, I’ve encountered many situations where I not only followed protocols but also demonstrated leadership. One experience that stands out the most occurred during the peak of the COVID‑19 outbreak at work. There were countless rules and safety procedures that had to be followed, yet it was equally important to show leadership to ensure residents continued receiving quality care. I remember having multiple agency staff assigned to my unit, and as one of the regular staff members, I had to provide quick orientations to help them become familiar with the environment. I took the lead in making sure everyone understood their roles, stayed aligned as a team, and delivered care effectively despite the challenges.

One time I have followed but showed leadership was when my hospital was implementing a new charting system. They asked for superusers and I signed up to be one. I was trained by a leader on the new charting system so I could act as a resource to my colleagues. on one of the last training sessions for superusers they allowed us to just play around with the system, I asked if I could go out on the unit and use the training charting on real time/ real patients situations with my colleagues. I knew a lot of my fellow colleagues did not feel like they received enough training and I thought this would be a good way to provide more hands-on time before go live. I showed leadership by listening to my colleagues’ previous concerns and collaborating with my fellow colleagues. Everyone hates change, so I assisted them in learning the new charting in a real time scenario and answering questions, which I think helped them feel more confident and motivated to be open to the new system and it upcoming go live date. During this time being on the unit, I realized there was no suicide screen or assessment anywhere for us to chart on the computer. I brought this concern up to the leader of the charting initiation and she expressed that “its not used that often so the go live will still remain tomorrow, and we will figure it out during that time.” In this moment, I did as the text explained as not seeing the leader’s interpretation as dominant. I work with these patients daily and I believe mental health is just as important as physical and we need to always have these recourses available. I think because I knew my values in this situation it was easier me to find my voice and share it with her and others. Which now after reading the text is an example as modeling the way and one of the practices of leadership. I also showed challenging the process because she was very status quo, needing to get the charting out by whatever deadline was provided to her. I went to my colleagues and asked them their opinion on not having a suicide screen for start up and many of them had the same voice as me that it is just as important as the rest of the charting especially when those situations arise. I was honest and forward looking with the leader in expressing my concerns and we were able to work together with the mental health unit to add suicide screening tools to our new charting system before go live.

When I started as a nurse in Long Term Care (LTC) our documentation system was Medicare. I remember my struggles with documentation as you are taught a certain way in nursing school but in LTC your documentation is also used for creating care plans, data collection and funding. As this is the case it requires certain information to support care effectively. I remember looking at others documentation and using it as a point of reference. As I became more experienced in my role I started to reflect and recognize some flaws in my documentation practice. I would review my notes and soon realized the language I was using may not be person centered and not always appropriate . I asked other members of the team to have a look and provide feedback. Through the process of leaning on the other followers (team members) for support and guidance I soon realized that they faced may of the same challenges. I then went to the DOC and expressed the concerns I was having and asked if there was additional education and support as I realize others may have the same concerns but haven’t spoken up. The DOC was quite receptive and soon reached out to the RAI coordinator to provide education and some mentoring. This is an example of being an effective follower and in turn a leader. As indicated in the article “Follow the Leader? It’s a New Game” it identifies the fifth followership pattern as an “Effective Follower “. It speaks to being a critical, independent thinker, risk-taker, and problem solver.

I was working my shift in LTC the one day it was officially a pandemic. I was working as a float on a unit I was unfamiliar with plus working with student nurses who were PSWs, they were guiding me on residents I didn’t know too well. Everyone was afraid of the unknown as our management gave us brown paper bags and masks and told us to keep wearing these until they get soiled. I felt like this day really showed my leadership as we were short staffed, dealing with this breaking news and there were residents still needing care. I did my best to take on a roll I was learning as we went with new safety protocols and rules, also trying to stay calm for my team who was now relying on me to guide them. Days followed and I expressed my concerns and ideas to management which they took into consideration that helped our facility during these tough times.

I have spent many years in a follower role throughout my various careers in health care. When I first started at my current job, I was quickly thrown into the role. I had only one training shift in a specialist clinic where I followed the lead of the previous RPN. Just a few weeks later, I found myself running and managing the clinic. During that time, I relied heavily on following the lead of other staff members. I observed how they worked, took notes, and paid close attention to their workflows. At the same time, I was constantly thinking about ways to improve patient care and clinic efficiency. By learning from those around me and observing what worked well, I was able to develop new protocols and procedures.
Over time, this experience allowed me to grow into a leadership role, and I am now the lead in that clinic. Without those years spent learning as a follower, I do not believe I would have been able to develop the skills and confidence needed to become a leader. Every day I follow the lead of my fellow doctors/nurses and take this experience in to become a better leader to my fellow staff and students.

Earlier in my nursing career as charged nurse I had a team of PSW ‘s that I managed. I took the initiative to learn the PSW role and as such had to follow their directions and guide. By experiencing what it is like to be led, I gain firsthand insight into different leadership styles. This experience had led me to cover various PSW shifts when we are short staffed with ease. I would volunteer to assist and lead with confidence. Learning how to solve mistakes/problems is an amazing skill and one that others will admire in you as leader.

At the start of COVID pandemic, It was our busy day in one of the resident home area in our LTC, with short staffing and initiation of isolation precautions for the newly identified residents with confirmed COVID status. Received new instruction from our RN supervisor about the isolation protocols and collecting/setting the PPE materials for each resident rooms. We allocated each staff member an assigned task like, collecting PPE supplies, initiating isolation signs and caddies. We made sure we have the items available to help us giving the proper care. At the end of the day, it was a collective effort to accomplish the tasks. Staff cooperation and collaboration with shared purpose provides an easier way for me to act competently during those stressful times.

A situation where I have “followed” and shown leadership mt ADOC informed me that she wanted me to present for the pain and palliative committee meeting, as she could not attend. I agreed, I took the initiative and I made a power point presentation (On education, goals, HQO data and etc.), I engaged everyone in discussions, I made everyone’s voices heard and also brought in some lovely desserts. After we the meeting was completed, I was praised on how well the presentation was, that they truly loved how engaging it was as a team to discuss about pain & palliative together and that they never had anyone present like that before. One of the administrators that was part of the meeting emailed my DOC informing her how wonderful the presentation was. It truly inspired me as a QI Nurse, to keep going and that I had the capabilities that I never knew I had to lead.

Adapting to change when a new protocol is implemented, following the procedure accordingly. Essentially leading by example.
Covid brought all kinds of new infection control protocols with PPE in particular, donning and doffing according to procedure, when you follow proper instruction it leads the team to do so as well.

It’s interesting to think about how you can show leadership by being a follower.
I think the best way to think about how this is possible would be to recognize that there can be different levels of leadership.
Someone is totally capable of being a leader and a follow either separately or simultaneously.
For example, I have been a follower in my career by following protocols that were put in place by leaders for efficiency and job satisfaction. Then, when I consistently use these protocols and others see this efficiency in action I would be acting as a leader by inspiring them to incorporate the same protocols.
This would be an instance of leading by example, but through an action that would be considered technically following.

I was offered to help teach PSW’s skills lab, during the first day I was orientating, I followed every piece of advice that was given to me. I followed the directions of my education partner who was the leader. As time went on my partner encouraged me to take more of the leadership role. This was out of my comfort zone at the time. But with her help, it motivated me to help give my experience and knowledge to the class. At the end of the course, students requested my contact information and told me that they learned so much from me.

As I think about it, I started out as a follower, following the leader, then turned into leader with followers.

I have worked as a RAI Coordinator (ensuring a lengthy and dry resident assessment is completed regularly) in LTC for many years. One of the goals of this assessment/system is to ensure team review of the resident’s results and ensure plan of care is up to date. The expectation is that the different departments (Nursing, Social Work, Life Enrichment, PT, Dietary) complete their own sections of the assessment but that the team reviews identified issues and contributes to the plan. At the time the team part wasn’t really happening so I created a weekly meeting, I know…another meeting 🙂 , but when the team comes together at the same table and looks at all the same information the collaboration is so good. It gives an opportunity to address issues from a new perspective, share expertise, offer solutions and assistance. So I think in following the mandate of the assessment I was a leader.

A situation where I showed leadership whiles “following” was when a senior nurse was leading the response to a resident with a sudden change in condition. I took appropriate initiatives and supported her by carrying out the assigned tasks quickly, communicating updates, and ensuring other team members were informed. By being cooperative, responsible, and focused on resident safety, I contributed to effective teamwork and positive outcomes.

In some Organization, patient has the option of MAID, depending on their diseases and how advance it is, etc. A lot of resources are being utilized and the process is very meticulous. During this time, as a Palliative nurse, I “follow” what the plan of care for that patient up to and leading to that “day”. Afterwards, I support my fellow nurses within the multidisciplinary team by helping them with the process of “preparing the body”, bringing it to the morgue, calling the Trillium for organ donor, consoling the families, doing proper documentations on EPIC, doing a huddle to decompress after the event and so on. By doing this, I demonstrated that I can be a team player and be a follower and a leader, respectively.

I believe every member is a leader in a team. Someone will be following you unconsciously even when you are not the leader of the team. As a BSO nurse my role is different than other team members at the nursing department. But I found myself being a leader and sometimes being a follower in the nursing team.
In our LTC, we had a resident with severe responsive behaviors/mental health illness, and we had to send her to hospital with a Form-1. In practice, to call the family physician, the 911 and to prepare the Form-1 with MD is a RN job.
The MD for that unit was not very approachable and wasn’t agreeing with the plan of Form-1. But it was a psychiatrist recommendation to send the resident to emerge with Form-1, so that the resident would get immediate attention by Ontario shores mental health institution.
The unit RN wasn’t comfortable to call the MD and the emerge to talk about the resident/ Form-1 and to call the 911.
RN had some excuses and left me in the RN room alone to call the 911, the MD and the emerge.
I knew that the resident was verbally and physically aggressive at that moment. The RPN and PSW staff were trying their best to make sure that other residents are safe from immediate danger.
I had to take the charge and courage to talk to the MD and eventually call emerge and 911. The RPN and PSW staff followed all the steps I initiated, and we end up sending the resident to the hospital with Form-1.
I had to take the lead and explain the detailed risks and benefits to the MD and advocate for other vulnerable residents at the unit and for the staff. We teamed up nicely without the initial help from the RN who was supposed to be playing the role as our leader. I was followed by all our unit staff, and we were able to send the resident to hospital without any CI or injuries to others.
I was really not confident to take the lead. I had to come out from my comfort zone and act accordingly. I realized that every person has the skills of a leader and they can utilize it as needed.

A situation where i have followed and by doing so showed leadership was when i took over the area i would cover in Community that required training and decided to step back in front of employees. Once i received my area there were a lot of trainings that needed to take place with the staff to ensure everyone had the transfer of skills to provide care. However, some of those skills i had not performed in years, therefore my colleague came with me to provide the training and support. While we all gathered to discuss the details and expectations of the task, both managers and the care team, I informed them that i too required to be part of the training in order to be competent to complete the task just like the staff. The staff all turned to look at me when they realized that it was my colleague leading the training and not me. I explained to the staff that as time goes by and we don’t perform a task or use a set of skills things can be forgotten. In order to prevent any issues, concerns or errors i requested a refresher training to ensure I was up to date with the skill in order to better support my care team in the future as well as other clients. The staff were impressed and appreciative to know that i would be upfront and say “i need retraining as it’s been a while since i did this last.” Staff mentioned they hardly hear management acknowledge they didn’t know what to do. Instead staff would be left with questions as previous management would try and sneak away or side track the conversation. Once training was completed and questions were answered, the care team came up to me and thanked me for being honest and for being part of them. I was able to connect much closer to the team on this day, by simply being honest and inspiring the team to speak up when necessary to ensure that we all have what we need in order to provide the care and support that is expected. I often enough tell my team i am always open to learn new way they can teach me as we all grow together when we share information.

While working in a LTC there were situations where I showed leadership by following when working with a strong leader. The leader almost always encouraged teamwork and clear communication. I made it a priority to not try and take control but rather I supported their direction and focused on completing my responsibilities. I followed the instructions and helped my co workers, when they needed help and communicated concerns. By being reliable I was able to help the team stay organized and focused on providing good care. This experience showed me it’s not always about being in charge. I began to understand leadership means supporting the leader.

During my experience in a nursing home, I showed leadership while following the charge nurse’s instructions during a busy shift. I helped residents with mobility and communicated with my coworkers to coordinate care. By being proactive and supportive, I helped the team work efficiently and ensured residents received safe and quality care.

I demonstrate leadership while carrying out my day-to-day activities as a nurse. I work toward the organization’s purpose of ensuring safety by prioritizing my tasks and acting effectively as both a leader and a follower. I make sure I understand the leader’s objectives and actively engage in achieving them by providing input so that the goals can be realized. For example, when a doctor places orders for several residents, I ensure that I process the orders and send them to the pharmacy in a timely manner to prevent delays in patient care. As a result, the shared goal of improving patient outcomes is achieved.

A situation where I have been a “follower” and by doing so I showed leadership, was at work when a new process was implemented. Many other nurses and staff members had negative thoughts, feelings, and attitudes towards the change. I maintained a positive attitude and talked through why the new process can be beneficial in the long run. I followed the new process. By following the new process and encouraging others to do the same, I showed leadership.

I used to work in a retirement home that connected to a LTC facility. I took on a midnight shift on the retirement side as the residents were becoming harder for one PSW to do on their own. Not long after I started the midnight charge nurse over on the LTC side quit. From there we had several agency come through and eventually no one wanted that position, not even management would come in at night. I went in one night to the administer telling me I would now be in charge of both the retirement home; helping the PSW during rounds along with all my tasks and responsibilities and the LTC units, doing all tasks and responsibilities that the charge nurse had. After about a month we started having a lot of PSW’s quitting because how hostile the day staff came in on one of the units.
This was really unfortunate because we were losing a lot of caring PSW’s. I went into work on my day off to speak with management about the patterns of hostility and not being able to keep any new PSWs for more than a weeks time working that unit. Instead of the issues getting addressed properly, I was told “ they are just passionate and care.”

I decided to take time to think about that statement and how it made me feel as the nurse in charge during the night. I was supposed to learn and follow from these people. But they didn’t care about my honesty. They just needed me to get through the nights without issues so they didn’t have to be in the building during the night. I realized my worth in that moment a put in my resignation to go somewhere I would be heard.

Following guidelines and best practices in healthcare is how we get things done effectively and efficiently.
I believe by following guidelines and best practices this makes me a great leader.
We now have easier access to evidence based resources through up to date guidelines, organizational tools, checklists, care pathways and algorithms that if we are able to follow these, with of course some critical thinking we have more positive patient outcomes.
A good example of this is Infection Control guidelines- My LTC home is currently in respiratory outbreak and even though staff are not happy about masking up, when this is followed to a “T” we reduce spread of infection, fewer complications in residents, improved recovery and able to get back to normal daily activities for residents and staff.

When I read the assigned article, I thought of my role as back up Rai coordinator. I followed a brilliant RN who was vision impaired. We worked well together. I learned a lot from her in regards to the process . I helped her out a lot with computer work. She allowed me and I implemented new ideas, new ways of looking at quality indicators or assessing pain. I felt encouraged to keep trying under her leadership. However when she wasn’t there and I had to lead I felt discounted by other managers being an RPN. I showed leadership by having difficult discussions with management and demonstrating that I had the knowledge and by following my mentor that I was able to do the tasks effectively .

Our home had a fire in one of the residents rooms. It was the first time in my career here, outside of COVID that we had to enact an emergency process. My role in the fire safety was minimal at the time. The RN in charge was very busy and there were so many firefighters, security and paramedics present. Myself and several staff jumped in and did what we could without direction because we saw the need. I took on the task of making sure that all relocated residents had identifiers on them, (some refused wristbands), took attendance for staff in the building, met with anxious family members and ensured they were safe. None of this was my “official” fire duties.

A time where I was able to be an effective follower was in a group in an ER dept who were being asked to change up our schedule/lines to accommodate different skill levels in the dept. For example one shift would have all senior/experienced nurses and another shift might have all non experienced nurses . There was a need to balance the skill levels to ensure that our newer , less experienced staff was supported in their learning, while also ensuring that there was enough skill level to be confident in an emergent situation.
There was alot of “grumbling ” with senior staff who were working with their long time friends and colleagues regularly, and our leadership at the time was not effectively communicating to everyone, why this was happening and what the issues were.
I was able to join with some other nurses who had been through similar shuffles before and had seen the benefit to all . As a group we helped other staff understand the necessity and benefit to this change by reviewing pros and cons with different staff on all shifts to bring awareness to everyone.
This was an effective strategy and the line changes were then made with minimal disgruntled behaviour as we had followed our fellow workers into this endevour.

My experience was very recent. A resident is not allowed to get out of her room due to sickness. and has been in bed most of the time, up seated on the side of her bed only for meals. The doctor suggested to place a chair right beside her bed to make res. to stand up and walk for a few steps. A good exercise for her. The next day, PSWs and myself placed a chair by her bed and she sat on that she sat on that chair for breakfast. The doctor came in and said “It is nice to see her sitting on a chair.” So, the doctor was the leader and myself was the follower. I am very sure that I had been in many situations when I had to follow a leader, over the years of my practice. This one stood out, due to its very recent occurrence.

I’m not really sure if this counts but I’m going to use the example of orientating fellow nurses to the unit that I have been working on for the last few years. I ask them some basic questions about skill and experience, show them where this are on the unit, and then let them take over and run the unit as they see fit, stepping in only when asked or when situation arises that require multiple staff to intervene.

Learning about the different kinds of followers was interesting as i think i have been all of them at various times depending on what kind of leader i have had. It really shows how the 5 principles of leadership can have incredible or detrimental effects in a group. I can currently look around my new group of core staff and identify those who have “checked out” and others who are motivated and willing to embrace change. I know myself, when I had a situation, with a terrible manager, I never spoke up to give input even though everything went against our mission statement and values as a LTC home.

One specific time of my career that I felt that I followed and showed leadership by doing so is working in LTC and specifically early in the covid 19 pandemic. It took strong nurses to be able to follow a leader during a time that protocols and care were changing almost daily. By being a follower and showing up every day ready to follow a new way of providing care showed leadership in the team. Sometimes being a leader is the way you carry yourself daily and going along with management as you navigate together to provide the best care in a situation or environment that is constantly changing. I feel this showed leadership as I modeled by example and put patient care first in high stress times.