[Sharon]

Pick one of the Leadership characteristics in the chapter you read above that you feel is the most important in a leader. Describe a personal situation about yourself or a leader that supports why you feel that characteristic is the most important.

[Melanie]

The Leadership characteristic most important to me is credibility. I want to work with someone I can believe in and trust. Someone who is knowledgeable about the work I am doing and understands the whole concept. I want to believe what they tell me and that they are going to support me and encourage me and be invested in my success and growth. My current People Leader is credible. I am very thankful for that. She does what she says she will do and always in a timely manner. Before being a People Leader she was also a nurse who worked in hospital settings and has also done Nurse Case Management so, she knows fully what my job entails and what challenges I may come across. She offers her expertise and she is very supportive of my goal to get into a People Leader position. She is working with me in developing my Career Development plan. These are all very important traits in a People Leader and she has proven to be credible which I truly appreciate.

[Maame]

Melaine I agree with you having a leader who is credible is really essential. When you have a leader you can trust and will take accountability when a issue arises that’s a definition of a leader.

[Sandra]

The most important leadership characteristic to me is competency. Having a leader that knows what they are doing is extremely important. Where I work now we have nurse scholars that help with all the new hires and agency that are working. They are nurses that have lots of experience in nursing and have skills in a lot of different areas. If they weren’t competent in their job then it would be hard to go to them for help and trust their knowledge when you have questions or need to learn new skills. The nurse scholars that have been hired have helped tremendously on the floor and have taken some stress off the other staff members and honestly I think the floor would suffer with out them.

[Andrea]

Yes compentent leaders need to be competent in the area they are leading. If I was working as a new hire for someone who was not knowledgeable in nursing I would not go to them with issues other than scheduling or other administration. I would definitely seek another nurse to discuss patient concerns with. Glad to hear you have a leader who helps reduce the stress level on the floor.

[Andrea]

The most important leadership characteristic to me is credibility. My current nurse manager does what she says she will do and isn’t afraid to work hands on with us to get our perspective of a situation so she knows exactly what we need to do our job. She definitely walks the walk and talks the talk and does not give up on a situation until it is resolved. As a nurse I have seen her “go to bat” for patients and nursing team members alike. This makes me feel heard, safe in knowing I can approach her with ideas or questions of my own, and invested in helping her as much as she helps me. In other words she inspires me to follow her lead.

[Sandra]

It’s awesome to have a leader like that you need someone who knows how it is in the situation that you are in. Our new leader is like that she comes into work on weekends and helps us when we are short and honestly what leader does that in my experiences not too many.

[Suzanne]

To me the most important leadership characteristic is honesty. A person in a leadership position needs to be honest with their staff and with themselves in a work environment so that there are no surprises and everyone is on the same page. I recently had a difficult situation at work that I had to talk to my head nurse about and I always feel fortunate that I can be honest with her. She may not always be able to do much about the situation but at the end of the day having a safe environment to talk in and be honest about your feelings is of utmost importance.

[Melanie]

Honesty is very important, having someone who is open and transparent in their communications with the staff is a must. Knowing you can feel safe and confident that issues and concerns you bring to the table will be respected and taken seriously and hopefully resolved.

[Heather]

Another quality that makes a leader more credible is consistency. It is very important for a leader to be consistent with regards to problem solving and advocating for employees and patients. I have previously had a supervisor that would only advocate and deal with those that she liked. It made it very difficult to get anything done as she had upset so many people and other nurses. I think a leader has treat everyone with respect and dignity no matter what they do.

[Taraneh]

I feel like one of the most important quality that a leader should possess is competency. There are many people in leadership roles that I have encountered in my career that do not possess the skills of a “good leader”. Without sounding like I am talking smack about someone I work with (who on a personal level is a very amazing person), but professionally does not withhold the same standards expected of her team as others in the organization, and also does not know how to do the job that she is tasked with. Lack of competence to do your job is only reflected poorly onto the team.

[Maame]

The characteristic I believe a leader should posess is being competent. I work with an Registered Nurse who is in charge of the building during night shift and she exemplifes this particular characteristic. She’s update with the policies in the home and also updates on new policies when implemented. When a nurrse requires explaination or assistance with performing a particular nursing skill she will walk you through the skill step- by step while giving you the rationale behind it. Even though she’s an experienced nurse she continues to take courses so she can continue to remain competent within her field.

[Author]

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