NUR 514 Topic 2 DQ 2 Describe how the vocation of the nurse is similar to the goals of a servant leader
NUR 514 Topic 2 DQ 2 Describe how the vocation of the nurse is similar to the goals of a servant leader
NUR 514 Topic 2 DQ 2 Describe how the vocation of the nurse is similar to the goals of a servant leader
What distinguishes servant leadership from other leadership styles is the emphasis on the follower first. The majority of leadership focuses on a mission first, followed by empowering followers to carry out that mission. Individual success comes first in servant leadership, followed by the accomplishment of the mission. Servant leaders assist individuals they lead develop and succeed, which helps the organization achieve its goals. A servant leader is viewed as a courageous steward who holds others accountable for their own well-being. Servant leaders encourage and empower others to reach their best potential. This speaks directly to the followers’ individual potential rather than the organization. Servant leadership assumes that if the followers work to the best of their abilities, the organization’s performance will likewise be at its best. When servant leadership is employed successfully and with the correct aims, a true and natural kind of reciprocity happens between the leader and the follower, which raises employee engagement and improves organizational performance (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018).
Listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, dedication to people’s growth, and community building are the ten attributes of servant leadership (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018). The first step in communication is to listen. A servant leader listens to what others are saying through both verbal and nonverbal communication in order to lead a team to its full potential. Servant leaders can be at the level of their followers by demonstrating empathy, which is the ability to understand and experience the feelings of those people. Furthermore, servant leaders are able to discern the characteristics that distinguish each individual, providing them with the information required to know how to support and guide their followers to success in the mission, in this case, how the staff nurses attend to the requirements of their patients. Leaders always embrace their followers as individuals, even if they do not always approve of their performance or actions.
The core idea of servant leadership is that leaders put the needs of the team ahead of their own, and they serve others before they serve themselves. After examining the topic materials and performing your own research on servant leadership, explain how a nurse’s vocation is similar to the goals of a servant leader. Identify any examples of servant leadership in your profession and the best approach to display it in nursing practice.
Re: Topic 2 DQ 2
What differentiates servant leadership from other styles of leadership is the primary focus on the follower first. Most styles of leadership direct their focus first on a mission and second on empowering followers to achieve that mission. Servant leadership directs its focus first on the ability of the individuals to succeed and then on the success of the mission. Servant leaders help their followers to grow and succeed, which in turn aids in accomplishing the organizational mission. The perception of a servant leader should be one of a courageous steward who holds people accountable for their own good. Servant leaders are those individuals who develop and empower others to reach their highest potential. This speaks directly to the individual potential of the followers rather than the organization. Servant leadership assumes that if the followers are maximizing their potential, it will directly translate to the potential of the organization and its overall performance. When servant leadership is applied correctly and with proper intentions, an authentic and natural form of reciprocity takes place between the leader and follower, which in turn increases workforce engagement and improves organizational performance (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018).
Servant leadership includes ten characteristics- listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people, and building community (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018). begins with listening. A servant leader hears what others are saying through both verbal and nonverbal communication and reflect upon what they hear to lead a group to its full potential. Having empathy or understanding and sharing the feelings of followers allow servant leaders to be placed in a position at the level of those followers. Servant leaders are further able to identify the characteristics hat make each individual unique and provide them with the ability to understand how best to support and lead their followers to achieve success in the mission, in this case how the staff nurses respond to their patients’ needs. While the leaders may not always accept the performance or actions of followers, the leader always accept each follower as an individual.
When the servant nurse leader displays a genuine interest in the team and further support through meeting the needs of the team, the quality of care increases within the organization (Thomas, 2018). Listening and empathy displayed by the servant nurse leader to their patients provides for interprofessional communication as the nurse will include the patient and family to identify the patient needs, make decisions regarding the patient’s care, solve problems together, and evaluate the planned treatment.
As a Nurse Manager, I employed servant leadership especially during the annual employee evaluation process. The employee evaluation process simply stated only evaluates if the individual is meeting the expectations of the organization. It lacks personal development features. I created a format that tasked each nurse to assess areas of strengths and opportunities. Then together we discussed strategies to develop those areas. For example, a nurse with two years of experience felt she was not ‘experienced’ enough to consider growth in the department when viewed alongside nurses with more years of experience. A goal we set together was to attend a preceptor course to then begin first mentoring nursing students and later to precept new hire nurses to the department.
A servant leader is a skilled communicator, a compassionate collaborator, a system thinker, and someone who leads with moral authority. Nursing practice and the vocation of nursing lends itself to the servant leadership model through its dedication of service.
References
Gandolfi, F., Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, Leadership Styles, and Servant Leadership. Journal of Management Research (09725814), 18(4), 261-269. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=132968632&site=eds-live&scope=site