Question

Discuss how leaders who practice servant leadership and have a strong understanding of their personal leadership traits can successfully lead others and navigate the unique challenges that are part of nursing and health care. Provide two examples that illustrate your main ideas.

Answer 1

Servant leadership is referred to a type of leadership in which the servant leader achieve results for their organizations by attending to the needs of those they serve. A nurse servant leader looks to the needs of his/her staff and continually asks how they can help them solve problems and promote their personal development. The ability to provide service is their primary motivator for seeking a leadership role. The characteristics that are key to the development of a servant leader include-

• Listening
• Empathy
• Healing
• Awareness
• Persuasion
• Conceptualization
• Foresight
• Stewardship
• Commitment to growth people
• Building Community

Servant leaders are the ones who puts the team/individual working for him first. In the process of putting the team first,

• He/she learns to lend an ear and listens to the concerns of the people working under her.
• Tries to understand the needs of others and empathizes with them.
• Helps staff solve the their problems negotiates their conflicts and encourages them..
• Develops self awareness and learns to view situation form a holistic perspective.
• Rather than utilizing the authority to persuade they use their own learning and personal power.
• Becomes proactive, analyses the outcome of the situation prior and take appropriate measures.
• Values everyone in their team and attempt to maximize the strengths of all who work with them.

Having been through all the above the servant leaders can successfully lead people however there are always few unique challenges in the nursing and health care sector as its just not dealing with the staff but also with the patients. Humility and patience,trying to enhance the quality of care and staff satisfaction could be challenging. Not every individual can possess a humble nature with lot of patience.

Example.1 One of my friend's Mom has been fighting an aggressive cancer and she has spent a month in the hospital for treatment. In one of my conversation with her about her health condition and hospitalization, she was very happy about the care received and has complimented on the leadership management of the nurse manager of that particular unit. She herself being in a managerial position of different sector stated that the nurse manager of the unit she was admitted into was very kind with lot of patience. The unit she was admitted into had quite a few cancer patients who have been dealing with anxiety,fear,depression however the nurse manager inspite of limited staff has managed and negotiated with the team so well that the team has cared for every patient in ward without complaining and she was amazed watching the interaction of the manager with the staff and the staff with the patients and vice versa

Example.2 My friend who has been in the nursing practice for few years now has worked with a surgeon about whom she say like this- This Surgeon with whom i have worked is a very humble and polite man with a lot of patience. Though he is one of the best surgeons of that particular specialty he never has disregarded any ideas of his fellow junior surgeons, also the way he deals with the patient and their families is very polite. He engages in conversation with the family in the pre-op room giving them the freedom to ask their questions and answers everything and inspire of his heavy schedule he never acted like his time was too valuable instead he used to spend time with both the junior staff teaching them well and also with the patients and their families addressing their concerns related to the surgery. This challenge in dealing with his team and also with the patients inspire of his many other important tasks at hand was exceptional.

Note: The examples mentioned are of my experience, In case you find a better one to illustrate the situation/challenge a better way it can be used.