nursing leadership self development strategy

Self Development Leadership Plan: Overview
Using self-assessment tools like the Strengths Finder and the Emotional Intelligence Tool, I have initiated the process of change that will enhance my leadership capacities. I learned through these tools my strengths and weaknesses, and this knowledge helped me to develop specific strategies for change. The strengths finder tool showed that I have great restorative strength; that I interact harmoniously with others and seek solutions through collaboration and mediation. I also learned that one of my strengths is the ability to contextualize and analyze current situations based on based experiences and events. This is not the same as dwelling; this strength refers to the broad meta-analyses needed to understand a current problem. The past provides us with tools and lessons. Even when we dealt with a past situation poorly, we can learn from our mistakes and make different moves now. Another strength revealed in the Strengths Finder was my tendency towards inclusiveness in social situations. Inclusiveness comes naturally to me; I cannot imagine being any other way, which will make me a strong leader in diverse and complex environments. Finally, the Strengths Finder confirmed that I have a passion for learning. A learning orientation means I am hungry for knowledge, curious about the world and how it works, and open to new ideas.
The Emotional Intelligence tool showed that I have a high overall EQ. I am able to monitor and manage my emotions, but I also do not grapple with difficult emotions. I am inherently calm and cool even in the face of adversity, which could also mean I have not yet been challenged sufficiently. Echoing the results of the Strengths Finder, the Emotional Intelligence tool showed that I do tend towards inclusive approaches to others, listen well, and seek opportunities for win-win results to problems. Each of these issues contributed to the evolution of a leadership plan concurrent with personal and professional development.
Strategies for Change
The strategies for change I identified based on my self-assessment and self-development indicators are as follows. First, I will take a course in public speaking so that I can become a more effective leader who is comfortable with my own voice and power to influence others. Given my predilection for learning new things, I believe this strategy will also align itself well with the second strategy, which is to develop my skills competencies in one key area of my profession. This could mean a class or workshop, or it could just mean reading a book. Third, I will find either a mentor or a coach and formally hire the person to help me cultivate the leadership skills I need to take my career to the next level. Fourth, I will conduct more outreach and advocacy work in the interests of promoting social justice and the major philosophical values that I stand for in my profession.
Implementation of Strategies
In this case, I implemented each of these strategies in roughly the order I presented them above. The first thing I did was to explore options for public speaker training. As an aspiring leader, I know I need to improve my group communication skills. I am good in one-on-one and small group settings but freeze up in front of a large crowd. I want to get my ideas across more effectively, because doing so will allow me to effect change in the world. When I share my voice and vision with others, they will be inspired to take action. Therefore, I enrolled in a public speaking course at the local community center. Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions people have about public speaking is that some people are born with what it takes, and other people just don’t have it at all. I learned that on the contrary, all skillful speakers have learned their skills the hard way. Chollet, Wortwein, Morency, et al. (2015) show how “training and practice are essential,” but that speakers need to learn in a “safe and engaging environment,” (p. 1143). I enrolled in a class that provided the safe and engaging environment I needed to improve my public speaking skills, which in turn led to a tremendous boost in my self-confidence. The course involved three two-hour sessions. I do not feel that this was enough time for me to hone my skills, and in the future will seek out further opportunities to speak in public and to improve my public speaking skills.
While the public speaking course was available through a local community center, I simultaneously sought out instructional training in my area of professional expertise. I did so through the university I am enrolled in, signing up for a course in managerial aspects of advanced practice nursing. I also enrolled in a healthcare finance course. The coursework was part of my overall strategy to improve skills competencies. If I hope to be a leader, I need to be familiar with a number of different aspects of management and strategic planning, and financial management is one of those areas that I need to learn more about. These courses are still ongoing, and I have done well so far. They have improved my sense of self-efficacy, which is a critical component of effective leadership self-development (Cho, Harrist, Steele, et al., 2015). The strategy of learning more through formal education pathways also builds on my core strength of being learning oriented and continually eager to assimilate new information and accommodate it into my existing schema, self-concept, and worldview.
The third strategy was to find a coach or mentor. Formal mentoring is closely associated with positive leadership development outcomes (Seibert, Sargent, Kraimer, et al., 2015). This was harder than it sounded at first. I asked several of my superiors at work, and all of them were too busy in their own careers to devote the time to mentor me. They suggested I contact people at the university for ideas of enrolling in a formal mentoring program. I did, but the mentoring was designed more for newcomers to the profession and I needed a leader to coach me in how to comport myself differently and envision healthcare planning and policy from a greater vantage point. I looked into hiring a life coach who was familiar with the nursing profession, but found that the cost of the coaching sessions was simply too much to bear while I am paying for graduate school. I did take one session with the life coach, which helped me to frame my future differently, and to visualize more what I want out of my career. Certainly I did not completely execute this strategy as well as I would like, and will continue trying to find the right mentor or coach. I believe that I will always have need for coaches and mentors, even in later stages of my career. We are never too old to learn.
Finally, the strategy of becoming more active in outreach and social justice was difficult to implement. I became involved in two social justice organizations in my community, but neither provided me with a role that I could use as a springboard for direct action. I was simply volunteering on an administrative basis. I decided to make a list of the issues I feel most passionately about and then to focus on the top priorities before I spread myself too thin. Therefore, I broke down this strategy into more manageable steps. I know that social justice is a lifelong mission. The steps I take now will lay the foundation for a future of leadership in this area. I decided to focus for now on what I can do to help foster children in our community, via targeted intervention programs at public schools.
Progress and Benchmarks
I did not set formal or measurable benchmarks other than the successful completion of the courses in public speaking and in management. I did fulfill all the goals in terms of implementing each strategy and taking steps to promote my professional development. There are a few nurse leaders in my organization I can use as benchmarking role models because they are people who are actively involved in public policy as well as in the administration of their organizations. Based on a comparison of where I was before I embarked on the process of leadership self-development and now, my progress is apparent. I have had people reflect back to me their impressions of how much I have changed. I do have new skills competencies and the ability to communicate what I have learned more clearly and effectively than ever before within the context of group presentations. Another important performance benchmark has been with my level of authenticity and honesty. I have been more able and willing to self-disclose. The public speaking course especially aided me in creating a personal narrative that would resonate with my followers. As Shamir & Eilam-Shamir (2018) put it, “the construction of a life-story is a major element in the development of authentic leaders,” (p. 51).
Next Steps
The next steps include reinforcing the four main strategies, and continuing to plan for the future. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership self-development (Ren, Collins & Zhu, 2014). In my case, I need a mentor or a coach and this will continue to be my number one “next steps” in my personal and professional development. Another priority for me in the upcoming years is the development of a professional identity: a role for myself that will allow me to present myself with confidence and contribute to the growing body of professionals in my area of specialization. When powerful leaders present their papers at conferences, they do so with aplomb because they have strong professional identities. Their sense of self is strong. They know who they are and have a sense of purpose in both their personal and professional lives. Therefore, one of my top priorities is to clarify what my professional identity is and how that identity serves others.




References

Cho, Y., Harrist, S., Steele, M., & Murn, L. T. (2015). College student motivation to lead in relation to basic psychological need satisfaction and leadership self-efficacy. Journal of College Student Development, 56(1), 32-44.
Chollet, M., Wörtwein, T., Morency, L. P., et al. (2015, September). Exploring feedback strategies to improve public speaking: an interactive virtual audience framework. In Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (pp. 1143-1154). ACM.
Ren, S., Collins, N., & Zhu, Y. (2014). Leadership self?development in C hina and V ietnam. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 52(1), 42-59.
Shamir, B., & Eilam-Shamir, G. (2018). “What’s your story?” A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development. In Leadership Now: Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir(pp. 51-76). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Seibert, S. E., Sargent, L. D., Kraimer, M. L., & Kiazad, K. (2017). Linking Developmental Experiences to Leader Effectiveness and Promotability: The Mediating Role of Leadership Self?Efficacy and Mentor Network. Personnel Psychology, 70(2), 357-397.