Personal Leadership Philosophy in Nursing Walden University Essay
Personal Leadership Philosophy
Leadership often leaves a lasting impression, whether it comes from public figures like Abraham Lincoln or the quiet influence of mentors and colleagues who model strong values and vision. Although all leaders are unique, there are exceptional leaders that are always guided by a leadership philosophy, a set of beliefs that every great leader adheres to in their decision making, actions, and relationships. Leadership in healthcare can be very instrumental in enhancing clinical performance, establishing collaboration in teams and professional well-being. In this paper, I seek to provide evidence-based frameworks, outcome of my CliftonStrengths Assessment, and evidence-based literature on leadership to describe my personal philosophy of leadership. I will outline my personal values, mission, and vision, discuss my leadership strengths, list two behaviors in which to develop my strengths, and create a strategy to enhance these two behaviors and achieve them in consistency with my future leadership goals.
Core Values
I base my leadership on three major values, namely, integrity, discipline and lifelong learning. The value that acts as the backbone of my personal and work life is integrity. In my opinion, honesty, transparency, and moral decision making are critical in building trust and in generating a place where a team will feel secure and valued. According to Broome (2024), integrity is a leading trait of transformational nurse leaders, who should always display an ethical behavior and act as an inspiration to other people. My leadership vein also focuses on discipline. As noted in my CliftonStrengths report, Discipline is an attribute that demonstrates my desire to order the world around me, use planning and consistency, which are vital in high-stake settings like healthcare. I am committed to achieving sanity in complex situations to ensure resources, processes, and timelines are organized. The third value, lifelong learning, is also stated in my top strength, Learner. This principle makes me strive to develop and learn more and be open to changes constantly. Chan et al. (2023) note that knowledge translation can and should be a part of nursing leadership, indicating that as leaders, nurses need to be lifelong learners who can foster improvement by translating evidence into practice. These values provide a moral and strategic compass for my leadership journey.
Mission and Vision Statement
I have the mission as a leader to foster culture of integrity, growth, and collaboration through leading with purpose, empowering others, and using evidence-based practices. My values lie in the commitment to build inclusive and supportive conditions in which people are motivated to give their best, learn and innovate wisely. My vision is to be a transformative nurse leader facilitating the implementation of evidence-based knowledge in clinical practices, encouraging healthcare teams to be more resilient, and leading investigations and projects aimed at improving the well-being of staff and increasing patient care outcomes. Broome (2024) claims that transformational leaders are visionary, proactive and believe in building others up. My vision as a leader falls within this framework and is based on the fact that better health systems and healthier communities are created by empowering teams.
CliftonStrengths Assessment
My top five strengths found out in my CliftonStrengths Assessment are Learner, Deliberative, Strategic, Achiever, and Discipline. All these strengths offer an understanding of how I address leadership challenges and opportunities. The Learner strength illustrates my urge to learn new things and become better. The learning process is what fuels me and I perform optimally in learning environments that appreciate growth. The Deliberative strength illustrates my reflective and prudent choices of actions. I evaluate risks thoughtfully and I avoid being impulsive and this is critical in both clinical and organizational environments. My Strategic strength gives me the perspective to recognize patterns, other solutions and the capability to have foresight and flexibility to lead teams through complexity. The Achiever strength represents my motivation and endurance I appreciate the sense of accomplishment and progress. Finally, Discipline ensures order and predictability. I am a person who depends on routines and plans to achieve goals in an efficient way. These strengths are compatible with the transformational model of leadership proposed by Broome (2024), which considers strategic thinking, vision, and reflection as competencies that can help a leader become effective.
Key Behaviors for Growth
Two key leadership behaviors I intend to strengthen are delegation and emotional vulnerability. I have never delegated easily because I highly value discipline and control. I am one person who tends to over-commit and think that I can do the job much better myself, either to achieve higher quality or a quicker result. Nevertheless, studies reveal that good delegation enhances the capacity of a team, efficiency, and empowerment of others to develop (Specchia et al., 2021). My goals include entrusting more complicated duties to others and looking at delegation as an instrument of team building instead of a threat to quality. The next behavior is emotional vulnerability, which implies being open regarding personal limits, uncertainty, or emotional situations. Although I respect professionalism and emotional control, I understand that leaders are only able to promote authenticity, trust, and psychologically safe areas through vulnerability (Alsadaan et al., 2023). Being vulnerable is not about being unsafe or unprofessional but expressing a human and caring side when the situation demands it.
Development Plan and Path Toward Vision
The most effective way I can enhance delegation is by first defining what tasks can be delegated to other team members depending on their competencies and preferences. Weekly team huddles will be applied to address the workload plans and expectations. I will also consult with team members about their perception of the delegation process and will base the change strategy based on their responses. To create an emotionally vulnerable environment, I will start adding moments of reflection into team meetings, demonstrating an openness by sharing what I learned myself or what problems I have to deal with. I would also seek to be mentored by leaders who are considered to be emotionally intelligent and participate in professional development programs that emphasize need areas such as communication, self-awareness and empathy. Such measures will enable me to create better relations with my team members and foster the culture of openness and trust. The overarching vision of my leadership will be adopted ultimately, which is the development of innovative and resilient learning-oriented medical teams. Transformational leadership requires not only vision and competence but also emotional connection and the ability to elevate others (Broome, 2024).
Conclusion
Developing a personal leadership philosophy is a transformative process that requires reflection, intention, and a deep understanding of one’s values and strengths. My leadership philosophy is built on the principles of integrity, discipline, and lifelong learning, and is informed by the strengths of strategic thinking, cautious decision-making, and high achievement. As I continue my journey as a nursing leader, I am committed to enhancing my delegation and emotional vulnerability skills to become more inclusive, collaborative, and resilient. By aligning my actions with transformational leadership theory and leveraging evidence-based strategies, I aim to inspire growth, foster healthy work environments, and drive meaningful change in healthcare settings.
References
Alsadaan, N., Salameh, B., Reshia, F. A., Alruwaili, R. F., Alruwaili, M., Awad Ali, S. A., Alruwaili, A. N., Hefnawy, G. R., Alshammari, M. S., Alrumayh, A. G., Alruwaili, A. O., & Jones, L. K. (2023). Impact of nurse leaders behaviors on nursing staff performance: A systematic review of literature. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 60. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580231178528 Personal Leadership Philosophy in Nursing Walden University Essay
Broome, M. E. (2024). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader. springer publishing company.
Chan, R. J., Knowles, R., Hunter, S., Conroy, T., Tieu, M., & Kitson, A. (2023). From evidence-based practice to knowledge translation: What is the difference? What are the roles of nurse leaders? Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 39(1), 151363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2022.151363
Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., & Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1552. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041552
Personal Leadership Philosophy in Nursing Walden University Essay
Many of us can think of leaders we have come to admire, be they historical figures, pillars of the industry we work in, or leaders we know personally. The leadership of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln and Margaret Thatcher has been studied and discussed repeatedly. However, you may have interacted with leaders you feel demonstrated equally competent leadership without ever having a book written about their approaches.
What makes great leaders great? Every leader is different, of course, but one area of commonality is the leadership philosophy that great leaders develop and practice. A leadership philosophy is basically an attitude held by leaders that acts as a guiding principle for their behavior. While formal theories on leadership continue to evolve over time, great leaders seem to adhere to an overarching philosophy that steers their actions.
What is your leadership philosophy? In this Assignment, you will explore what guides your own leadership.
RESOURCES
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Chapter 1, “Frameworks for Becoming a Transformational Leader” (pp. 2–19 ONLY)
Chapter 6, “Shaping Your Own Leadership Journey” (pp. 182-211)
Chan, R. J., Knowles, R., Hunter, S., Conroy, T., Tieu, M., & Kitson, A. (2023). From evidence-based practice to knowledge translation: What is the difference? What are the roles of nurse leaders?Links to an external site. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2022.151363
To Prepare:
Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
Reflect on your results of the CliftonStrengths Assessment*, and consider how the results relate to your leadership traits.
*not required to submit CliftonStrengths Assessment
Personal Leadership Philosophies
Develop and submit a personal leadership philosophy that reflects what you think are characteristics of a good leader. Use the scholarly resources on leadership you selected to support your philosophy statement. Your personal leadership philosophy should include the following:
A description of your core values.
A personal mission and vision statement.
An analysis of your Clifton Strengths Assessment summarizing the results of your profile
A description of two key behaviors that you wish to strengthen.
A development plan that explains how you plan to improve upon the two key behaviors you selected and an explanation of how you plan to achieve your personal vision. Be specific and provide examples Personal Leadership Philosophy in Nursing Walden University Essay
Be sure to incorporate your colleagues’ feedback on your Clifton Strengths Assessment from this Module’s Discussion 2.
RUBRIC
Develop and submit a personal leadership philosophy that reflects what you think are characteristics of a good leader. Use the scholarly resources on leadership you selected to support your philosophy statement. Your personal leadership philosophy should include the following:• A description of your core values.• A personal mission statement, AND• a personal vision statement.
Analysis of your CliftonStrengths Assessment summarizing the results of your profile. • A description of two key behaviors you wish to strengthen. *not required to submit CliftonStrengths Assessment.
A development plan that explains how you plan to improve upon the two key behaviors you selected • An explanation of how you plan to achieve your personal vision. Be specific and provide examples.
Resource Synthesis
Written Expression and Formatting—Paragraph Development and Organization:Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused—neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction is provided, which delineates all required criteria.
Written Expression and Formatting—English Writing Standards:Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation.
Written Expression and Formatting:The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running head, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list Personal Leadership Philosophy in Nursing Walden University Essay