Beyond credentials: Cultivating authentic leadership in uncertain times

“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” – Peter Drucker

Twenty years ago this May, I stood at the far end of a crowded hallway that was alive with students in starched white uniforms, light flashes from clicking cameras, and the collective sighs of relief characteristic of new graduate nurses. There we were in alphabetical order—porcelain nursing lamp in one hand, fresh red rose in the other—anxiously awaiting the moment of pinning that granted us official status as nurses. Ahead was the auditorium, where we would be met by faculty and hear final speeches on leadership and the nobility of the nursing profession. The specifics of the messages offered that evening are long gone, but what remains is my vision of one faculty member, in particular, who embodied authentic leadership without ever speaking a word on what it meant to be a leader.

Angel Shannon, 1993

A young, soft-spoken woman of few words, she balanced a full-time teaching schedule at the junior college with four young children, a husband, and full-time enrollment in a PhD program. Always impeccably groomed, she was known amongst students as a natural mentor in whom you could confide without fear of admonishment or embarrassment. To her, every mistake was forgivable. Indeed, every transgression was an opportunity to learn, even those that others may have considered of sufficient offense to warrant prompt dismissal from the nursing program. She viewed nursing not as a job but a noble profession, and she believed in the philosophy of nursing and the nursing process—ADPIE (more on that later)— as tenets for meeting the challenges of everyday life.

In the clinical setting, she demanded that we be “prepared for anything,” as there is no way to foresee the change or crisis that can completely make void the best laid care plan. From tasks as simple as making a bed to those requiring more critical thinking, every nursing intervention either added to or subtracted from the collective patient experience. The ability to memorize the chemical makeup of a medication was nice, she said, but no more impressive than displaying compassion by wrapping an arm around the shoulders of a grieving mother or inconsolable child. Raised in the Caribbean, this faculty member had a palpable sense of community and lived by the dictum of working together, urging us to study together and draw upon the collective wisdom of our cohort rather than traveling the difficult road alone. In a word, she was the kind of nurse leader many of us aspired to be.

Over the years, much has been written about leadership and timeless questions still remain: Are leaders born, or do they develop over time? Are good leadership skills innate, or can they be taught? In a rapidly shifting economy, in the face of globalization and amidst constant health policy reform, what skill sets do future nursing leaders need? Aside from credentials and long lists of certifications, what are the personal—and sustainable—attributes of great leadership? A few thoughts come to mind when considering these questions.

1. Great leaders are great listeners.

Hearing is not the same as attentive listening. Hearing is simply a neurological response to the presence of sound. Attentive listening evokes memory, conjures up compassion and helps convey the message that the concerns, opinions, and ideas of another are not only heard but understood and valued. Whether engaging an individual or a group, great leaders value the credibility and trust that is gained through paying attention and listening deeply.

2. Great leaders are lifelong students.

The pursuit of a doctoral degree is not for everyone and certainly not necessary for every career path, but education and advancement of skill sets are. Whether through formal higher education or self-paced, continuing education, great leaders teach and lead from their own wellspring of knowledge and experience, driven by the personal satisfaction and fulfillment that comes through sharing knowledge with others.

3. Great leaders are eternal optimists.

Every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow, even suboptimal experiences that we view as contrary to our well-laid plans. The job that went sour, the research proposal that wasn’t funded, the unit project that fell flat despite endless hours of meetings and hard work—all are opportunities to gain new knowledge and refine processes for the next time around. Great leaders learn from the past, operate in the present, and focus on the future to improve the chances of team success and avoid repeating costly mistakes. (It’s a process we nurses know as ADPIE—assess, diagnose, plan, intervene, and evaluate.)

4. Great leaders tap human potential.

Desmond Tutu, one of the greatest leaders of our time, once said, “A person is a person through other persons.” Every member of a group matters and, whether they know it or not, has something of value to contribute. Great leaders learn from others. They tap the sparks and tiny flickers of possibility that burn deep on the inside of every individual, nurturing potential rather than harping on limitations and deficits. As individuals learn and recognize their own strengths, they are better prepared to work collectively, nurturing the strengths and potential of others.

5. Great leaders are resilient.

Resilience, by definition, is the power or ability to return to original form or position after being bent, compressed, or stretched; the ability to recover readily from adversity and the like. In other words, resiliency is the ability to “bounce back.” Great leaders are those who anticipate adversity and accept change as a natural part of living. Great leaders are flexible in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity, recognizing that rigidity to fixed rules negates one’s ability to overcome adversity, obstacles, and setbacks. Always committed to growth, great leaders learn—and teach others—how to “go with the flow.”

The faculty member I’m referring to in this post later earned her PhD in nursing and went on to become a pillar of strength, not only at the junior college but in her community, embodying the kind of authentic leadership skills required of nurses in these uncertain times. For those of us who are advanced practice nurses, it is just as important in this era of rapid change to maintain ownership of our profession and develop vision for the scope of our practice as it is to collect credentials—not only for ourselves, but also for the communities we serve and represent.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.