D218 Task 2 - Assignment

B. Differentiate between a leadership and a management mindset 1a. Differentiate three leadership skills from three management skills present in yourself. 1. Collaboration As a manager, you collaborate mostly between intra-disciplinary teams whereas a leader you collaborate on an individual level. Managers tend to have a certain checklist that they follow which they might have created or come from upper management. As a manager at an Adult Family Home, I can relate to this. We must collaborate with different people for our residents such as social workers or case managers, but it is never on an individual level. Leaders tend to value the collaboration on an individual level. A good leader will encourage members to share their inputs to accomplish a shared goal. Leaders are invested in the success of everyone, not just an organization. I also work as a charge nurse on a medical/oncology unit in that role I strive to inspire and encourage others to share ideas and inputs. I usually ask for my co-worker’s opinions and advice prior to making decisions. 2. Accountability As a manager, I am very task-oriented. I know how to manage my time and weekly paper works that need to be done and am able to prioritize. I know how to delegate assignments and what is expected of my staff. Managers have welldefined accountability, leaders, however, do not. Leaders might not have specific tasks, but they can inspire accountability. Leaders recognize and celebrate progress as an individual. When I work as a charge nurse, I know that the other nurses are doing their job, I do not have to micro-manage them but at the same time, they can come to me when they need help. 3. Interpersonal Skills Unlike managers, leaders are followed because of their strong intrapersonal skills. Working in the healthcare field I have noticed that leaders tend to ask the question “why”, whereas managers ask “how”. A good leader tends to inspire others to foresee future goals and encourage them to achieve them. Managers help drive people to success, but they work in the present. Managers work to meet the goals of the organization but leadership is about creating the goal itself. 1b. Differentiate three leadership skills from three management skills absent in yourself. 1. Authoritative Authoritative can be seen as bossy but it can be far from it. A manager who is authoritative drives people into action using sternness and has high expectations. Leaders can lead by adapting based on the situation and respond either with sternness or not. I do not feel like I have an authoritative style. I do not like intimidation, and I would not want anyone to feel intimidated by me. I also do believe that sometimes someone might respond better with stern feedback rather than with calm guidance. So, this is something I need to work on. 2. Navigating Complexity Healthcare is constantly changing, being a to make a high-quality decision is what makes a good leader. Managers have set guidelines they have to follow, mostly set by upper management, and are not able to think outside of the box as a leader might. Sometimes you will have to think outside of the box and think of ideas that are not common. I can sometimes be very rigid, and creativity is not my strongest suit. It can be a struggle trying to come up with ideas that are different. 3. Confidence In healthcare big decisions are made all the time, decisions that can come with high risk that effect a lot of people. You need to have lots of confidence to make decisions in high-stake situations. This can be very scary because if things go wrong, it's on you. I do believe that confidence will come with experience and time. 1bi. Describe how you can improve upon the three leadership skills from part B1a, including an example for each. 1. Collaboration I can become a better collaborator by communicating effectively. Making sure that everyone has a voice and is able to communicate their opinions without judgement. I would also value and acknowledge criticism. I would keep an openmind and encourage others’ ideas and inputs. For example, if there a new change that is going to be implemented on my floor, I would make sure to have my staff or co-workers share their ideas prior to making the change or after it's implemented check in to see where we can make improvements if needed. 2. Accountability I can improve on accountability by setting clear expectations. I would also like to increase transparency at workplace. For example, if I notice that a certain employee is late constantly, as a manager I would conduct a one-one one conversation with the employee. I would clearly lay down the expectations and also figure out why they are late and provide help if needed. 3. Interpersonal Skills I can improve interpersonal skills by staying positive, communicating effectively and being empathetic. In healthcare patient falls prevention is a big part. Sometime falls happens, when that happens, I would like to be the leader that asks the question “why” instead of “how”. Finding out why the fall happened can prevent other falls whereas when you focus on the how is shifts the blame on the staff. C. Explain the importance of a leadership mindset and how it influences your professional practice. Leadership mindsets is important because it influences how we interact with our colleagues. It involves our attitudes, how decisions are made and the actions that we take that can impact everyone around us. To achieve my goals and for me to become successful, it is important to have the leadership mindset. 1. Discuss how having a leadership mindset supports long-term personal growth, including examples. One of my long-term personal growth goals is to keep furthering my education and eventually become a nurse practitioner. Adapting to change and facing challenges are part of leadership mindset. I also would like to think of myself as a lifelong learner. I believe that furthering my education will help me thrive in challenging situations and make me a better person. For example, I am taking this course to further my education and get my bachelor's degree. The courses that I take within the program help me develop my critical thinking, explore my leadership mindsets and more so I can be a better person overall. 2. Discuss how having a leadership mindset supports long-term professional growth, including examples. Having a leadership mindset is important for long-term professional growth because the end goal is to grow within the organization and climb up the ladder. For example, I am currently working as a charge nurse leading the unit. Eventually in the future I would like to hone my leadership skills in a higher position. D. Summarize how you would apply the leadership skills from part B1a to influence your professional practice in a healthcare environment, including examples. Leadership skills such as collaboration, accountability and interpersonal skills are vital in a healthcare environment. Those are skills that are required for a good leader. Collaboration is happening all the time in healthcare. For the team to function effectively and to reach the shared goal collaboration is very important. It happens between nurses, doctors and other intradisciplinary teams. For example, if a patient is discharging, there is a collaboration between nurses, doctor, case managers and many more to make sure that patient is discharging appropriately and has everything in place prior to discharge. Interpersonal skills and accountability is also very important. In a healthcare environment, it is important to lead by example. It is important to have a positive mindset and have an environment that promotes clear expectation. For example, if a manager is late to meeting and always has a negative attitude it is easy for other staffs to follow. This can create a very toxic work environment which can affect everyone around. 1. Discuss how you would ensure equity and inclusivity as a leader in a healthcare environment, including examples. Throughout this course I have learned that in order to ensure equity and inclusivity as a leader in a healthcare environment it is very important to be aware of our own unconscious bias. In healthcare you will meet people from all different walks of life. They will have their own stories, circumstances, and journeys. It would be a shame to let our unconscious bias interfere in providing the care the patient deserves or prevent us from understanding their situation. For example, I have heard nurses say, “this patient is IV drug user so if they are asking for pain medication they are just seeking”. If we really believe this about every patient that is a drug user there is no way, we would be able to provide the care that they deserve. We would probably not be able to manage their pain effectively because of our bias. As a leader, I would confront this kind of situation by having staff explore and assess their biases and well as encouraging them to speak up so that this does not happen