Qualities and skills necessary for effective nursing leadership

Nursing leaders play a crucial role in navigating complexities like balancing costs and monitoring productivity in a fast-moving industry. Since nursing leaders serve as role models for their colleagues, they must be inspiring and of strong character. So, you might wonder, what skills and qualities are required in this role? Keep reading to discover some of the most important qualities and skills necessary for effective nursing leadership. 

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is incredibly important in nursing leadership. An emotionally intelligent nursing leader is cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses. They can also take personal responsibility for their actions and contribute to cultivating a conducive working environment, which is essential in nursing. Additionally, emotionally intelligent nursing leaders can help the nursing staff cope with occupational stress. 

Emotionally intelligent people are also known to have advanced social skills. A nursing leader with excellent social skills can effectively interact with people in different roles and departments to ensure seamless collaboration. 

Communication skills

Effective communication is a core part of effective nursing leadership. Nursing leaders communicate with staff and patients to ensure optimal delivery of care. It is worth noting that communication is multi-faceted. One of the forms of communication that nurse leaders need is verbal communication. They must use a calm yet assertive tone to convey their ideas. They also have to choose their words wisely to eliminate the risk of miscommunication due to using medical jargon. Nursing leaders also need to master non-verbal communication. For instance, they can show interest by leaning forward to foster trust when interacting with patients. Written communication is also another form of communication that is incredibly important to nursing leaders. These skills, paired with excellent presentation skills, help nursing leaders handle the executive aspect of the job. 

Another important communication skill for nursing leaders is cultural competency. Nursing leaders need to be mindful of the cultural context of those around them. For instance, a situation might require them to interact with a patient’s family members who speak a different language. The nurse leader can look for ways to bridge that cultural gap by hiring interpreters. 

Decision making

Nursing leaders are constantly faced with tough decisions which may carry significant consequences, such as allocating resources and drafting up policies that can affect the entire organization. This is a core part of the curriculum for Baylor University’s DNP-ENL program. The nursing leadership degree helps develop strategizing skills so that nursing leaders can allocate human and financial resources, and prioritize when either (or both) are scarce. 

While it might sound straightforward, nursing leaders face ethical dilemmas daily and need excellent decision-making skills to rise above them. They have to weigh the pros and cons of each alternative – sometimes on their feet. They also have to remain true to themselves and the profession. If a given decision does not work out as planned, a nursing leader should be able to rethink quickly and change course. There is also the ability to accept failure without room for correction. Junior nurses look to nursing leaders for guidance on what to do every day. Therefore, a nursing leader with excellent decision-making skills goes a long way in delivering optimal patient care. 

Conflict resolution

Whenever people come to work together in a large environment, you can always expect conflict to develop. That is true in healthcare organizations, so nursing leaders need to be good at conflict resolution to avoid negative impacts on patient outcomes. Notably, there are different types of conflict in nursing. One is interpersonally based, where two or more people cannot see eye to eye due to different values over personalities. Another common type is issue-based, where two people cannot agree on the best way to handle a prevailing problem. 

Regardless of the type of conflict, a nursing leader can step up to resolve it as soon as possible. They can do so by interviewing relevant parties proactively to get to the root of the matter. It is also important for the nursing leader to stay calm to avoid becoming part of the problem. Most importantly, the nursing leader needs to keep lines of communication open. 

While conflicts are inevitable, a nursing leader can take some steps to prevent some instances. One way of doing that is staying on top of staff training and education. That way, team members will have the tools they need to fulfill their duties, reducing the likelihood of someone else having to pick up their slack. 

Mentorship

One of a nursing leader’s responsibilities is maintaining a safe and secure environment for all practicing nurses. When the environment is safe and secure, the retention rate goes up. So, the question of retention strategies comes up. Among the most effective approaches to retention in the healthcare sector is mentorship. Through mentorship, nursing leaders can inspire and support others to excel at what they do. 

Contrary to popular opinion, mentorship is not a natural gift. A nursing leader can consciously learn how to be a good mentor. A good mentor should be able to offer constructive criticism – giving feedback without breaking the mentee. A good mentor should also practice empathy to understand the perspective and feelings of their mentee. 

Time management

Effective time management is important for nursing leaders to achieve the goals of an organization. The healthcare sector is notorious for its high workload, so there needs to be someone to manage things. When a nursing leader has good time management skills, they can ensure that no task is neglected and that staff members have a better work-life balance. 

One of the most crucial time management skills is delegation. An effective nursing leader knows when to ask for help. For instance, they can assign some tasks related to patient care to unlicensed assistive personnel as long as they retain accountability for the outcome. 

A nursing leader can also better manage their time by focusing on one task at a time. While multitasking can sound like a good idea, it might be counterproductive in the long run. Therefore, prioritizing responsibilities and removing distractions while working would be a better idea. Most importantly, nursing leaders should prioritize rest. Work-related burnout is rampant among healthcare workers, and it’s known to have dire consequences, like the reduced quality of mental health. 

Digital competence

Technology is an important part of modern medicine. It has many aspects, some as simple as electronic data storage and others as complex as using artificial intelligence in patient care. While nursing leaders do not have to master everything in biotechnology, they must have some level of digital competence. They can use technology to make better care. For instance, a digitally competent leader can use data analytics software to determine the criteria for resource allocation. They can also use technology to automate some tasks, increasing the organization’s efficiency. 

Besides, when a nursing leader is tech savvy, they can guide the rest of the nursing team on embracing technology. That saves the entire team time, reduces the risk of errors, and eliminates redundant work. 

Additionally, a tech-savvy nursing leader can participate in testing, evaluating, and selecting technology. Therefore, they ensure the selected equipment or software is user-friendly, making care more impactful. 

It is worth noting that technology is constantly evolving, even in medicine. Therefore, a good nursing leader maintains a curiosity for new technology. 

Upholding ethics

The nursing profession is anchored on ethical principles like benevolence, non-maleficence, fidelity, and patient autonomy. It is incredibly important for nursing leaders to live by these principles to create a conducive working environment and to promote patient care. 

A good leader should strive to model and support ethical performance while, at the same time, adhering to the law. In some cases, ethical principles contradict legal guidelines. In such a situation, nursing leaders must rely on their judgment to ensure they are doing the right thing. For instance, consider a scenario where patient autonomy goes against medical directives. A nursing leader has to understand a patient’s background and find a compassionate way to explain to the patient why they might want to change their minds.