Nursing Leadership Report: Skills, Levels, and Practice Change

This report analyzes nursing leadership, focusing on the experiences of a student intern observing a nurse leader, Ms. Martha Bridget, and her impact on patient care and staff practices. The report applies John Maxwell's five levels of leadership to assess the observed leader and the author's own leadership level, identifying strengths and areas for development. The author reflects on a practice change related to personal protective equipment for infection control, supported by a case scenario. The report also includes a self-assessment of body language and its role in leadership, highlighting the importance of non-verbal communication in influencing others. The author concludes with plans for improvement to enhance leadership effectiveness.

1Running head: NURSING LEADERSHIP
Nursing Leadership
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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1.
While working as an intern in an eminent healthcare setting in the city as part of my
clinical placement, I had the opportunity to come across a leader who was efficient to
influence others to make a change. The concerned person was a nurse leader named Ms
Martha Bridget who focused on providing clinical leadership and implementing patient care
processes and models of care delivery. According to Hess (2004) a nurse leader must work
for better patient outcomes across the clinical setting. The main role that this leader played
was related to designing and implementation of evidence-based practices, as she believed that
evidence-based practices could ensure optimal quality care through full utilisation of
resources. The most noteworthy one being adherence to adequate hand washing methods by
the nursing professionals. She had taken initiative the reform the guidelines used by the
setting in this regard and motivated all healthcare professionals to abide by the same.
As a leader Ms. Martha collaborated with other health professional team members for
coming up with suitable strategies that can be beneficial for both the professionals and the
patients. A remarkable feature of her leadership competency was that her communication
skills were excellent and she could establish a strong relationship with the stakeholders with
which she would collaborate. In addition, she had the advanced nursing knowledge and
engaged in the continuous learning process to keep herself updated about recent
advancements in the nursing field.
2.
The concept of five level of leadership was put forward by John Maxwell who studied
the concept of leadership in details. As per the scholar, the five levels of leadership are
position, permission, production, people development, and pinnacle, with the last one as the
highest level. I would categorise Ms Martha at level 3 that is of production. The goal of a

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leader in this level is to motivate other people for fulfilling a set of goals and bringing about a
change. On this level, a person exhibiting leadership must be focusing on producing a result
on the basis of their credibility and ability to influence others. People tend to follow such a
leader since the relationship with the person is strong and based on respect. At the production
level, leaders act as change agents. As positive change is brought about, profits are high and
organisational goals are accomplished. Leading others is a fulfilling and rewarding task since
leaders collaborate with followers to move towards success (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). In
relation to Ms Martha, it is to be noted that she had built up a strong relation with the
healthcare team members and motivated them to bring about positive changes in the setting in
relation to their regular practice. She had been successful in inculcating within the mind of
the professionals an essence of better performance.
3.
John Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership I believe is a good source for assessing
personal growth and progress in relation to leadership abilities. The paradigm has been
beneficial for understanding the level of leadership I fit into at present. Analysing the features
of each leadership level I come to the conclusion that I belong to the level 2 of leadership,
that is Permission. According to Grohar-Murray et al., (2016) a leader at this level can
exhibit his leadership skills solely on the basis of relationships established with concerned
individuals. Leadership is also based on trust and the aspiration of these individuals to follow
the leader. The most notable outcome of the leader-follower situation is that lasting and
strong relations are built. In my opinion, I at this level since my leadership is based solely on
personal relationships and the rapport I share with the individuals. Moreover, I lead those
people for whom I have developed a liking and develop influence on people with whom I
share a trusted relationship. For moving onto the next level of leadership that is Production, I
need to enhance my ability to influence other irrespective of whether I have a trusted

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relationship with them or not. I need to communicate effectively with the concerned people
my aims and motives for gaining credibility.
4.
The practice change that I want to bring in is related to the adequate use of personal
protective equipment for infection control. I would like to take this opportunity to out
forward a story that is pertinent to the change proposed by me. The setting for this scenario is
a less reputed healthcare setting in a rural area. While caring for an elderly patient the need of
using additional personal protective equipment was essential. The patient had passed type 7
stool as per the Bristol stool chart that indicated that the patient had been suffering from
Clostridium difficile infection. The student nurse providing assistance to the patient was
required to wear the ‘added’ protective equipment. However, she deterred herself from
following the guideline. Four days later it was reported that the patient had contacted the
same infection and her condition was not stable. From such scenarios, it is evident that all
healthcare professionals must be using personal protective equipment s deemed fit.
5.
At this juncture, I would put forward the result of personal introspection in regards to
my body language to understand whether I am authoritative or not and whether I appear to be
approachable. After receiving feedback from my peers and seniors, I conclude that my body
language does not appropriately indicate that I am authoritative. Instead, I come across as an
approachable person to other individuals. People opine that my self-confidence and strength
is reflected in a restricted manner through my body language. Nervous and random gestures
are distracting and does not complement what I say. A nursing professional eager to exercise
leadership must have strong body language and reflect positivity. Proper use of body
language plays a chief role in communication, and subtle body language draws people to the

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person (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). As I aspire to become a leader in natural magnetism, I
would like to take part in personal grooming sessions conducted by professionals that would
help me in exhibiting desired body language.

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References
Grohar-Murray, M. E., DiCroce, H. R., & Langan, J. C. (2016). Leadership and management
in nursing. Pearson.
Hess Jr, R. G. (2004). From bedside to boardroom-nursing shared governance. Online
Journal of Issues in Nursing, 9(1).
Weiss, S. A., & Tappen, R. M. (2014). Essentials of nursing leadership and management. FA
Davis.