Leadership is the most integral aspect of attaining general effective healthcare. Therefore nursing leadership is essential in clinical care and management since nursing is the major healthcare discipline. It is certain that nursing leadership requires virtuous leadership which results in enhanced patient outcomes, job gratification and minimal turnover rates by health practitioners in healthcare (Thomas, 2013). It is, therefore, significant to acknowledge the mandate that nurse leaders take to establish effective patient care leadership. This paper identifies and discusses the management and leadership skills for a clinical nurse manager position while explaining the characteristics of an effective leader and how it makes one be an effective leader.
Clinical nurse manager job position is a very critical position in a healthcare setting. This position provides opportunities for expert healthcare practice and leadership as well. This position entails mentoring, being a leader and planning for finance. Actually, it syndicates both leadership and management skills and clinical expertise (Neal-Boylan, Guillett, & Chappy, 2018). The responsibility of a clinical nurse manager in the job description entails supervising, directing and organizing both work and the nursing staff. The keywords that denote leadership traits are; supervising, directing and organizing. Moreover, it is the duty of a clinical nurse manager to coordinate nursing activities in order to make sure that optimal patient care is offered that meets the quality standards. In the job description, clinical nurse manager is regarded as a mid-manager who is answerable to the nursing administrator.
The acuities of leadership in nursing are distinct from general leadership since it emphasizes nurses being accountable for enhancing and promoting the work environment. A clinical nurse manager job position places possess leadership features and administrative approaches in relation to the wide field of the nursing profession (Information Resources Management Association, 2018). The clinical nurse manager embraces distinct traits auxiliary to nursing thus the manager may be regarded as the supervisor. Nonetheless, considerably regarded as mid-management position, clinical nurse managers are mandated to oversee the progressive ideal functioning of the nursing department together with healthcare quality offered by nurses and other health practitioners (“Clinical Nurse Manager Jobs, Employment,” n.d.). With regards to the hierarchy of the medical setting, clinical managers possess leadership traits by taking responsibility for overseeing and reporting to the nursing director. Based on their leadership characteristics, they are regarded as nurses’ representatives. Therefore, these managers are expected to possess leadership traits such as being able to establish a reliable and effective relationship that is trustworthy and encourage effective communication within the healthcare system.
Apparently, to be an effective leader, the clinical nurse manager has to possess personal characteristics that are considered to enhance leadership qualities for instance being open and the inspiration to lead. Besides giving direction, inspiring and guiding, an effective leader tend to be courageous, passionate, confident, committed and ambitious. The manager nurtures and acknowledges the talents and strengths of his subordinates and takes on team building committed and geared towards attaining a common goal. With regards to the level of emphasis that is put on interpersonal skills as well as proper relationships among healthcare practitioners is stalwartly evocative that it is a significant leadership skill that is encouraged to be exploited by healthcare leaders (“Clinical Nurse Manager Jobs, Employment,” n.d.). Emotional intelligence is also another trait of an effective leader which is deemed to be influence healthcare cultures significantly.
For a clinical nurse manager position, posing these personal characteristics enables the manager to lead effectively in various ways. Through these personal characteristics, the manager is able to lead by example (Kelly, 2012). The manager passionate about the work is therefore enabled to lead by example which helps in building credibility and obtain respect. The manager is able to demonstrate the desirable kind of conduct that he or she would like to be followed by his subordinates. This helps to build trust thus promoting effective leadership. Personal characteristics together with traits of an effective leader also play a significant role in enabling one to be an effective leader in the managerial position as it enables one to demonstrate integrity. Integrity is drawn from the leader’s virtues in guiding their decisions making, behavioral and social context. These traits enable one to be able to make the right choices by distinguishing wrong from the right which is an added advantage of gaining respect and cooperation due to being principled, genuine, reliable and ethical
It is a requirement for a clinical nurse manager to have clinical expertise. Therefore, having clinical expertise enable one to be an effective leader in this position since one will have full knowledge of the nursing processes thus one will have easy time leading staffs and coordinating daily work processes (“Clinical Nurse Manager Jobs, Employment,” n.d.). Possessing clinical expertise enables the manager to guide and offer support to nurses who come to seek advice in case of any problem. Having full knowledge of the clinical process enables the clinical nurse manager to make appropriate recommendations to manage certain situations and as a result, make him an effective leader. Therefore, a clinical nurse manager has to be qualified and experienced in order to lead effectively. Additionally, towards achieving effective leadership, the ability to communicate effectively enables one to be an effective manager. Clear, concise and tactful communication is vital in leadership as it entails more than listening and providing a proper response (“Clinical Nurse Manager Jobs, Employment,” n.d.). Learning to communicate effectively enables one to create a mutual relationship within the department he leads and also promote interdepartmental relation and cooperation which therefore facilitate effective and smooth leadership.
Both personal characteristics and effective leadership have a relation. Personal characteristics such as the ability to be inspirational and motivational are depicted in the qualities of effective leadership. There is a connection between personal characteristics and effective leadership since besides clinical expertise leadership is based on personal behavior and conduct. Personal characteristics typically ascribe to effective leadership. The character of an effective leader is based on personal characteristics demonstrated by their level of interaction with employees and effectiveness in staff motivation in embracing the hospital’s goals. Also, an individual’s view greatly influences his or her leadership style. A person’s character and attitude tend to make managers have different forms of leadership styles (Information Resources Management Association, 2018). An individual view is likely to be counter-effective behaviors which influence his or her leadership styles to suit his own preferences and fulfill his own personal goals and desires.
Essentially, leadership is the most integral aspect of attaining general effective healthcare. A clinical nurse manager position is a demanding job that requires effective leadership skills and personal characteristics in order to achieve effective leadership. This position has a big responsibility and it is, therefore, significant for a clinical manager to apply both managerial and leadership skills in order to promote healthcare performance and quality.