Servant Leadership Paper Being a servant leader is a necessary quality in anyone who desires to become a professional nurse. It is a quality that many may possess naturally, or I would argue, that it is a quality that anyone can obtain. Obtaining this quality of servant leadership can come through learning about what being a servant leader. This paper will explore what it means to be a servant leader, and how to apply it to nursing practice.
Characteristics of Servant Leadership One characteristic of servant leadership is being genuine. As nurses we have a huge responsibility to build trust with our patients. If there is not trust, then patients will have lower levels of patient satisfaction, and may not feel like they are in a safe environment. …show more content…
I believe that most nurses are naturally service oriented and that is why they choose nursing. In my opinion, nursing is one of the best occupations to give service to patients and those around us. It is important to remember that as leaders our first responsibility is to put others before ourselves, even if it is at our own expense (Waterman, 2011). Servant leadership can be used in my future nursing practice in several ways. Becoming a servant leader is becoming aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone may possess the natural gift of servant leadership, but it can be learned. In the book, The Servant, the fictional nurse Kim summarizes the Leadership Model. Leadership begins with will, which is our choice to choose our behavior. We can then choose love, which is meeting people’s needs. We then learn how to serve others which builds influence. When we have influence we are then called a leader. The main point in this model is love. In the book love is described as a behavior that we choose. As nurses we can choose to love our patients and our employees. When we love someone we choose other positive behaviors such as being genuine, service oriented, and we gain influence with them (Hunter, …show more content…
I used to think that a leader and a manager were synonymous. I now know that a manager is more involved with the day to day operations and tasks and a leader is centered on building up his or her vision. A leader is someone who gains followers, not because they tell them to do so, but because they want to. I think it is difficult to be a leader. It is something that a person must be aware of and constantly working towards. A leader’s number one goal needs to be their employees, because their employees are what drive the business. Taking time to genuinely care about employees and fulfilling their needs are examples of how this can be
Characteristics of Servant Leadership One characteristic of servant leadership is being genuine. As nurses we have a huge responsibility to build trust with our patients. If there is not trust, then patients will have lower levels of patient satisfaction, and may not feel like they are in a safe environment. …show more content…
I believe that most nurses are naturally service oriented and that is why they choose nursing. In my opinion, nursing is one of the best occupations to give service to patients and those around us. It is important to remember that as leaders our first responsibility is to put others before ourselves, even if it is at our own expense (Waterman, 2011). Servant leadership can be used in my future nursing practice in several ways. Becoming a servant leader is becoming aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone may possess the natural gift of servant leadership, but it can be learned. In the book, The Servant, the fictional nurse Kim summarizes the Leadership Model. Leadership begins with will, which is our choice to choose our behavior. We can then choose love, which is meeting people’s needs. We then learn how to serve others which builds influence. When we have influence we are then called a leader. The main point in this model is love. In the book love is described as a behavior that we choose. As nurses we can choose to love our patients and our employees. When we love someone we choose other positive behaviors such as being genuine, service oriented, and we gain influence with them (Hunter, …show more content…
I used to think that a leader and a manager were synonymous. I now know that a manager is more involved with the day to day operations and tasks and a leader is centered on building up his or her vision. A leader is someone who gains followers, not because they tell them to do so, but because they want to. I think it is difficult to be a leader. It is something that a person must be aware of and constantly working towards. A leader’s number one goal needs to be their employees, because their employees are what drive the business. Taking time to genuinely care about employees and fulfilling their needs are examples of how this can be