The Leadership Gap: Supporting New Front line Leaders in Cancer Care

IntroductionAlthough an individual may have gained considerable competence and skill in their specific discipline, it is unclear what resources are required for an experienced clinician to develop to a clinical leader. As a first step for many, front line leadership positions are often the only practical way to develop behaviors suited to more advanced leadership roles in health care. A new role requires impactful change in perspective that creates intensive learning opportunities for staff and an organization. Conversely, this transition may also represent risk to those failing to adjust to new behaviors and environment. A paucity of scholarly literature on this subject makes recommendations for best practice challenging, particularly in cancer care. The goals of this project were to understand the current state of leadership orientation in a single cancer center, while encouraging collaborative dialog to connect and engage stakeholders.MethodsQualitative data were collected using a focus group with novice leaders and individual interviews with experienced leaders at a single cancer center. Novice leadership was defined as less than 2 years in a management role and experienced leadership as greater than 2 years of experience. The collective narrative was coded to identify repeating indigenous ideas and phrases. Broader review explored the relationships between concepts and categories to reveal important themes.ResultsThe narrative indicated that contributors understand the importance of support and guidance early in leadership development pathways. Additional findings revealed unmet expectations of novice leadership upon moving from individual clinical expert to front line leader and possible gaps in development support. Further examination of the data shows novice leaders are vulnerable and suggests that alongside didactic programming, peer support, mentorship, coaching with feedback, and project work underpin leadership development.ConclusionsThis project revealed positive behaviors enhancing new leader assimilation and performance while presenting possible solutions for apparent gaps in organizational support. Recommendations include creation of harmonized programming to address competency development and self-directed learning, enhanced peer support networks with job shadowing opportunities, and heightened organizational awareness of leadership transition supports.     

New Nurse Leaders: Creating a Work-Life Balance and Finding Joy in Work

New nurse leaders assume complex and demanding roles. These time-consuming positions can prevent work-life balance and eventually lead to burnout. Joy in work has been described as a concept in health care opposite of burnout. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement developed a four-step model for addressing barriers to joy in the workplace. This article will describe how new nurse leaders can use the four-step model to evaluate barriers to joy in the workplace. Strategies for change to address common challenges that prevent joy and work-life balance will also be provided.     

Leadership as a Personal Journey: An Indigenous Perspective

Indigenous Australians have higher levels of mental illness, self-harm, suicide and substance abuse than non-Indigenous Australians, as well as more frequent contact with the criminal justice system. These indices point to the need for strong leadership to support Close the Gap programmes that have now been implemented across Australia. This article considers leadership as a journey of learning for Australian Indigenous leaders. Through the use of story, it is suggested that a situational leadership approach, incorporating the principles of mindfulness, provides the most appropriate framework for Indigenous leaders who work with Indigenous communities. Flexible approaches are needed to meet the needs of diverse Indigenous populations, and address the complex challenges involved, including lateral violence. Such flexibility will enable Indigenous leaders and communities to work together to achieve improvements in the health outcomes, not only for Indigenous Australians, but also for Indigenous populations worldwide.     

The Educator as Facilitator: A New Kind of Leadership

As leaders, nurse educators must be aware of each learner's maturity level and learning style. This paper discusses the dependent, independent, and interdependent learner and offers strategies to make the transition from functioning as the teacher to functioning as the facilitator of the learning process.     

The Secret of Serotinous Leadership:: The Pandemic Crisis Changed Care Models,But Only After Leaders Changed Their Minds About Them

The COVID-19 pandemic punctured the status quo, triggering a reassessment of mindsets, biases and assumptions that had impeded widespread adoption of virtual care models and advanced nursing practice roles within them. Now, as we move to a post-pandemic environment, we enter a new phase, one in which continued progress on these fronts is not assured. Formalizing these breakthroughs as new standards of care - and securing nurses’ expanded practice roles - rests on the ability of nurse leaders to address a phenomenon called “cultural lag” and imaginatively shape the transformation on which continued progress depends.     

关于护士长领导方式与护士工作效率的研究

对上海市８所三级甲等医院的４８名护士长和２９２名护士进行问卷调查,以研究护士长领导方式与护士的工作效率之间的关系。护士的工作效率用护士的组织凝聚力、护理工作业绩、工作满意度来衡量。结果表明：护士长的主要领导方式是“榜样作用”和“焕发民心”;护士长的“激励作用”是提高护士的组织凝聚力、工作满意度的重要领导方式;护士长是否能够“挑战工作过程”是影响护士工作业绩的重要因素;“焕发民心”与护士的工作满意度呈高度相关。根据研究结果得出对我国医院护理管理与领导模式的建议,并对今后作进一步研究提出建议。