Running Head: THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

The Road To The Transformational Leader

Kei-Sha Dollard

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 400-6W1 Nursing Leadership

THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 2

The Road To The Transformational Leader

To be an effective leader in the current ever-changing dynamic healthcare system of

today; adopting the transformational leadership style would allow inspiring nurse leaders of the

future to be successful. Transformational leaders inspire followers to achieve extraordinary

outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity (Clavell & Prado-Inzerillo,

2018). Northouse (2013) defined transformational leadership as “The style of leadership in

which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through

inspiration, and executes the changes with the commitment of the members of the group”

(Renjith, G, & George, 2015). Nurse leaders are role models; they build trusting, interpersonal

relationships with their followers, clients, and the community; they advocate for improving the

quality of care for clients as well as enhancing the satisfaction among their followers and peers.

Transformational leadership is a theory or style that focuses on the need for leaders who

are willing to embrace change, reward staff, guide staff members in understanding their roles

within the organization and the importance of the organization or a positive work environment,

and work toward developing a self-aware staff that is able to take risks to improve (Finkelman,

2016). To become a transformational leader, you must possess the following characteristics and

qualities according the to the American Nurses Association (ANA): be an effective

communicator; be able to inspire and empower others through shared decision-making; display

enthusiasm and show support for positive change. Kouzes and Posner’s exemplary leadership

model offers a clear path for anyone wishing to develop a transformational leadership style.

This model includes the following five practices: modeling the way, encouraging the heart,
THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 3

inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and challenging the process (Clavell & Prado-

Inzerillo, 2018).

Modeling the way, is to lead by example. Nurse leaders are role models. They

display the qualities that inspire others to improve their skills to provide clients with better

outcomes. Improving communication and collaboration through the interdisciplinary team will

increase the satisfaction among the staff and clients. Efficient, accurate, and timely

communication is essential to maintain a safe and trusting environment for clients (Gausvik,

Lautar, Miller, Pallerla, & Schlaudecker, 2015). Miscommunication among staff contributes to

eighty percent of medical errors and is the leading cause of patient harm (Vines, Dupler, Van

Son, & Guido, 2014). In my practice, I strive to provide an accurate and thorough bedside shift

report to the nurse that takes over the care of my clients. This includes the reason why the client

was admitted, information about tests and procedures the client has had, as well as test and

procedures they may have scheduled, the clients current condition and important factors to be

aware of, and their discharge plans. I encourage the client and their families to participate in the

discussion; by doing so, this allows them an opportunity to ask questions and to express their

feelings and concerns. I also confirm with the oncoming nurse that they have all the information

they need to care for the client. If they have questions that I do not have the answers to, I make

sure we research the answers together to accomplish a resolution. This improves the knowledge

of the nurse and me. Maintaining open communication with staff and my clients allows me to

provide extraordinary care and to meet needs of the staff and clients. The bedside shift report

increases client safety and satisfaction; creates trusting nurse-client relationships; reduces

communication errors; and promotes accountability, teamwork, and respect among staff

(Gausvik, Lautar, Miller, Pallerla, & Schlaudecker, 2015). During interdisciplinary beside
THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 4

rounds, I make sure the provider is aware of any client and family concerns, so they can be

addressed at the beside. The provider is also made aware of any overnight events that took

place. The client has the opportunity to discuss their plan of care with the provider and are

reassured that I have their best interest a heart and will advocate for them. Transitional leaders

are also advocates for clients. According to the American Nurses Association, nursing is the

protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury,

alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in

the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. One of the most important roles

of a nurse is to be an advocate. As an advocate, the nurse ensures that clients have the

information they need to make decisions about health care. The complexity of the healthcare

system puts most clients in a vulnerable position. The nurse advocates for clients by making

sure that they have been properly informed, that their rights are respected and protected, and that

they are receiving the proper level of care (Henry et al., 2016). I had a patient that was very

adamant about going home with her family instead of going to acute rehab. She was determined

to gain enough strength to be able to walk better and to help feed herself. I would help her walk

around the unit at night and would encourage her to use the utensils provided by occupational

therapy to feed herself. We started off by setting small goals and each day the client’s walking

with a walker improved and she was able to feed herself more and more. I spoke to the provider

and stated that the patient does not want to be away from her family and she would like to be

discharged home. The provider was concerned for the patient’s safety due to her unsteady gait.

I explained that I have been working with her to improve her mobility. He stated, he would have

her reevaluated by physical therapy. Physical therapy agreed that she was more steady walking

using a walker and said that she should be okay with home therapy. I was able to inform case
THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 5

management. The case manager set up a meeting with the client’s family and they agreed to

outpatient therapies. The client was so happy she cried.

Encouraging the heart is demonstrated by appreciating coworkers contributions and

celebrating their accomplishments. As a staff nurse myself, I always show my coworkers how

appreciative I am of their help. Working on a Stroke Treatment and Recovery Unit, you care for

clients with deficits that are not able to care for themselves. The case load can be very heavy at

times. I am fortunate to be surrounded by coworkers that put in the extra work to help each other

out. We all work together to get through our shift. We help each other with toileting, rounding

and keeping our patients safe. We send each other Diamonds, which is recognition for going

above and beyond by displaying leadership and excellence. Coworkers are encouraged to

achieve their goals and their accomplishments are always celebrated. I always personally

acknowledge coworkers’ accomplishments such as passing a class, passing a certification exam

or achieving a personal milestone including getting married or having a baby. Building caring

relationships with coworkers allow you to achieve the goals of an organization together.

You inspire a shared vision for the future when you can envision it yourself and describe

it to others in a way that elicits excitement (Clavell & Prado-Inzerillo, 2018). On our unit, many

of our patients are monitored and are required to have IV access. Most of us are not trained in

putting in peripheral IVs. We work with a client population that are sometimes confused and

pull out their IVs, so we are constantly calling the Vascular Access Team to have them replaced.

I suggested to the team that we should at least shadow the Vascular Access Team and get trained

on IV placement. This would increase our ability to provide timely, quality care to clients. We

each are taking turns to complete training and are excited about improving our nursing skills.
THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 6

Enabling others to act allows them to participate in new opportunities and promotes team

collaboration, which creates a sense of trust and empowerment. I display this by encouraging

staff to continue their education. I also iterate the importance of life-long learning. Being a

nurse, you are always learning new skills and improving your knowledge through evidence-

based practice. You advance your leadership skills with continued education. My leadership

goals are to finish my Bachelor Degree in Nursing, pursue a Doctorate Degree in Nursing, and to

get as many credentials and certifications as possible. I will also join a Nursing Professional

Governance Council to begin working on my RN III promotion. This allows me to provide the

best possible care to my clients and to continue my nursing professionalism. Increasing my

knowledge and skills allows for me to be a more effective transformational leader and mentor to

my peers.

Challenging the process allows nurses to take risks and experiment with new ideas.

Learning from mistakes encourages identification of new opportunities and supports positive

change. On my unit there was miscommunication during the patient care technician’s (PCT)

shift report. They were not providing the oncoming PCT with the updated information about

clients if changed throughout the day. This was making the nurses have to constantly remind the

PCT to complete tasks, which caused a delay in patient care. To solve the problem, nurses

completed the PCT care sheets for the oncoming PCT to make sure they are provided with the

most up to date information about the clients on the unit. This allowed for the off going PCT to

make sure that the clients have been turned and checked for incontinence. More time was freed

up to have the clients’ rooms and nursing stations stocked with supplies.

In conclusion, developing a high quality, performance-oriented nursing workforce has

become the need for many organizations and every nurse leader should strive to inspire their
THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 7

followers to create a committed, enthusiastic team which work beyond the requirements of their

job title (Renjith, G, & George, 2015). Transformational leadership is a core component of the

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program, so being a

transformational leader contributes to the organization’s Magnet status (Clavell & Prado-

Inzerillo, 2018) .To develop an effective transformational nurse leadership style, you can follow

Kouzes and Posner’s leadership model of modeling the way, encouraging the heart, inspiring a

shared vision, enabling others to act, and challenging the process. To be an effective transitional

leader you should display the following characteristics of the ‘Transformational Leader’:

trustworthy, respectful, adaptable, nurturing, stable, facilitating, optimistic, reliable,

motivational, active listener, team oriented, inspirational, organized, negotiating, assertive,

legitimate, life-long learning, emotionally intelligent, appreciative, delegating, effective

communicator, and risk-taking (Renjith, G, & George, 2015). A transformational leader has a

vision and inspires others to follow their vision, while contributing to the mission of the

organization they are associated with. The overall goal of a transformation leader to facilitate

client and staff satisfaction.

THE ROAD TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER 8

References

Clavelle, J., & Prado-Inzerillo, M. (2018). Inspire others through transformational leadership.

American Nurse Today 13(11), 39-41.

Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses. United States: Pearson

Education.

Gausvik, C., Lautar, A., Pallerla, H., & Schlaudecker, J. (2015). Structured nursing

communication on interdisciplinary acute care teams improves perceptions of safety,

efficiency, understanding of care plan and teamwork as well as job satisfaction.

Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare 8, 33-37.

Renjith, V. & G., R. (2015). Transformational leadership in nursing. International Journal of

Scientific Research and Management Studies 2(2), 112-118.

Vines, M., Dupler, A., Van Son, C., & Guido, G. (2014). Improving client and nurse satisfaction

through the utilization of bedside report. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development

30(4), 166-173.