Nurses' views on the characteristics of an effective leader

AORN Journal,  Feb, 2008  by Arta Feltner,  Barbara Mitchell,  Elfi Norris,  Clara Wolfle

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MOTIVATION. The participants believed that an effective leader forms a team of people who are responsible for their various duties. Leaders could accomplish this through incentives and rewards for successful work. Some of these rewards might include promoting successful employees or sending a letter or e-mail to the rest of the team members letting them know about an employee's good work.

The participants believed that an effective leader understands what motivates the team. If a leader is able to motivate staff members personally, staff members' duties will be carried out more effectively. This results in staff members feeling better about themselves as individuals and as team members.

For leaders to be effective, they must be responsive to the needs of all personnel. Some staff members need structured assignments, while others need the freedom to perform self-directed work. (4) The leader needs to have the ability to select, motivate, work with, and lead employees.

DELEGATION. The participants believed that a leader should be able to delegate work. The leader should not do it all or make all the decisions. Presumably, capable nurses are employed at the facility, so the leader should encourage staff members to assume responsibility for developing competence in their work. The leader also should know the strengths and weaknesses of his or her staff members so he or she can delegate tasks to the appropriate person. This would provide educational opportunities as well as professional growth opportunities for staff members. Delegation is a tool for leaders to get the most from their teams. It enables the leader to devote time to a number of issues at any one time and to develop the individual skills of staff members.

Effective leaders set performance expectations for their staff, offering support and guidance to help them succeed. (6) Participants indicated that a leader must be able to analyze activities, make decisions, assign activities into jobs, and assign the jobs to the appropriate staff members. The participants stated that a leader is responsible for allocating work assignments and ensuring that completion of the work occurs.

FLEXIBILITY. The participants stated that to be effective, a leader must be flexible. With this characteristic, the leader would diagnose a situation and adapt his or her behavior to fit the demands presented. If adapting his or her behavior is not a sufficient means of dealing with the situation, then the leader must find a way to change the situation. The participants believed that the effectiveness of confronting and solving problem situations was dependent upon the leader, the staff members, and the situation.

COMPASSIONATE. The participants believed that an effective leader is caring and understanding and has empathy and concern for others. A leader should display respect and consideration for others, both personally and professionally.

EMPLOYEE LOYAL. Those participants who addressed loyalty to employees in the initial interview were passionate in their comments. They believed that a leader has to be willing to take care of his or her employees by backing them up and defending them as necessary in the workplace. Most important, staff members need to feel assured that their leader would put himself or herself on the line for them. Although some RNs were passionate about this characteristic, in the final results, it came in at the lowest ranking, tied with "compassionate" and "sets objectives."