Being a Hopeful Nurse Leader - Emerging Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Every year, Gallup polls the qualities the workforce globally looks for in leaders. The data is in for 2025, and the answer is that staff want to work for hopeful leaders. Four attributes—hope, trust, stability, and compassion—always track in the top four, but this year, the need for hope far exceeds the other three, with more than 56% of staff citing it as the number one quality they seek in leaders.

A nurse leader recently shared with me that she has challenges sustaining hope with her staff when she does not feel hopeful. She explained, “We are on a treadmill of too much work, staff burnout, family incivility, and constant staffing challenges. I am naturally very positive, but I don’t feel positive right now as things don’t seem to improve substantially. Money is very tight, and the political changes’ headwinds are strong. The world seems to be spinning out of control. Every nurse I talk with seems to have an exit plan that takes them out of our acute care environments.”

This nurse leader is not alone. Nurse leaders report high stress, anxiety, and clinical depression among their nursing staff. Volumes remain high, and new data from a study published in JAMA (see Jama Article on Beds )indicates that the US may start experiencing a severe shortage of hospital beds in as little as five years. Staffing is already very tight. Much of the nursing workforce is negative, disengaged, and angry, especially in acute care environments. Small incremental changes and improvements, while a good step forward, only result in momentary changes in morale.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Yet instilling hope can be challenging at a time when there are so many unknowns, and life as we once knew it has changed, perhaps forever. Many nurse leaders try to calm the nerves of anxious and fearful nurses as they struggle with their uncertainty. Yet, the ability to see past the chaos and remain hopeful about future possibilities is an essential leadership quality today. So here are some crucial strategies that hopeful leaders use, according to the experts:

Create a hopeful vision: Articulate a clear and inspiring vision of the future that motivates people to strive towards a positive outcome.
Promote optimism: Maintain a positive mindset and express confidence in the team’s ability to overcome challenges.
Set meaningful goals: Establish achievable goals that contribute to the overall vision and provide a sense of progress.
Celebrate achievements: Recognize and celebrate even small successes to reinforce positive momentum.
Foster collaboration: Encourage teamwork and open communication to create a sense of shared purpose.
Demonstrate empathy: Show genuine concern for your team’s well-being and challenges.
Be transparent: Communicate openly and honestly about challenges while highlighting potential solutions.
Empower individuals: Provide opportunities for team members to take ownership and contribute to decision-making.
Adapt to change: Be flexible and adaptable to uncertain situations, demonstrating resilience in the face of obstacles.
Develop your positive mindset: Leaders who believe in their ability to achieve goals are likelier to inspire hope in others.

Shane Lopez, an expert in hope, contends that hope is part of being an authentic leader. It is vital to send a strong message that there is a pathway out of this, and we will find it together as a team. Inspiring creative thinking and creating an agency to solve problems is crucial. Developing positive feelings over the day is essential to maintaining hopefulness. One leader has shared with me that when she gets pessimistic, she starts rounding on patients and staff. She aims to look for everything positive and where progress is happening, and she points this out in her conversations with patients and staff.

Winston Churchill wisely noted during World War II that when you go through hell, keep going. That is what hopeful leaders do.

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