Making a Difference in Nursing Leadership

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

“The environment is invented by our presence in it. We do not parachute into a sea of turbulence, to sink or swim. We and our environments become one system, each influencing the other, each co-determining the other..” Margaret Wheatley

What keeps nurse leaders in their role? This is an interesting question and an important one because too often we focus our attention on why people leave and fail to ask why they stay. One of our doctoral students has just finished interviews with Chief Nursing Officers nationwide about sustainment in the role. I have been reviewing some of the transcripts to assist her with coding and theme development. I am struck at how many times in these interviews the theme of “making a difference” has surfaced. What is equally interesting is that these CNOs have made it a practice of actively reflecting (often daily) on how they make a difference. This active reflection on “how we make a difference” could be a very powerful antidote to the frustration that has accompanied the challenges and changes with health reform.

Switching the Focus from What We Have Not Done to What We Have Done

Focusing on how we make a difference can provide welcome relief from looking at the leadership task list that seems to grow every day. One of the challenges in today’s environment for most leaders is their own workload management. It is easy to feel like a failure because we feel pulled in so many different directions. A nurse leader recently told me that she felt like her work was “sucking the life blood from her”. The CNOs in this study were all in their roles for at least two years and worked on strategies to sustain them in their work. Reaffirming every day that you make a difference in your leadership was not something any of them were necessarily taught but they arrived at it because it seems to work. One CNO noted, “if you do this when you drive home in your car every night after work – you end the day on a positive note and it energizes you to come back in the next day.”

Questions to Ask Yourself to Reflect on How You Make a Difference

1. What did I do today that had a direct positive impact on the life of a patient or staff member?

2. Who did I take the time to mentor or coach to help them grow in their work?

3. How did I help build a sense of community among the staff that I lead and work with?

4. What did I do to recognize, appreciate or reward the work of someone else?

5. What situation is better in the work environment because of my contribution?

Make it a practice each day of coming up with at least three things that you did to make a difference. The interesting part of this exercise is that the more you focus on your own positive impact – the more opportunities you will find to further contribute and the more potential you will have to experience meaning in your work.