Chief Nursing Officer Advice to Emerging Nurse Leaders – 2014

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

In a previous blog, I mentioned that each year in my Introduction to Nursing Leadership graduate course, my students select a chief  nursing officer in a health care agency to interview.  The students have a list of questions that they ask and then add some of their own.  I enjoy these reading these interviews because they highlight the changing challenges in today’s health care environment.  Each year during the past twelve.  I have had to opportunity to learn through the eyes of the CNOs what advice they would give to emerging nurse leaders just beginning their careers.  Here is a list of the pearls of wisdom from 30 Chief Nursing Officers interviewed in 2014:

• Think about the CEO and COO roles.
• Keeping learning and do each role well.
• Advance your education – get certified…stay educated about healthcare changes.
• Be flexible – say yes if possible.
• Don’t get discourage but be willing to leave your comfort zone.
• Don’t take things too personally.
• Be willing to leave a position if it is not working.
• Demonstrate that you are a problem solver.
• Make yourself visible.
• Develop career goals and stay focused.
• Realize that failure is OK.
• Don’t compromise your values.
• Observe leaders – then develop your own style.
• Always walk the talk
• Manage your time well.
• Don’t let go of your sense of humor.
• Take care of yourself.
• Put yourself in uncomfortable situations – this is how you learn.
• Surround yourself with the best people you can find.
• Leadership is all about relationships – you must engage the hearts and minds of others.
• Just do it.
• Give yourself time to find your niche.
• It may be scary but don’t stop.
• You have to love what you do or you won’t do it well.
• Listen more than you speak.
• Make your bed in the morning – then you will have accomplished the first task of the day.
• Find a good mentor and read leadership books.
• Seize the day.
• Be open to change.

The Chief Nursing Officers interviewed realize that the healthcare environment is rapidly changing.  The world that emerging nurse leaders will lead will have different challenges than exist today.  The theme of the answers is that taking risks is important and that you may not always succeed. but you definitely won’t if you never try.  This advice is critically important because my research with Generation Y nurses indicates that fear of failure is a key factor in willingness to accept or reject leadership roles.  As these CNOs indicate, there is no certainty in leadership situations.  Sometimes, you just need to jump in and feel the fear but do it anyway.  Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice on this is timeless, “We gain strength, courage and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face……….we must do that which we think we cannot.”