CNO Advice to Emerging Leaders 2016 - Emerging Nurse Leader

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

We live in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Nurse leaders are challenged to adapt their leadership to these changes and also think about what future leaders may face. This is the second part of a two-blog series on findings from interviews that students in my Introduction to Nursing Leadership graduate course did with Chief Nursing Officers. The first blog discussed CNO challenges. The students also ask about advice for emerging nurse leaders. The following is a list of the advice given to emerging leaders from 27 Chief Nursing Officers from healthcare organizations primarily in South Florida interviewed in 2016:

Take the time to learn about leadership before you jump into it
Seek out knowledge from other departments
Develop a high level of self-awareness.
Show passion
Be humble
Get ready for the ride of your life
Think about your legacy
Begin small – chair a committee
Advance your education – get certified…stay educated about healthcare changes —-be a lifelong learner
Be flexible – say yes if possible
Don’t take things too personally
Be willing to leave a position if it is not working
Make yourself visible
Develop career goals and stay focused
Realize that failure is OK
Don’t compromise your values
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 – fake it if you need to
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

These are pearls of wisdom and great advice not only for emerging nurse leaders but for all of us. Our CNOs are very optimistic about the future. They are also confident that our next generation of Millennial leaders will build an even better healthcare delivery system.