From Peer to Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

Accepting a leadership position on a unit or in a department where you have worked as a staff nurse can present some unique challenges.  On the positive side, you will not have the steep learning curve about the unit culture or staff that a leader selected outside the unit might experience.  But managing former peers especially when you have worked as a staff nurse coworker can be tricky even when they are supportive of your selection.  Your former opinions about unit functioning and your work habits are well known to your co-workers.  In your new leadership role, you will be expected to support and implement decisions made by your organizational leadership.  Your relationship with your co-workers will inevitably change as you move from friend and confidant to manager and coach.  This can lead to awkwardness as you see balance in a new and different relationship.  There may also be a few staff who don’t support your selection and may have even applied for the position themselves.  Navigating these changes can be challenging but the following are some important dos and don’ts.

The Dos

1. Meet individually with each staff member, inquire about their goals and expectations.
2. Tackle any awkwardness head on – let staff know that it can be challenging to switch from peer to nurse leader.
3. Let staff air their grievances especially if they were not selected for the role – remove the elephant in the room by being proactive.
4. Accept that some staff may decide to transfer or leave the unit because they are not happy with the change.
5. Ask for the support of staff – let them know that they are valued and you need your support to be effective in your new role.
6. Use knowledge that you have about staff from your previous role to your advantage by working hard to help staff achieve their goals and capitalize on their strengths.
7. Seek to achieve some early wins by helping to solve a few frustrating process or procedure problems that staff have longed complained about.
8. Work hard to earn trust and respect – don’t assume it will be automatic.
9. Realize that you are in a new role with different responsibilities so focus a great deal of energy on mastering leadership competencies.
10. Seek out an experienced leader-mentor in your organization to talk through how to manage difficult situations.

The Don’ts

1. Don’t begin your leadership role like a bull in a china shop – begin to initiate change incrementally.
2. Don’t play favorites – be seen as someone who is consistently fair with everyone.
3. Be very cautious about socializing with former peers – it is often best to maintain a distance especially in the initial stages of your transition.
4. Resist taking a patient assignment or getting too involved in clinical care if you have moved into a management role – you will neglect other responsibilities.
5. Don’t ignore performance problems in a former peer.
6. Don’t be arrogant or bossy.

Being promoted to a leadership role where you now manage your peers takes diplomacy and emotional intelligence to manage what is often a delicate situation.  You can be friendly without being a friend. If it’s handled well, there comes a time when people forget that you were a peer and see you as their leader.

© emergingrnleader.com 2015