What Nurse Leaders don't tell Staff about their Leadership Roles

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

In 2003, I conducted research with nurses not currently in leadership positions to determine factors that would lead them to either consider or reject taking a formal leadership position such as nurse manager. In this study, I was interested in learning what feedback staff were hearing about leadership roles from current nurse leaders. I also wanted to learn what incentives would there be to take a leadership role and what fears would staff nurses have about taking a formal leadership position. Some interesting findings emerged from this study that I have since validated in other research that I have done. When nursing staff look at their managers, they often see leaders who appear stressed and overworked. With the many changes in health care today, the role responsibilities of manager keep increasing, budget management is an ongoing issue and managers seem disconnected from both staff and patients. When I shared these findings with nurse leaders across the country, many shook their heads in agreement and acknowledged that they were painting a picture of nursing leadership that did little to inspire younger nurses to seek these roles. One nurse leader summarized her feelings by saying “this is really too bad and I know I am guilty of sometimes being negative but I love what I do and don’t show that to my staff”.

What Nurse Leaders Say about their Roles

In research that I have done with nurse managers, many initially took the role because they knew that as staff nurses they were able to impact the care of a small group of patients. As a leader, they saw the opportunity to make a much broader impact. There is nothing more satisfying one manager told me than having families and patients tell me what great care they have received. Today’s environment is challenging but many nurse leaders report that they really do enjoy the challenge of solving complex problems. One manager described herself as a business owner “I feel like a small business owner and it is my responsibility to make it work – there are often no easy answers and I have the independence to try new things”. A major adjustment that nurses make when they move from a staff nurse position to leadership is that their time is not as task driven. Initially, this transition can be difficult but most nurse leaders gradually come to enjoy having more control over their time than they had in staff nurse positions.

The Best Parts of Being a Leader

If you ask most nurse leaders what is the most satisfying aspect of their roles, they will very likely tell you that it is the connectedness that they feel with their staff. In a national research study conducted with nurse managers, Barbara Mackoff found that the leaders she interviewed cherished their relationships with staff, colleagues and their leaders. Watching their staff work in challenging patient care situations and seeing their phenomenal confidence and skill left them feeling very honored to be the leader of such a great team. Nurse leaders love to hear the stories of their staff. Watching staff grow and develop and realizing they had a part in their success and accomplishments is deeply satisfying. One nurse manager told me that her new graduates are her legacy – “I am touching the future and making nursing stronger but giving them their wings and watching them fly”.

So if you are an emerging leader and you look at your manager and wonder who would want such a challenging role, ask your manager what they love about what they do. You may be surprised.

Read to Lead

Mackoff, B. (2011). Nurse Manager Engagement: Strategies for Excellence and Commitment. Sudbury, MA.: Jones and Bartlett.

Sherman, R.O, Bishop, M., Eggenberger, T., & Karden, R. (2007). Development of a leadership competency model from
insights shared by nurse managers. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(2), 85-94.

Sherman, R.O. (2005). Growing our future nursing leaders. Nursing Administration Quarterly. 29 (2) 126-133.