Looking Ahead to 2021 - Emerging Nurse Leader

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

There are very few years in our country’s history that have been more challenging than this one. Many nurse leaders have told me that they started 2020 with great plans and optimism about the new decade. Then very early into 2020, everything changed. Plans were put on hold, and everyone was laser-focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a life-altering experience.

The beginning of a new year provides an opportunity to reboot. In his book When Daniel Pink describes the beginning of a new year as a powerful temporal landmark. It is an opportunity to look back over the past year, reflect on all that has happened and decide how to move forward. For many nurse leaders, 2020 has led them to reconnect with what matters most in their lives and what does not.

The first few months of 2021 will continue to be hard, but there is light at the end of this very dark tunnel of events. It is not too early to think about your goals for 2021, both big and small. Many well-known leaders establish at least one new goal for each year that brings them back to being a novice learner. We know the act of writing down your goals and sharing them with others makes it much more likely that you will achieve them. Some of the goals that nurse leaders have shared with me for 2021 include the following:

Record the story of what happened in my life in 2020, so I don’t forget.
Seek ways to integrate the pain and sorrow of this year and emerge with more peace.
Put boundaries around my work.
Continue to be more vulnerable in my interaction with others.
Eliminate people who create negative energy in my life.
Devote more time to coaching my staff.
Leave my job that is no longer a good fit, but I wanted to get staff through the crisis.
Relocate to be closer to my family.
Take time to learn more about my staff member’s families and lives.
Spend more time with my extended family.
Worry less and look for joy.
Take more vacation.
Further my education.
Pursue a new hobby.

When you think about your own goals – ask yourself – what would need to be true that is not true today to make it happen? This question can help break goals down into smaller steps, which is critical. There are no silver bullets in life. When you encounter successful people, you see the outcome of small decisions made every day to move their life in a different direction. Let 2021 be the year when you become your best self.

Read to Lead

Pink, D.H. (2018). When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. New York: Riverhead Books.

Read Rose Sherman’s book – The Nurse Leader Coach: Become the Boss No One Wants to Leave