The Best Leaders are Readers - Emerging Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

I am often surprised when I talk with nurse leaders and ask how they stay current with healthcare issues to learn that they rarely do any reading. There is strong evidence that the best leaders are the best learners. As an outcome of their research with leaders globally, Kouzes and Posner in their book The Truth about Leadership identify ten truths about leadership. One of those truths is that leadership is a pattern of practices, behaviors, skills and abilities that can be learned. Developing expertise in leadership takes practice.

There is no fast track to leadership. The challenge to continue to grow and learn as a leader is one that each person must accept for themselves. Personal leadership development is just that—personal. Money to pay for journals should not be an excuse. There are many excellent free resources that can help you do this. The following are some of my recommendations of free resources to help you grown as a leader and stay informed about changes in the healthcare environment:

Hospitals and Health Networks Hospitals and Health Networks is published by Health Forum and is the official publication of the American Hospital Association. Free digital and magazine subscriptions are available for nurse leaders. The publication covers a wide range of healthcare leadership topics. Podcast interviews with health leaders are also available on the site. http://www.hhnmag.com/

SmartBrief on Leadership SmartBrief on Leadership provides various articles and blog postings related to innovative ideas about leadership and management. Users can subscribe and updates will be sent directly through e-mail. https://www2.smartbrief.com/

Fierce Healthcare Fierce Healthcare is a daily newsletter that is a leading source of healthcare management news. This is an excellent resource for nurse leaders on a wide range of healthcare leadership topics. Subscriptions are free. http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/

Kaiser Health News Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news organization committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics of interest to healthcare leaders. A free email news subscription is available. http://kaiserhealthnews.org/

Harvard Business Review Ideacast The HBR IdeaCast, from the publishers of Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Press, and hbr.org, features breakthrough ideas and commentary from the leading thinkers in business and management. These are weekly podcasts and you can subscribe to them for free on Itunes. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/hbr-ideacast/id152022135?mt=2

TedTalks on Leadership TED is a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. The Ted talks on leadership are wonderful short videos from some of the most creative thinkers in the world on leadership. http://www.ted.com/search?cat=ss_all&q=leadership

MichaelHyatt Intentional Leadership Blogs and Podcasts Michael Hyatt is a well-known blogger and podcaster on leadership topics. http://michaelhyatt.com/category/leadership

Start today – take the time to check out and/or sign up for one site to follow to enhance.