What is Servant Leadership?
What is servant leadership and why should the nursing field consider this as a possible resource to help heal the profession? Robert K. Greenleaf first introduced the concept of servant leadership in 1970 and described it as seeking the welfare of others first. In other words, leading for the benefit of serving others should be the primary motive, rather than seeking to lead as the primary motive. All nurses, including those who are pursuing an online Masters of Science in Nursing Degree, must be able to see the bigger picture and understand the importance of servant leadership.
Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Nurse Educators and Nurse Leaders are continually seeking to improve the ways in which nurses deliver health care services. Upon examining the basic tenants of servant leadership, there are servant leader characteristics which hold promise for the transformation of the nursing field. Among these characteristics are listening, empathy, awareness, healing (as an outgrowth of true listening and empathy), conceptualization, foresight, persuasion, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. It is intriguing to contemplate the magnitude of the positive impact gained as more servant leaders enter the nursing field. Just think about the possible changes in the areas of teamwork, morale, call-ins, turnover rates, and patient satisfaction surveys.
Health Care as a Servant Leader
Jonathon Bees, research analyst and prominent voice for health leaders, discusses the many challenges facing today’s nurse leaders, including employee morale, nurse attrition, regulatory compliance, quality care/outcome concerns, and care reimbursement schemes which threaten financial sustainability. He questions why nurse leader training would be No. 4 as a top listed concern among health care leaders? I wonder that myself…
This is the day and time of programs, gimmicks, looking to technology first to solve all our major health care issues. It is time to get back to a primary focus on people in health! The right to decent care as a patient, the right to a healthy work environment for nurses. Just think about the possibilities if the health care institution became a servant leader.
Developing Future Nurses
Are you ready to advance your nursing career? Two nursing advancement opportunities are the positions of nurse educator and nurse leader. Ottawa University’s RN to MSN online program offers two concentrations that address the core competencies for both nurse educators and nurse leaders. Nurse educators have the important role in sharing their valuable knowledge and expertise with aspiring nurses. Whereas nurse leaders supervise and direct nurses within a health care facility.
Nurse Educator Concentration:
As advances in our health care system continue to improve and enhance the quality of life and life expectancy, there is a critical need to increase nurse educators in our industry and prepare nurses at all levels to meet the provision of nursing services that our population requires. This concentration track provides you with the tools necessary to step into the classroom and produce future leaders in health care.
Nurse Leader Concentration:
The demand for well-trained nurse leaders is projected for continued rapid growth as the industry seeks professionals who have what it takes to make decisions at higher levels of health care leadership. This concentration track provides you with the knowledge and skills to pursue management and executive-level positions. It gives you the tools and knowledge to improve clinical and environmental care outcomes.
A Better Future for Health Care
As we prepare for the 2021 holiday season with hopes and dreams cut adrift for some, could it hurt if we nurses began to dream again for our profession, even if are not yet ready to dream again for ourselves? A short time ago, I heard from a few recently graduated and licensed students regarding their transition to practice, from student to nurse. I did not expect, in light of the impact of the global pandemic on health care and nursing over the last year and a half, to hear too many positives from these new graduates. But, au contraire, these new nurses shared their pride and sense of satisfaction in feeling needed and being included as part of a warrior workforce as new graduates. The external threat, the impact of the global pandemic across systems in healthcare, has been so great that the primacy of previous priorities, prejudices, and passions lessened, walls fell between experienced nurses and new graduates, and they became one mighty – though diminished – workforce. Wow.
Are you catching the vision? Crisis offers the perfect opportunity for a new way of thinking and doing. Now is the time for nurses to envision, dream, and think about how things can change in our beloved profession. What would it take for servant leadership in nursing to be the norm? The answer lies within you, and it may be the catalyst for the first step toward change. Will you look for it? You count, your voice counts. What lies within your hopes, dreams, purpose, passion, and capacity for change counts. Dream big, nurses…. Pamoja Tutashinda …together we will win.
Ottawa University’s Online Nursing Programs
Our expert faculty share their expertise and guide our nursing students as they become future educators and leaders. Ottawa University has a flexible online format with 8-week terms to help you finish your degree faster. Additionally, we provide even more flexibility with different programs that meet the diverse needs of our students. Learn more about our RN-BSN degree program. You can earn your BSN while working and meeting family responsibilities or choose our RN-MSN pathway if you are interested in advancing directly from ADN through BSN to MSN. Ottawa University’s MSN specialization is offered in both nursing leadership and nursing education. Find out more about the benefits of an advanced degree in nursing.
See Also:
Choosing a Nursing Specialty
MSN Degree Caters to RNs Seeking Career Advancement
How Do I Become a Nurse