Leaders need to lead differently, according to Meredith Foxx, MSN, APRN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Cleveland Clinic.
In a Dec. 30 blog post about recommendations for nursing leaders, Ms. Foxx said, “Those who hold leadership positions in healthcare today are acutely aware that attaining excellence in this age is a tall order.”
Current demands include more complex clinical cases, industry financial pressures and growing workforce needs for career progress and support.
Ms. Foxx, who has served Cleveland Clinic since 2004, shared these five tips:
1. Connect to your passion-driven purpose.
Everyone has a “why” or purpose, and it is each leader’s responsibility to connect with their own mission while encouraging others’ link to their individual purpose. Through strengthening this bond, employees better support one another and patients.
2. Remain a student of leadership.
Being a leader is more than a title or list of responsibilities. Being a leader is the constant willingness to learn from others and adapt as needed.
3. Embrace a leader coach mindset.
“Leaders should be adaptable and change to what their caregivers need — be more like team coaches and less like bosses,” according to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Emergency Department Nurse Manager Rachel Becht, BSN, RN.
4. Apply situational humility.
Acknowledge knowledge gaps and “remain relentlessly curious about the opinions of others,” Ms. Foxx wrote. By avoiding assumptions, leaders can pivot to employees’ needs faster and with more ease.
5. Let the qualities you value influence decision-making.
Tie valued qualities to strategic influence. For example, recognizing someone’s accountability elevates that attribute for the entire team and organization.
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