NR 506 Week 3 Discussion: Effective Coalition Leadership

There are many necessary elements for effective leadership within a coalition. To be effective, coalitions require multiple things from leadership including effective communication, conflict resolution, perception of fairness and shared decision –making (SAMHSA, 2017). Shared leadership is also an important element. Leaders within the group need to have a defined role and also needs a group of people that are actively participating. Shared leadership is a way for the coalition to tackle the most challenging tasks as a group. It is the job of the leaders to create a positive work environment for each employee as well, which can be a difficult thing to do.

Knowledge development and skill building are other necessary elements for any leader as well. The nursing profession is constantly changing and as younger nurses come in, the leaders need to continue to develop knowledge not only about the nursing practices, but also about the management side of things. Skill building is an element that needs to occur in order for the team to work effectively and efficiently (MacDonald & Shriberg, 2016).

Effective leadership affects many areas of both my personal and professional life. Managers in our facility are required to go to a leadership development seminar 4 times every year. This keeps the leaders up to date on not only the new practices in the nursing profession, but also new leadership strategies. Our department has had some difficulty in the past taking accountability for their actions, which our leader was in tuned to and has worked with our department very closely in order to correct this. For staff members, this is great in multiple ways. We trust our manager as a leader and know she has the ability to coach us to be better. We also see that she might not be working with us every single day, but can recognize when something is not working well in the department. Having effective leadership is so important in every coalition, especially in the nursing profession.

References:

MacDonald, L., Shriberg, M. (2016). Sustainability leadership programs in higher education: alumni outcomes and impacts. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 6(2), 360-370.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHAS), (2017). Components of an effective coalition. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/capt/tools-learning-resources/components-effective-coalition