Lessons Learned in Educating, Developing, and Nurturing Nurse Leadership Skills for Challenges Ahead
Other Titles
Successfully Educating, Developing,& Nurturing Nurse Leadership Skills for Challenges Ahead [Title Slide]
Abstract
Every Nurse is a Leader. This declarative statement is promulgated by professional nursing organizations that acknowledge the potential for nurses to be widely recognized as effective change agents.1,2,3,4 It can be inspirational and daunting, whether for aspirants embarking on a career or seasoned nurses unaccustomed to perceiving themselves as leaders.
Organizations play a key role; some empowering, others perhaps disinterested in nurse-driven initiatives. Given these shifting realities, we must collaborate to make proactive nurse leadership a component of practice for every nurse.
Based on research, are leaders born or made, every nurse has the potential to be a leader.5,6,7 Yet how this set of individual characteristics and skills are embraced by nurses, by organizations, and reinforced with recognition, determines how the workforce, at large, exerts influence for excellence.
Nurses can use mindful leadership interventions as their careers evolve. Just as we refer to the development of clinical skills as a “practice”, amplifying these with the utilization of a mindset of leadership “practice” is equally important. Leadership development requires attention to knowledge acquisition, skill development, and focused feedback for continuous improvement in practice, education, or research settings.8
Based on a robust career as a broadly educated and experienced nurse leader, the presenter has developed a framework of key tactical lessons learned and tools that could be adopted by individual nurses, educators, health-related organizations, and professional organizations. Strategically creating proactive leadership-focused communities across healthcare that share collective efforts will be discussed.
Given what we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate that the road ahead in healthcare and public health will be far different than in the past requiring new approaches. Boldly envisioning how to efficiently and effectively hear, understand, and embrace the message that every nurse is a leader, set clear leadership expectations, provide ample opportunities for leadership skill development, and organize both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary approaches to gaining the feedback necessary for continuous improvement in becoming a leader, whether in a formal leadership role or informal roles such as staff nurse, nurse educator, or nurse practitioner, will be an essential step as we activate and strengthen the nursing workforce required to move forward.
Notes
References:
1. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. January 2022. retrieved from. Domain 10: Personal Professional and Leadership Development. Washington, DC
2. American Organization of Nurse Leaders. 2022 AONL_CCDocument_Pg3Update_060524_PRO.pdf. Chicago, Ill
3. AmeArican Nurses Credentialing Center. Magnet Manual update. 2023. retrieved from. ANCC Magnet Model - Creating a Magnet Culture | ANA. Washington, DC
4.American Nurses Association. May 2023 retrieved from. Leadership in Nursing: Qualities & Why It Matters | ANA. Washington, DC
5. Baker, C. August 2023 Are Leaders Born or Made? Leaders.com. retrieved from. Are Leaders Born or Made?
6. Travers, M. August 2019 Are leaders born or made? Forbes.com. retrieved from. Are Leaders Born Or Made?
7. Marley, M. June 2021 What research shows about whether leaders are born or made. The People Development Magazine. retrieved from. What Research Shows About Whether Leaders Are Born Or Made
8. Cummings G, Lee S, Tate K, Penconek T , Micaroni S., Paananen, T, & Chatterjee G. 2021, The essentials of nursing leadership: A systematic review of factors and educational interventions influencing nursing leadership. Int J Nurs Stud. Mar:115:103842, doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103842.
Sigma Membership
Xi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Workforce, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Mentoring and Coaching, Leadership, Workforce Planning and Development
Recommended Citation
Valentine, Nancy M., "Lessons Learned in Educating, Developing, and Nurturing Nurse Leadership Skills for Challenges Ahead" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 142.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/142
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
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All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-01
Lessons Learned in Educating, Developing, and Nurturing Nurse Leadership Skills for Challenges Ahead
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Every Nurse is a Leader. This declarative statement is promulgated by professional nursing organizations that acknowledge the potential for nurses to be widely recognized as effective change agents.1,2,3,4 It can be inspirational and daunting, whether for aspirants embarking on a career or seasoned nurses unaccustomed to perceiving themselves as leaders.
Organizations play a key role; some empowering, others perhaps disinterested in nurse-driven initiatives. Given these shifting realities, we must collaborate to make proactive nurse leadership a component of practice for every nurse.
Based on research, are leaders born or made, every nurse has the potential to be a leader.5,6,7 Yet how this set of individual characteristics and skills are embraced by nurses, by organizations, and reinforced with recognition, determines how the workforce, at large, exerts influence for excellence.
Nurses can use mindful leadership interventions as their careers evolve. Just as we refer to the development of clinical skills as a “practice”, amplifying these with the utilization of a mindset of leadership “practice” is equally important. Leadership development requires attention to knowledge acquisition, skill development, and focused feedback for continuous improvement in practice, education, or research settings.8
Based on a robust career as a broadly educated and experienced nurse leader, the presenter has developed a framework of key tactical lessons learned and tools that could be adopted by individual nurses, educators, health-related organizations, and professional organizations. Strategically creating proactive leadership-focused communities across healthcare that share collective efforts will be discussed.
Given what we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate that the road ahead in healthcare and public health will be far different than in the past requiring new approaches. Boldly envisioning how to efficiently and effectively hear, understand, and embrace the message that every nurse is a leader, set clear leadership expectations, provide ample opportunities for leadership skill development, and organize both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary approaches to gaining the feedback necessary for continuous improvement in becoming a leader, whether in a formal leadership role or informal roles such as staff nurse, nurse educator, or nurse practitioner, will be an essential step as we activate and strengthen the nursing workforce required to move forward.
Description
Every Nurse is a Leader. This declarative statement is promulgated by professional nursing organizations acknowledging that nurses can be widely recognized as effective change agents. But how can we make strides in making this a component of practice for every nurse given the emerging organizational demands and the lived lessons learned in a post-pandemic world? A framework of tactical strategies and tools for fostering key changes across practice and educational settings will be shared.