Introduction
Leadership is an integral part of modern society and is essential in shaping culture, developing institutions, and solving complex problems. However, to comprehend how Pacific leaders navigate the modern world, one must understand their culture, views on leadership, and criteria for effective management. As McLeod (2008) notes, culture is a dynamic, ever-changing force, and it is central to the perceptions of Pacific leadership.
In this context, I want to examine one of the Pacific’s outstanding leaders, Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand Prime Minister. The aim of this paper is to explore what aspects of her leadership are admired, what leadership qualities she exhibits, and what opportunities and challenges may arise when applying her approaches to the medical field.
Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Qualities
Empathy
Jacinda Ardern is an outstanding leader whose actions and approach to management are admirable. An important aspect of her leadership is empathy. Ardern has a deep understanding and compassion for the needs and concerns of diverse populations. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis, her ability to listen and respond to citizens’ concerns and needs was impressive (Specchia et al., 2021). She did not articulate policy promises but paid attention to those who needed help.
Honesty
Another admirable aspect is Ardern’s honesty; her address to the nation was always open and transparent. She does not shy away from admitting mistakes and accepting responsibility for them. This transparency in government creates a sense of trust, which is important in building a strong relationship between government and citizens. A third aspect of her leadership is a commitment to justice (Chapman, 2020). Ardern actively fights to reduce inequality and ensure equal opportunity for all citizens, making her a leader capable of embodying social and economic changes that benefit society.
Vision
Ardern is an outstanding individual and leader with several qualities that allow her to lead and inspire others successfully. Firstly, Ardern possesses exceptional vision. She can see far ahead and clearly define goals and strategies for success. Her ability to articulate clear and inspiring goals allows her team to navigate and work together, contributing to overall results. Ardern possesses outstanding communication skills, as she can express herself clearly and effectively, listen attentively to others, and find common ground with various people (Chapman, 2020). This ability helps her build effective relationships within the team and interact with partners and clients.
Organizational Skills
Moreover, she has outstanding leadership skills. She can organize the team’s work, distribute tasks, supervise the implementation of projects, and make important decisions in difficult situations (McGuire et al., 2020). Her leadership inspires others to achieve superior results and helps make the team more productive.
Reliability
Equally important, Ardern exemplifies integrity and reliability. She always holds herself to high standards of ethics and responsibility, which creates an atmosphere of trust in his environment (Specchia et al., 2021). This honesty and reliability make her a leader the team is willing to follow in difficult and good times.
Influence of Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership on a Nurse’s Professional Experience
Useful Aspects
Ardern’s structural leadership style has directly impacted my motivation and shaped my leadership approach. Ardern is always specific in expressing her expectations and goals. This aspect of her leadership style made me realize how important it is to clearly define my expectations and goals for myself and my team.
Secondly, Ardern demonstrates a high degree of responsibility and dependability. This aspect of her leadership taught me that a leader’s reliability and integrity are key attributes that help strengthen relationships and motivate the team.
The third aspect that inspired me is her ability to communicate effectively (McGuire et al., 2020). She always pays attention to listening to her employees and can communicate her ideas and thoughts clearly and persuasively. As a leader, it taught me to value communication’s importance and actively work on my communication skills.
Benefits
Utilizing leadership styles based on experience and inspiration from Ardern’s leadership experiences can positively and negatively affect a nurse’s daily work. Using clear and inspirational goals and vision, as Ardern did, can help motivate coworkers to achieve better patient care outcomes (Leadership Theory, 2023). It can inspire patients themselves to actively participate in the recovery process. Communicating effectively, as a leadership incentive, can help establish better relationships with coworkers and patients.
Drawbacks
At the same time, a leadership style based on a leader’s experience in another field may only sometimes be appropriate for medical practice. Physicians and nurses deal with unique situations that require specific skills and knowledge (Craig, 2021). Furthermore, it is important to consider that showing empathy and paying attention to each patient may require more time, which can be difficult in resource-limited settings. Time management strategies are needed here to provide quality care with limited capacity.
Conclusion
Ardern’s leadership is an inspiring example of how empathy, honesty, and the pursuit of justice can transform a community and motivate professionals in various fields. Applying her leadership skills and leadership style to the medical field provides unique opportunities to improve patient relationships and reduce team conflict. Still, it requires sound time management and the ability to make difficult decisions for the common good. Nevertheless, emulating Ardern’s leadership will help individuals become more effective, empathic, and responsible medical professionals, contributing to our patients’ quality of care and well-being.
References
Chapman, M. (2020). Jacinda Ardern: A new kind of leader. Black Inc.
Craig, G. (2021). Kindness and control: The political leadership of Jacinda Ardern in the Aotearoa New Zealand COVID-19 media conferences. Journalism and Media, 2(2), 288-304. Web.
Leadership Theory, 2023.
McGuire, D., Cunningham, J. E., Reynolds, K., & Matthews-Smith, G. (2020). Beating the virus: an examination of the crisis communication approach taken by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19 pandemic. Human resource development international, 23(4), 361-379. Web.
McLeod, A. (2008). Leadership models in the Pacific. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, 1-19.
Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., & Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1552. Web.
