Strong communication skills are essential to a nurse working at the bedside or with nursing interdisciplinary team members. Effective communication leads to patient satisfaction and good health outcomes. Moreover, it allows nurses to share critical information and create a positive work environment (Jankelova & Joniakova, 2021). Good communication skills involve cultural awareness, compassion, personal connections, presentation skills, active listening, trust, verbal and nonverbal communication, and patient education.
Compassion is an important leadership trait in nursing. Compassionate nurses can prompt recovery from acute illnesses, relieve patients’ anxiety, and enhance the management of chronic diseases (Papadopoulos et al., 2016). Nurses can develop compassion by putting themselves in their patients’ or team members’ place and trying to feel what they feel. Moreover, a compassionate nursing leader will try to influence their colleagues, encouraging them to perform some actions but not frightening them with authoritative control.
Accountability in nursing leadership is readiness and desire to take responsibility for one’s actions. This trait is associated with better patient health outcomes and healthcare quality improvement. To develop accountability, nurses should identify and deal with various problems as they occur, promote direct communication, and discuss all issues professionally.
Inspiring is another essential characteristic of a strong leader. Inspirational leaders inspire their patients at the bedside, encouraging them to struggle to survive and giving them hope. Moreover, such leaders can motivate other workers, cultivating such personal values as honesty, courage, integrity, and care. Inspirational leaders realize that mentoring is critical to success in nursing, so they educate others and encourage them to stay knowledgeable about nursing practice. Finally, they set realistic goals and demonstrate an enthusiastic and respectful attitude toward their colleagues and patients to create a positive environment and stimulate them.
Reference
Jankelova, N., & Joniakova, Z. (2021). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers in relation to job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. Healthcare, 9(346), 1-9. Web.
Papadopoulos, I., Shea, S., Taylor, G., Pezzella, A., & Foley, L. (2016). Developing tools to promote culturally competent compassion, courage, and intercultural communication in healthcare. Journal of Compassionate Health Care, 3(2). Web.