Hallie Garrett, BSN

Authentic Leadership in Nursing

Tags: Authentic leadership leadership leadership in nursing nursing leadership

Authentic leadership, I choose this topic because it is what I aspire to be. I was treading on serious unfamiliar territory. I have never ventured upon this characteristic, but none the less; I want to be an authentic leader. I have been in the nursing world for over 20 years and have never met this strange and unfamiliar character called the quintessential “authentic leader”. I have worked with many different mangers in my career. I have noticed a common thread with each one .Leaders that were daily, dealing with emotional upheavals trying to balance their career and families. The stress from this unhappy medium; lead to mood swings and attitudes when they had a bad day. I remember as a staff nurse hiding behind curtains in my patient’s rooms to avoid the emotional outburst of my managers. This role of a leader all seemed frightening to me. I often wonder how this person is making a difference in patient care with such high levels of stress. I never had a good role model of a leader. But as I read the literature about authentic nursing leadership my spirit leaped and I could truly identify with the characteristics of this type of leader. This type of leader ventures out and takes risks and has a goal to exceed the standards of care; and is a trailblazer in the field of nursing. Authentic nursing leadership is multifaceted.