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Strengths Based Leadership

Strengths Based Leadership

Megumi Miyajima-Olguin RN

Bon Secours College of Nursing

Nur4246: Servant Leadership

June 5th, 2021

Karyn Schultz, DNP, RN

“I pledge…”
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Strengths Based Leadership

Situation

As the nursing director of a large healthcare system, I am tasked with finding a nurse

manager who can be a positive change to their department. The department has recently

experienced a high amount of employee conflict, a decrease in employee morale, less utilization

of teamwork, and stunted interprofessional relationships.

Assessment

By examining the main problems in the department, I have compiled a list of five

strengths, as part of the Clifton Strengths (Rath & Conchie, 2008), that our new nurse manager

should excel in.

Consistency

There is a high amount of employee conflict in the department. It would benefit the

department to have a leader that treats everyone, regardless of ranking, equally, who clearly lays

out the rules, and makes sure that the rules apply equally to everyone. When you have a leader

that doesn’t play favorites, like allowing some employees to get away with things that others

can’t, you have an even playing field; “an environment where people know what is expected…

each person has an even chance to show their worth” (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Harmony

To also help with employee conflict, the new nurse manager must display a harmonious

attitude. If two people are having a disagreement, this manager would “find areas of agreement”

through structured discussion of the problem (Rath & Conchie, 2008). They would seek value in

both opposing side’s arguments and find a working middle ground.

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Positivity

I find positivity can be contagious, just as negativity is. Since workplace morale is low, it

would be constructive to have a nurse manager that praises employees’ good work, has a positive

outlook, and can find positive learning experiences from bad situations.

Responsibility

The new nurse manager should show responsibility to others and themselves. They

should give every employee a sense of their importance and responsibility within the team. This

means having everyone show ownership for their roles with praise/positivity when those

expectations are met. The nurse manager should also feel a responsibility for their team and want

them to work better together. This displays investment in their role.

Communication

Being a strong communicator is a giant asset to improve all the problem areas, but mostly

to restore the deteriorating intrprofessional relationships. The nurse manager will be able to set

up email groups, department meetings, and bulletin boards where the department can share and

acquire useful information. The nurse manager will be accessible during her hours for all

employee concerns and will be able to relay message to appropriate channels.

Follow Up

To determine if the new nurse manager is a good fit for department with problem areas

improving, I will monitor several things: First, I will do rounds at different times of the day to

assess workflow and gauge the emotional temperature of the environment. Second, I will issue a

confidential survey at 6 and 12 months to look for areas of discontent/improvement. The surveys

will have incentives if you take them, as many people dislike taking surveys. Lastly, with
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Strengths Based Leadership

employee yearly check-ins, I will speak with them about their feelings about the department and

see how they are doing.

Conclusion

The new nurse manager and I will be working together, and it is important that our

strengths complement each other. My first strength is “context”. I try not to take anything at

face-value, rather, I try and understand the details surrounding it. If something isn’t working

right away with the nurse manager, I will consider the context and adjust my standards and

approach if needed. My second strength is “connectedness”. This will help me to understand my

role in these problem areas, also. My third strength is “input”. I enjoy collecting new information

that will help with my department assessments.

We both share, “positivity” and “communication”. These are vital, as we are trying to

enact positive change on the department, and we will need to feel open and safe to discuss

anything we may be considering.

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Reference

Conchie, B. & Rath, T. (2008). Strengths based leadership. Gallup Press.