Taking Account: a Personal Inventory for Advancing Nursing Practice

Introduction

Starting with the main purpose of this assessment is to give a clear view on structured reflection using a reflective model based on the results obtained from Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI). In order to clarify my view on the result obtained, I have used Borton's reflective model. Based on this model, for effective leadership in nursing, I have developed two action plans. Borton's Reflective Model Descriptive level of reflection (what...): It was Tuesday, 31st July 2018, the 1st workshop of Effective leadership in health and the second class that I was attending in my college. I was still a bit nervous as everything was new to me and I was struggling to adjust to a new environment and to face new challenges. The session began with introduction followed by some individual and group activities in order to enhance our leadership knowledge which helped us to express our views as well as interact with other members of the class.

The qualities and behavior along with types of leadership were also discussed. After completion of this part, our instructor started teaching us about leadership challenges linked with Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI). He handed two papers which need to be filled individually. One paper consists of 30 behavior in total which is to be rated according to individual preference using a rating scale from 1-10 while the other one was self-response sheet where ratings were transferred to fill the blanks. We were advised to complete both of the given pages so we did according to the guidance provided. Finally, the result came and it was a bit unexpected. I scored highest in enabling others to act and model the way which was then followed by encouraging the heart, inspired shared vision and scoring the lowest in the challenge the process. Applying theory and knowledge to reflection (So what…): From LPI self-response assessment, I got a clear view of effective leadership as each and every 30 behavior directs towards qualities a leader must have in themselves. I also got a chance to evaluate my behavior and a way to improve my weakness. As every individual have their own strength and weakness so do I. I got the highest score in enabling others to act which explains the cooperative relationship between leader and follower.

A leader is always responsible for the development of his/her follower as he/she is the one who leads all staff along with him. The main quality that a leader must possess is to identify uniqueness, belief, and values of each follower and maintain a harmonious and cooperative relationship among all the followers though they are having different thoughts (Losefsky & Mulcahy 2016). As a nurse, I am aware that a good support to team members can encourage team spirit of collaboration and cooperation. As the work environment also plays a very important role, so it must be maintained in such a way that every worker can perform to their fullest (Martin et al.2012). As a team leader, I always help my followers to uplift their careers by supporting them and providing a favorable environment where they can show their potentiality. I scored second highest in model the way. It emphasizes clarifying the values and Encourage the heart implies supporting team members by acknowledging team members effort by means of award and feedback. A good leader always takes some time out of the busy schedule for team members to share their view and help them get rid of the problem by showing the direction. A leader always connects personally with all team members as working together as a team can help accomplish goal easily and quickly.

Other qualities also include not taking anyone for granted (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). I always keep my promises made to my team member and respect others views and suggestions. I also believe praising and encouraging for their good doing work develops a positive environment among members to work (Pouraboli et al. 2017) All aspects of work environment are equally important for an effective leadership but in my leadership, I failed in implementing some factors of inspire a shared vision and challenge the process which resulted in the lowest score in comparison to others. I think I got a low score in challenging the process as I never focused on this aspect of leadership and also I hardly took the risk as I feared of failure. However, I was well known that these are also an important aspect and necessary for the positive future of the organization. Action-oriented reflection (Now what…): There is some improvement needed inside me to improve lacking leadership quality in case of inspired shared vision.

The medical profession is such a profession where evidence-based practice is implemented. Therefore, we can always find new techniques, new procedures and the way of doing things are also updated on a timely basis. This implies that we need to be updated about all this sort of things and ongoing trends. As I scored low in this section, I think I need to be more alert about upcoming updates and should attend training or some sort of ongoing in-service education. For this, reading new articles, reviewing journals and also consulting with my instructor can be helpful. In order to improve my lacking leadership skill, I need to prepare myself to overcome any challenges that may arise during my leadership period. The theories developed regarding challenges are necessary for leadership practice. While searching the fact the gap between theories and practices have been found as theories are not followed while practicing so the initial step is to fill this gap and this gap can be filled with the help of "Kouzes and Posner". An individual can set the challenges in the best way by proper planning and setting of goal appropriately. The planning should be done beforehand and only the achievable goal to the limit has to be set for a better result (Cardin & McNeese-Smith 2005). In order to change my weakness into my strength, I will get rid of fear, foster my leadership skill and replace the pattern of working with better ideas and improved skills. LPI self-response assessment definitely showed me the points which need to be improved and guided me the possible way to solve them.