A Good Team Leader Sample Paper

Team nursing as a health care delivery model has been widely adopted by several healthcare facilities. In this model, patient care is distributed amongst a group of workers led by a team leader who works together for quality patient care. Kwiatkowski (2019) defines a team leader as an individual who provides guidance, direction, instruction, and leadership to a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. It is crystal clear that a good team leader is a prerequisite for effective teamwork in team nursing. In this particular speech, I will inform my audience who are nurses preparing to take up future leadership roles on some of the most important qualities of a team leader such as effective communication, emotional intelligence, and integrity.

Effective Communication

Effective interpersonal communication is a priority when it steps down to the building and functioning of a team. Influential leaders can communicate a vision to the staff and drive the staff towards the achievement of the target. As future nurse leaders, effective communication forms the foundation of the success of any team. The current multidisciplinary treatment environment requires that team leaders spell out directions and make the right decisions. A team leader can acquire these communication skills by listening effectively, communicating messages clearly, and by providing feedback in a supportive manner (Kwiatkowski, 2019). Team leaders go beyond listening to really hear their staff. Good team leaders furthermore seek and listen to the feedback provided by their team to cultivate their self-esteem as well as that of the team. Effective communication is an ability that few are born with but many can learn and therefore in preparation for future leadership roles, nurses should learn this particular quality using all available means even if it means through training.

Emotional Intelligence

The emotional quotient is the ability of a team leader to read and comprehend the social context of others, to detect nuances in emotional reactions, and to utilize that knowledge to support others through emotional regulation and control (Edelman & van Knippenberg, 2018), is a critical quality of an effective nurse team leader. A good nurse team leader should understand the challenging environment in which nurses work and train them to manage work-related stress. Edelman and van Knippenberg (2018) for instance, discovered that appropriate response to subordinate’s emotions was associated with effective leadership. Nurses preparing to take up future leadership roles should thus assist their colleagues in handling issues and other counterproductive influences that cause emotional exhaustion and poor collaboration.

Integrity

Integrity and honesty are central qualities of a good team leader. The perceived integrity of leaders affects the attitudes of their staff which in turn has an impact on the overall efficiency and productivity. Integrity is utilized by leaders to make the right choices during dilemmas in patients’ treatment plans. According to Engelbrecht et al. (2017), reliable team leaders increase the satisfaction of their staff consequently leading to quality care. The link between integrity and trust cannot be overemphasized in the leader-employee relationships. Similarly, leaders with this quality have good intentions, unlike self-motives. Nurses preparing to take up leadership roles should act per their words and own up to their mistakes instead of blaming others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the nursing practice provides a lot of leadership opportunities as far as team nursing is concerned. Despite all these opportunities, nurses should train to be leaders. This training involves acquiring the necessary qualities of an effective nurse team leader such as effective communication, emotional intelligence, and integrity as well as other vital qualities which were beyond the scope of this speech.

References

  • Edelman, P., & van Knippenberg, D. (2018). Emotional intelligence, management of subordinate’s emotions, and leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(5), 592–607. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-04-2018-0154
  • Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2017). Integrity, ethical leadership, trust and work engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(3), 368–379. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-11-2015-0237
  • Kwiatkowski, C. (2019). Effective team leader and interpersonal communication skills. In Sustainable Leadership for Entrepreneurs and Academics (pp. 121–130). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15495-0_13