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Nurse leaders, I decided as a student, fall into several categories. I feared the older ones the most – the ones who fooled you by their likeness to your favourite granny, and then – wham! – they struck. Nothing a young nurse could do was right, however hard you tried. If they couldn’t fault your practice, it was your hair, or your shoes, or… you get the drift.
Nursing Standard. 38, 3, 12-12. doi: 10.7748/ns.38.3.12.s7
Published: 01 March 2023
For them, kindness was in short supply, and solely for the patients, not those they should have been leading and inspiring.
There were the gentle but distant ones who expected things of you that you hadn’t expected of yourself. They startled you into self-analysis, by making you face your shortcomings – all without saying a word. Clever, but is it good leadership?
Then there were the ramrod-straight paragons of virtue, distant and aloof, who would confiscate the ward chocolates. You had no more rapport with them than with the statue of Florence in the courtyard.
No wonder nurses told Nursing Standard recently that compassionate managers would make the most difference to their morale at work. In my experience, this type of manager got the leadership thing right. Two senior sisters in particular stand out for me. Both were motivators and encouragers, set an example, and were never afraid to get their hands dirty.
These sisters were utterly trustworthy and it lifted our spirits to work alongside them. They brought out the best in us.
A good nurse leader rules not with a rod of iron but with an open hand of friendship. Not throwing around their authority, but dealing with colleagues with humour, humility and integrity.
‘How very little can be done under a spirit of fear,’ said Miss Nightingale herself – and how right she was.
