LEARNING KEY SKILLS IN NURSING MANAGEMENT
Such statements engender feelings of insecurity, incompetence, confusion, embarrassment, and anger. You do not need to respond directly in these situations but, rather, you can simply restate your initial point in a firm manner. Keep your expression neutral, ignore accusations, and restate your position, if appropriate. If you refuse to respond to these thinly veiled attacks, your opponent is unable to intimidate and manipulate you.
Nursing must perceive power for what it really is—the ability to mobilize and focus energy and resources. What better position can nurses be in but to assume power to face new problems and re- sponsibilities in reshaping nursing practice to adapt to environmental changes? Power is the means, not the end, to seek new ways for doing things in this uncertain and unsettling time in health care.
Shared Visioning as a Power Tool Shared visioning is a powerful tool to influence the organization’s future. Shared visioning is an interactive process in which both leaders and followers commit to the organization’s goals (Kantabutra, 2009; Pearce, Conger, & Locke, 2008). A vision is a mental model of a possible future (Kantabutra, 2008). It should inspire and challenge both leaders and followers to accom- plish the organization’s goals set forth in the vision.
Top-down management is an out-of-date concept (Pearce, Conger, & Locke, 2008). Today’s leaders recognize that their power must be shared and that integrated leadership styles—bottom-up and lateral—are essential for success. Consensus about the organization’s future can motivate leaders and employees alike to envision their preferred future and do their best to achieve it. In addition, a shared vision makes implementing the necessary, and often difficult, changes easier.
Kantabutra (2009) posits that the leader is not a passive participant in the visioning process. The leader should be an active group member, leading the group toward the desired vision in a participative fashion. The leader helps guide the group toward consensus.
Furthermore, innovation is necessary for organizations to effect positive change (McKeown, 2008). Innovation requires employee buy-in to flourish (Melnyk & Davidson, 2009). Shared visioning is a strategy that encourages innovation.
Power, Politics, and Policy While power is the potential ability to influence others, politics is the art of influencing others to achieve a goal (Mason, Chaffee, & Leavitt, 2011).