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Why is optimism an important quality of a good nurse leader?
In the current healthcare climate, nursing staff and leaders seem to be confronted daily with matters that may lend themselves to fostering a pessimistic attitude. Nurse leaders are facing serious and challenging issues such as recruitment and retention, workforce shortages, bullying, and change fatigue among their staff, just to name a few.
They are faced with increasing levels of responsibility, higher levels of accountability and all of these stressors have an impact on a leader’s ability to succeed. Additionally, many nurses have been promoted to leadership positions because they excel clinically, but they have minimal preparation and less than adequate resources for their new positions.
What is optimism and how does it help?
Many people have the mistaken idea that an optimist ignores problems altogether and has a “Pollyanna” attitude towards life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dr. Martin Seligman, who is most often associated with studying the traits of optimists reports that optimists have these three traits in common:
1. They understand that setbacks are inevitable.
2. They understand that setbacks are often temporary.
3. They have the confidence to face the challenges ahead.
Optimism inspires a sense of hopefulness and confidence instead of pessimism and negativity.
Pessimistic leaders focus on obstacles. They waste resources worrying. A pessimistic leader drives a culture that fears failure and shuts down creativity. Optimistic leaders focus on opportunities, they enable open mindedness in their staff, promote collaboration, creativity and problem solving.
An optimistic nurse leader will be able to remain on task and motivated towards reaching goals in spite of unexpected trials. He/She is able to view difficult times as a challenge and have hope that things will turn out for the best. Additionally, the literature shows that individuals who are optimistic are more apt to be healthier and have a greater life expectancy than their pessimistic counterparts.
What’s the good news if you are a pessimist?
If you tend to be a leader who looks at the negative side of things, there is good news for you. Optimism can be learned! Reframing difficult situations into positive experiences is an acquired skill, and with practice, you can become an optimistic leader. This is extremely important, because a positive leader and a positive work environment has been shown to make a difference not just in the turnover of staff, but in the quality and safety that patients receive.
Research shows that the attitude of the nurse manager is usually the one adopted by the staff. So a sense of optimism and hope in the work culture is essential in order to inspire staff to be innovative, productive and energized in this era of constant change.
5 things you can do to immediately to become more optimistic:
1. Focus on your achievements. Learn from your setbacks and don’t consider them failures.
2. Radiate positivity. Paul Ekman, body language researcher, found that if people stand tall, smile and walk with purpose they will feel more confident.
3. Speak highly of yourself. Your words create a reality, watch your self-talk
4. Believe that your work is meaningful and that it makes a difference in others’ lives.
5. Look for opportunities versus having a victim mentality.
5 things you can act upon right away to be a more optimistic leader:
1. Show appreciation and gratitude towards your staff.
2. Exchange good news! Newsletters, bulletin boards, give positive feedback.
3. Help your staff see mistakes as momentary setbacks from which they can quickly recover.
4. Seek to find solutions to move forward rather than look for the blame in a situation.
5. Emphasize long term goals. It is easier to endure short term difficulties if the staff can see the future desired state.
What is the most important quality of an optimistic nurse leader?
An optimistic nurse leader expects success and expects the best of her staff. He/She nurtures that culture carefully by communicating that change and growth are not only possible, but are possible within the realm of the resources the staff has available to them, rather than the resources they lack. An optimistic leader nurtures that culture by encouraging small wins, successful steps forward, and setting an example of moving beyond a problem focus to a possibility focus.