Combining Nurse Leader with Advocacy

The paper will help in the assessment of my strengths and weaknesses in relation to the four tents of leadership growth including career planning, personal and professional accountability, personal journey disciplines, and the reflective practice reference behavior (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2012). Based on the four aspects, I will be able to improve my leadership skills and potential to bring about positive change in my workplace.

Personal and Professional Accountability

Regarding personal and professional accountability, I believe I have strong personal growth and development. I have gone through my higher education, which is a critical step in my long-term development. I also have well-structured career plans that have been helpful in advancing my education. I usually conduct annual assessment and create action plans aimed at supporting my personal development and growth (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2012). However, I have certain weaknesses, which is my limited certification and failure to become a member of a professional association. In the long term, I plan to obtain certification in my advanced nursing practice as well as become a member of a recognized nursing professional body. Such actions will expand my network and provide opportunity for professional development.

Career Planning

In my career planning, I have strength in knowing my nursing and leadership roles well and acknowledging my plans. I understand the current job roles in comparison with other positions in my nursing practice. It shows my commitment and strength in improving my performance in the current job. Understanding my future has helped me plan my career through preparing for the health care needs of the organization to support my long-term performance. However, I have a weakness in positioning myself well in the organization. I feel that I have not established my ground well for proper career development. I need to position myself while providing flexibility and capacity to adjust to future situations in my career.

Personal Journey Disciplines

I believe I have strengths in shared leadership and action learning. I have gained vast knowledge and skills in managing employees that promote shared leadership. I can allow for other individuals to give their views about solving certain issues in the workplace. My strength in action learning involves the use of decisions to deal with problems and reflect on my personal solutions. However, I have a weakness in having a good reflective practice. In most occasions, I fail in reflecting my behavior in a leadership position. I understand that it is important to use my academic knowledge and active practice to transform leadership behavior. Because I do not have the practical example of reflective practice in the workplace, I need to improve my reflective practice as a leader.

Reflective Practice Reference Behavior

Based on my reflective practice reference behaviors, I have various strengths including my ability to hold the truth, appreciation of diversity, the nurturing of my intellectual and emotional ability as well as keeping myself committed to my ideas. I can create a balance useful in regenerating my spirit that supports my long-term growth. Nevertheless, I have certain weaknesses, including the lack of quest for adventure in knowing and learning new things. I tend to become comfortable and conservative with my routine, which is not adequate in providing quality leadership. Also, I do not appreciate ambiguity, which is a weakness as it limits my ability to learn about the different environments. I have multiple perspectives towards critical elements of decision-making. I need to handle the weaknesses to expand my leadership skills and potentials.

I will use my current leadership skill to advocate for a change in my nursing profession.  For example, I will be able to work with other health leaders to advocate for safe work environment for all nurses. The strategy relies on strong leadership skills and experiences as well the networking with other nurse managers and educators (Ryan et al., 2015). I will network with nurse administrators and professors to improve health and working environment for all nurses. Considering the continued uncertain changes to the healthcare system, I will also contact the relevant government agencies and departments to advocate for improved health care reforms. The approach will be critical in creating the resource allocation processes to address all critical problems that the nurses face.

Most importantly, I will use my leadership skills to develop opportunities for the nurses in the health care sector. Some of the opportunities I will fight for including the expansion of the employment positions and improved reputation for all nurses. It is clear that the nurses comprise the largest proportion of the healthcare professionals in the United States and are the most trusted professionals among the public. Thus, I plan to interact with the nurses from diverse settings to develop opportunities for career growth and development.

For my leadership growth, my personal goal is to improve my communication skills and abilities in the next three months. I will achieve it by attending communication courses and diverse forums on professional communication. The additional experience in practical communication is critical in assisting me to improve my capabilities in the short term period (Baek, 2016). Achieving my goal will be beneficial to the organization of my employment, as poor communication lowers the performance levels within an organization. Therefore, I will invest in management programs that improve interaction within the workplace.