1. Moving Mountains One Mole Hill at a Time.
Nurse Leadership
Moving Mountains One Mole Hill at a Time.

2. Change is Good!
Your stance on change – Not everyone likes change, but if you’re in the healthcare field, you must learn to desire it. Once we realize that change is the only constant, we will be in a better place to not just allow change, but help promote it.

3. Change is Good!
Recognizing the pace is fast – Being in the position as a healthcare provider and nurse leader we must incorporate change not at a snail’s pace, but demand it happen fast. We also must recognize that changes we didn’t anticipate will happen quickly and we must be ready to catch it and run with it.

4. Change is Good!
Creating a Network of Change Agents – Our best allies will come when we are an ally to them. Without followers, are we really a leader? Actively engaging with and supporting our colleagues and employees is the best way to infect them with the change fever. Recognizing our need for them is imperative.

5. “When in doubt, choose change.” – Lily Leung
Your Stance On Change
“When in doubt, choose change.” – Lily Leung
Our stance on and reaction to change is important to the ongoing health and development of healthcare, and our participation in it as nurse leaders is imperative.
If we are not pushing for change, we have missed the boat; we are trying to captain a ship that has already set sail without us.

6. Are You A Change Agent?
“We are in an industry that is constantly trying to redesign itself.” – Kelly Smith Papa
Redesigning healthcare is beautiful, and necessary. Yes we have come so far, but only because our founding nurses were change agents. We still have so much farther we can go.
Healthcare is not a static industry, this is why being a change agent in this profession, especially when in leadership, is crucial to effectively leading others down paths for improvement.

7. Change Should Be Fast
We’re dealing with people’s lives, and therefore we should always be trying to make our system better, and quickly.
It’s not a question of “if” change is necessary, it’s a matter of how fast we can make it happen.
We cannot wait for a tragedy before determining that change is crucial

8. Change Should Be Fast
If a hospital is not running as a well-oiled machine, leaders need to be RUNNING to the source and asking the question of “Why?”
When a problem is recognized we must realize that patients have already been affected by it, and will continue to be until it is resolved.

9. Followers Make the Best Leaders
“Like leadership, good followership is increasingly being recognized as an important component for high performance.” – Joy Whitlock
When a leader has these abilities to communicate, relate, and implement change is when he or she will quickly gain a following of like-minded individuals. The followers drawn to this type of leadership are those skilled to be effective change-agents. It is then when a leader can pick out persons with specific skills and appoint them to specific tasks, because when change- driven leaders effectively listen and lead, change-driven followers effectively listen and follow, and voila: a change-driven team is born

10. Followers Make the Best Leaders
If a leader does not appreciate or respect the followers surrounding him or her, a leader is not a leader at all, for he or she has no one to lead. On the other hand, mutual respect flowing to and from the leader and the followers creates energy and a positive work environment equipped for and engaged in change.
If we cannot adopt reflection on past experiences, nor appreciation for patients and our followers, we cannot effectively lead, nor change, no matter how fast-paced we work. Yet, without the ability to implement change quickly, one will be a reflective leader who is unable to move forward.

11. Conclusion
Leaders are not managers. We are not meant to direct as much as we are meant to inspire. Creating a desire in those around us to pursue change is a talent worth cultivating.
Change really is the only constant, we have to make sure the change that’s taking place is for the better, not for the worse.
We are being looked up to, and those following us have the right to be led well.

12. Discussion Do you want to be a leader that inspires change?
Do you currently identify yourself as a manager who wants to “get the job done,” but desire to shift into a leadership mindset? Taking a leadership class, by perhaps John Maxwell, is an excellent place to start.
How can we create followership? Is it a class to hold or an “inspirational minute” we can provide to the staff every day?

13. References
Barishansky, R. M. (2011). The Secrets of a Change Agent. EMS World, 40(9), 81.
Horton-Deutsch, S., & Sherwood, G. (2008). Reflection: an educational strategy to develop emotionally competent nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Management, 16,
Smith Papa, K. (2015). Developing nurse leadership: Paving the path toward culture change. PPS Alert for Long-Term Care, 18(8), 1-4.
Whitlock, J. (2013). The value of active followership. Nursing Management, 20(2),