5 Qualities That Are Important for Success in a Nurse Leadership Role

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Nurse Leadership Role Qualities

  • Empathy
  • Passion for Developing Others
  • Attention to Detail
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Business and Leadership Skills

Experience and education matter for a career in nurse administration. There are also personal qualities that are important for success in a nurse leadership role. Below you’ll find five of the qualities nurse administrators must demonstrate to make a difference in how a healthcare facility’s nursing departments are run and how their services are delivered.

1. Empathy

Compassion for others is an important trait all nurses should have, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, empathy is a quality that’s particularly important for success in a nurse leadership role, according to the American Nurses Association’s journal American Nurse Today.

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After all, nurse administrators aren’t the ones tending to patients day in and day out. When making administrative decisions, it can be easy to forget that the patients you’re dealing with are people, not just another aspect of the business.

2. Passion for Developing Others

Some people are naturally skilled at bringing out the best in people. In a leadership role in nursing, you need to be able to lift up the nurses you supervise and help them reach their full potential.

 3. Attention to Detail

You need to be aware of the logistics involved when you’re overseeing:

  • finances
  • budgets
  • work schedules
  • staff recruitment and training. Being inclined to pay close attention to detail is one of the qualities that’s most important for success in a nurse leadership role.

4. Interpersonal Skills

Being something of a “people person” is an essential quality that’s important for success in a nurse leadership role. Nurse administrators work with a number of different people. They spend much of their days in meetings with other senior-level healthcare professionals. They oversee nurse managers and teams of  nurses from every department or nursing service in the facility. Often, nurse administrators may also handle the human resources tasks of managing nursing staff. This includes hiring and training workers. 

5. Business and Leadership Skills

A nurse who is  director of nursing or president of nursing is absolutely in a leadership role. He or she is also responsible for the business side of providing nursing services, including:

  • managing staff
  • finances
  • strategies
  • policies

Fortunately, business and leadership abilities are two of the qualities  that can be developed through education. You don’t necessarily need innate business smarts like you need an intrinsic passion for helping others. You can learn and develop these skills by earning a degree in nurse administration or nursing leadership.

Do you have what it takes to make a great leader in the field of nursing? If so, you can prepare for this rewarding career path by. Combine the personal qualities that are important for success in a nurse leadership role with an online college education in a subject like nurse administration.

Related Resources:

Do I Need to be Certified to be a Nurse Administrator?

How Can a Registered Nurse Move Into an Administration Role?

What Careers Can You Get With a Nurse Administration Degree?

20 Most Affordable Online Master’s In Nursing Leadership and Nurse Administration

Brenda Rufener
Author

Julie McCaulley
Expert

Carrie Sealey-Morris
Editor-in-Chief