Does anyone feel like giving me any input on my completed homework assignment?

[jenannebeard]

I'm not a good writer and I stress out turning in writing assignments. If anyone feels so kind to edit, review, and give me any input I'd appreciate it. The question I had to answer was what qualities I would like to develop as a leader and manager....

Many people including myself assume a person in a management must be a leader as that is inherent in the position. Little did I know prior to studying about leadership and management that in actuality they are not the same thing. The two vary differently in characteristics, skills, and personal qualities. Perhaps originally I wasn't able to make a distinction between leaders and managers because I couldn't see how either one of them could not go hand in hand with each other? It seems like a given to me that one would need to develop leadership competencies in order to become a successful manager. As human beings we all want to feel valued and appreciated for the work we do. And allowing staff to be included in the decision-making and planning process is one way to increase staff morale and satisfaction. In addition, a mutually agreed upon value of something creates a natural desire for it, thus encouraging staff to get involved in opportunities to improve. I strongly feel this is one of the most important leadership skill one can learn, and one that all managers' should employ. I often feel managers purposely do not include staff in their decision making in fear that their input may decrease productivity. This is particularly what I'm faced with at my current job. My administrator loads us nurses with several admits a day making it very hard for us to give quality care to our other 25 plus residents/patients. He seems to tune out our concerns and frustrations related to this problem because he doesn't want to find an excuse as to why we shouldn't admit any one of them. Because of his actions and unwillingness to include us nurses in the decision making process he unfortunately has built a bad reputation for himself. As someone that is only driven by dollar signs. With the loss of respect and the unfavorable working conditions he has created for his employees, he now has to deal with a large turn over rate that has occurred at my workplace. If only had he improved the situation to be more effective, by involving staff input as a leader would have done, efficiency could have been maintained at no additional cost.

Other leadership qualities I would like to develop are those essentially I wish my current employer had. They include trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, and empathy. All these qualities are important towards creating a climate full of satisfied staff and patients. They boost staff morale and satisfaction that encourage staff to want to do their best, and subsequently improve the workplace. Recently all my co-workers and I noticed a pay cut on our most recent check. Apparently my administer had made some cut backs that included a deduction in our hourly wages with out notifying us. It made all of us feel cheated and belittled. Needless to say, my administrator's trustworthiness has gone out the door for most of us. He had tried to redeem himself by writing a mass produced apologetic letter but that didn't seem to work for him. He had already created too much damage to his character to be able to redeem him self. If an individual has the audacity to do such a thing like my administrator did, one begins to question what kind of values and principles this kind of individual has. Certainly someone like this isn't going to be viewed as conscientiousness or empathic. It's obviously he didn't take our feelings or well being into account with his actions. And the constant reminders given to him for change with admits from nurses and other staff got no recognition. His unwillingness to accept new ideas to improve demonstrates his lack of value for feedback and resistance toward adaptability. If we continue to be treated like inanimate objects, we'll start to view our job as nothing more than a task to get done to get a check in our hands. Some control must be given up in order to allow staff to participate in some of the decision making and planning process. This is an important task I will remember to apply if I ever become a manager one day. I will encourage feedback and try to implement any changes necessary to help my staff to do their job more effectively. I would hope that staff members on my team would know how important they are to the company as a whole. And by allowing feedback and guidance from my peers they will feel involved and motivated towards improving the organization. Having a mutually agreed upon common goal is what is going to motivate others to include themselves in your vision. I feel teamwork is also best applied when a mutual respect for one another is enforced. That said, honesty and loyalty should be upheld. I find that a person with these qualities can be very influential because trust is adapted. And when trust is developed, power is attained; making a manager become an influential leader others will want to follow.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

is there a writing center at your school? they would be really good to consult.

hint: something this long has to have more than two paragraphs. one idea per paragraph is a good place to start. break it up so the reader can follow your reasoning.

[Clovery]

it comes across mostly as a *****-fest/rant about your current job. imo you should scrap it and write about a positive experience you've had with someone in a leadership/mgmt position.

it's way too long and hard to read. some of your sentences are fragments and your punctuation could use some work.

sorry to be so blunt and harsh, but you asked for help...

try focusing on something positive and not so particular. if the question is "What qualities do you want to develop as a leader?" then answer that. don't ramble on about your horrible boss and how you don't want to be like him. if you don't have a "real-life" experience with a good leader, then perhaps channel someone you admire from history.

I'm sorry you're stressing about the writing assignment. I agree that going to your school's writing lab would be a good idea. good luck!

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Moved to Nursing Student Assistance forum.