Leadership Self-Assessment
Masters-prepared nurses have become highly vital in the modern healthcare setting, as they
provide highly advanced leadership, promote evidence-based practice, and result in patient
outcome and healthcare system improvement. Graduate-educated nurses are expected to manage
interdisciplinary teams, make policy, and carry out quality improvement initiatives with the
heightened complexity of the healthcare environment. Their management embraces patient-
centred care and safety as well as professional development of staff nurses. Furthermore, master-
ready nurses would be positioned to bridge the clinical practice, research, and organizational
leadership. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on my own experience in leadership, describe
the leadership styles and competencies, and discuss how it is possible to become a better nurse
leader professionally in the future, as a masters-prepared nurse leader.
Personal Leadership Experience.
I have applied informal and official leadership in my nursing profession. I participate in
planning patient care, assisting colleagues during the peak shifts, and mentoring new employees
in my everyday practice. These experiences have helped me acquire communication, teamwork,
and problem solving skills, which are extremely relevant to becoming a successful leader. I am a
moderate leader, believing in teamwork and patient safety and encouraging the open
communication in the team. However, I also realize that leadership skills are also acquired with
time and through education. I usually feel at ease when carrying out leadership roles, particularly
leading the patient-care decision-making process and working with people because nursing
duties usually rely on initiative, responsibility, and responsiveness when addressing the difficult
clinical problems, and with confidence.
Leadership Style
, The approach that suits my philosophy best is transformational leadership. This type of
style is aimed at inspiring, motivating, and empowering members of the team to meet shared
goals and support professional growth (Mudd and Mudd, 2024). This is my preferred style
because it encourages group work, free communication, and positive working environment
which are the most important issues of nursing practice. My future career as a master-prepared
nurse can also be applied to the transformational leadership style since it encourages evidence-
based practice, quality improvement, and effective interdisciplinary collaboration.
Transformational leadership in nursing has been revealed to improve staff engagement, job
satisfaction, and patient outcomes (American Organisation for Nursing Leadership, 2015).
Leadership Competencies
The American Organization of Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Leader Core
Competencies are a valuable framework that assists nurses in the development of leadership
knowledge and skills needed in the modern complex healthcare setting. These skills target major
competencies as communication and relationship management, professionalism, awareness of
the healthcare setting, and business skills and principles. They are useful because they enable
nurse leaders to strengthen their capacity to lead teams, improve patient outcomes, and facilitate
effective healthcare delivery. These competencies are particularly important to masters-prepared
nurses, as advanced nursing practice requires the ability to synthesize clinical knowledge with
leadership, policy sensitivity, and organizational decision-making. AONL (2015) states that a
nurse leader needs to be a strong communicator, professional, and knowledgeable of systems to
underpin the provision of high-quality care and effective healthcare leadership.
Strength Competency One
Masters-prepared nurses have become highly vital in the modern healthcare setting, as they
provide highly advanced leadership, promote evidence-based practice, and result in patient
outcome and healthcare system improvement. Graduate-educated nurses are expected to manage
interdisciplinary teams, make policy, and carry out quality improvement initiatives with the
heightened complexity of the healthcare environment. Their management embraces patient-
centred care and safety as well as professional development of staff nurses. Furthermore, master-
ready nurses would be positioned to bridge the clinical practice, research, and organizational
leadership. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on my own experience in leadership, describe
the leadership styles and competencies, and discuss how it is possible to become a better nurse
leader professionally in the future, as a masters-prepared nurse leader.
Personal Leadership Experience.
I have applied informal and official leadership in my nursing profession. I participate in
planning patient care, assisting colleagues during the peak shifts, and mentoring new employees
in my everyday practice. These experiences have helped me acquire communication, teamwork,
and problem solving skills, which are extremely relevant to becoming a successful leader. I am a
moderate leader, believing in teamwork and patient safety and encouraging the open
communication in the team. However, I also realize that leadership skills are also acquired with
time and through education. I usually feel at ease when carrying out leadership roles, particularly
leading the patient-care decision-making process and working with people because nursing
duties usually rely on initiative, responsibility, and responsiveness when addressing the difficult
clinical problems, and with confidence.
Leadership Style
, The approach that suits my philosophy best is transformational leadership. This type of
style is aimed at inspiring, motivating, and empowering members of the team to meet shared
goals and support professional growth (Mudd and Mudd, 2024). This is my preferred style
because it encourages group work, free communication, and positive working environment
which are the most important issues of nursing practice. My future career as a master-prepared
nurse can also be applied to the transformational leadership style since it encourages evidence-
based practice, quality improvement, and effective interdisciplinary collaboration.
Transformational leadership in nursing has been revealed to improve staff engagement, job
satisfaction, and patient outcomes (American Organisation for Nursing Leadership, 2015).
Leadership Competencies
The American Organization of Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Leader Core
Competencies are a valuable framework that assists nurses in the development of leadership
knowledge and skills needed in the modern complex healthcare setting. These skills target major
competencies as communication and relationship management, professionalism, awareness of
the healthcare setting, and business skills and principles. They are useful because they enable
nurse leaders to strengthen their capacity to lead teams, improve patient outcomes, and facilitate
effective healthcare delivery. These competencies are particularly important to masters-prepared
nurses, as advanced nursing practice requires the ability to synthesize clinical knowledge with
leadership, policy sensitivity, and organizational decision-making. AONL (2015) states that a
nurse leader needs to be a strong communicator, professional, and knowledgeable of systems to
underpin the provision of high-quality care and effective healthcare leadership.
Strength Competency One
