NURS 6221 Week 5 Becoming an Effective Leader and Coach

NURS 6221 Week 5 Becoming an Effective Leader and Coach Essay Assignment

You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them but by building a fire within them.
—Bob Nelson, President of Nelson Motivation, Inc.

My responsibility is leadership, and the minute I get negative, that is going to have an influence on my team.
—Don Shula, Miami Dolphins Football Coach

Coaching is a conversation, a dialogue, whereby the coach and the individual interact in a dynamic exchange to achieve goals, enhance performance and move the individual forward to greater success.
—Zeus and Skiffington, Behavioral Coaching Institute

What themes do you notice among the above quotes? Furthermore, how does each quote speak to effective leadership? Leading and coaching others is a critical management strategy. Whether training new employees or validating employee performance with positive praise, your ability to lead and coach will prove to be one of the more influential aspects of your role as a manager.

This week, you explore two specific management strategies: strengths-based leadership and the six-step coaching process.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess personal and professional leadership strengths
Apply strengths-based leadership to manage difficult workplace situations
Apply strengths-based leadership to capitalize on the strengths of employees
Apply the six-step coaching process *
Evaluate coaching best practices *

NURS 6221 Week 5 Discussion: Strengths-Based Leadership

The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.

—John Buchan

It can be demoralizing when managers focus primarily on the deficiencies of employees, yet it can sometimes be difficult to see beyond the negatives. Strengths-based leadership is a management approach that not only recognizes an individual’s strengths, but also draws upon these strengths to enhance the dynamics of the workplace. Strengths-based leadership can be applied to employees performing at their personal best or to those who may need redirection. In addition, the principles of strengths-based leadership can be carried over to managers themselves. When nurse managers are aware of their own strengths, they can better leverage them to effectively manage difficult situations.

To prepare

Review the article “Know Your Own Strength.” How can strengths-based leadership improve the skills and attitudes of employees?
Reflect on your own personal and professional leadership strengths. Consider how you might use these strengths to manage staff members who seem to be disengaged or problematic. In addition, determine how you might use these strengths to resolve difficult situations between employees.
Recall a time when you either observed a disengaged or problematic employee(s) at work or observed a difficult or conflict situation between employees.
Imagine that you were the nurse manager in the above situation. How might you have used your strengths to effectively manage this employee or situation? Also, give some thought to the strengths of those posing the problem. How might you have used their strengths to resolve the situation?

By Day 3

Post an explanation of what you consider to be your top two strengths as a leader. Then, briefly describe the situation you selected and explain how you could leverage your own strengths (applying strengths-based leadership) to successfully manage that situation. Explain at least two ways you might also capitalize on the strengths of the employee(s) involved to successfully resolve the situation.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Suggest another way a colleague might capitalize on the identified strengths of the employee(s).
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information and evidence or research.
Expand on a colleague’s posting by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

NURS 6221 Week 5 Assignment & Portfolio Submission: Coaching Employees

Consider the following scenario:

You were very pleased with your decision to select Mala during your last recruitment initiative. Just out of college, Mala has the enthusiasm and professional drive that could benefit your health care organization. However, you recognize that Mala will have a lot to learn in a clinical setting. As a nurse manager, you have led many successful group trainings, but have far less experience coaching employees one-on-one. You wonder how you should approach this relationship and what steps you should take to increase the positivity and effectiveness of this experience.

Coaching is an ongoing process that is an integral function of the management role. It focuses on the development needs of the employee and is built on a relationship of trust between the leader and follower. Coaching is a powerful activity that demonstrates value of and respect for the employee. In this Assignment, you examine how you could serve as a coach to facilitate an individual’s professional development.

To prepare

Reflect on the information shared in the article, “Coaching Nurses: A Real Example of a Real Difference.” Which of these best practices might you use to strengthen your own coaching skills?
Review Chapter 7, “Coaching and Developing Others” in the course text, From Management to Leadership: Strategies for Transforming Health Care. Consider how the author compares coaching staff in a health care setting to coaching athletes, directing a movie, and conducting a symphony. Then, examine the six steps of the coaching process. How does each of the coaching steps build upon one another to create a positive and effective coaching experience?
In preparation for this hypothetical coaching exercise, identify one individual, staff member, or employee (from your current organization or a past setting) who could benefit from coaching. Create a pseudonym for him or her.
Use the six-step coaching process to develop a coaching and development plan.

Note: This assignment also serves as your portfolio submission.

To complete

By Day 7 of Week 6

Submit a 5- to 7-page paper in which you do the following:

Step One: Determine your intention.
- Describe your intention and purpose for coaching this specific individual.
- Explain the goals, skills, and/or competencies you have in mind, and define your primary focus.
- Explain how you would engage this individual in identifying these and other development opportunities.
Step Two: Assess the performer.
- Identify the individual’s strengths and level of development.
- Explain the leadership style and interventions that would be most appropriate to help this individual achieve his or her identified goals, skills, and/or competencies.
Step Three: Clarify expectations and parameters.
- Describe the roles and expectations of both you and the individual.
- Outline the learning opportunities you could provide and the order in which they should be approached.
- Identify the specific objectives to be achieved for each learning opportunity.
  - Explain the coaching best practices you would apply and why.
Step Four: Carry out the coaching intervention.
- List the coaching questions you might develop to ensure that learning opportunities and interventions are applied as needed, and explain how any additional development opportunities might help to address your intended coaching goals.
Step Five: Observe performance.
- Explain the observation method you will use to assess whether or not your coaching has been effective.
Step Six: Give feedback.
- Describe how you will administer feedback to this individual.

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