Destiny Grant Main Post Week 5 Discussion 2 Description: Clifton describes my to

Destiny Grant Main Post Week 5 Discussion 2
Description:
Clifton describes my top 5 strengths as Empathy, Winning others over (woo), communication, positivity, and harmony. This sounds to me like a mediator or small group leader rather than a large-scale leader like a nurse manager or executive position holder. However, I can see where some of these strengths can be beneficial on a larger scale. Mainly, a leader that is empathetic, vs sympathetic, can be a strong leader. The subordinate will appreciate the personal element or humility in their style and not feel like a number. When team members believe you reflect the trait of humility, they are more willing to trust and follow you (Flood-Stith, 2018). As the one people rely on to have the vision, leaders need to be able to communicate that vision so others can follow. Transformational leaders should have a clear vision, engage in meaningful dialogue, and be able to effectively manage change (Broome and Marshall (2021). Wooing gets people on your side vs. another’s. Positivity is vital for seeing the best in your subordinates and encouraging towards even better – including their own goals as well as the organizations goals. Harmony has a place in leadership, but a leader must know that you can never truly make everyone involved happy and for that reason I am glad it is my lowest ranking quality. This does come in very strongly to play however in raising my children and leading my family.
Two of My Core values
Integrity – A leader must do the right thing for the right reason. A leader should not put others in harm’s way or put them down to meet a goal or make themselves look powerful. All too often, leaders are blind to the obvious when it comes to something of critical importance to them (Rath & Conchie, 2009).
Honesty – This may seem interwoven with integrity, but just like empathy and wooing are interwoven, they also stand alone. As a leader the onus is on me to do the research and predict the best outcome. A good leader additionally first bears the burden of things going wrong before they pass the blame and/or burden down to the subordinate.
Description of Two of My Strengths
Positivity – I tend to find the good in most things and will fight to see the good in most people. I have found this imperative in my nursing career. I also celebrate a person’s uniqueness and strategically, yet honestly, compliment them on it. I believe I could be the transformational or values-based leader that I felt deprived of based on my ability to inspire others by finding out what motivates them, as well as celebrating what is special or valuable about them. In return people often point out my good characteristics when asked about me and tend to overlook my flaws. They tend to know that I have the purest intentions and any ill is not actually ill-intended.
Empathy – I tend to recognize when a coworker can benefit from my compliments, or when a junior nurse needs that approval. Clifton says I know what to say and how to say it so your compliments or words of recognition sound truthful, genuine, and sincere. I would not go this far in describing my interactions with others, but what I would say is that because I see the best in others the words of recognition are truthful and sincere, making them well received. Given my genuine interest and positive regard people seem willing to entrust me with information about themselves or their situation that they would generally keep secret.
Characteristics that could be strengthened
Having worked with so many people in my life and career I feel like I have inherently mastered these characteristics. What I offer in this segment is that too strong is also a weakness. I could serve to better manage my strengths.
Communication – I talk a lot, am well-spoken and come across as very confident even when I don’t feel that way. I’ve been told since childhood that I talk too much. What I have taught myself is not to talk over people and or cut them off, which I tend to do when excited or impassioned. In a positional leadership role may be taken as bulldozing. So far, in a more situational leadership role, this has not been that much of a problem.
Empathy – The gift of empathy can quickly make one feel like one is walking under a dark cloud. As an empath you can also take on others’ pain. This then drags the empathy down as they have no one to release it to. I think I am good at empathizing and terrible at letting others’ problems go. This causes a lot of mental strain and emotional burden. I feel it in my body as well which causes me to sigh a lot just to take a good breath. In managing a lot of people I can see how I may experience burnout quickly if I don’t master the flipside of my strength.
References
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Flood-Stith, C. (2018). It’s Not Hard to Be Humble: The Role of Humility in Leadership. Family Practice Management, 25(3), 25–27.
Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2009). Strengths based leadership. Gallup press.