This chapter explores how three successful nursing leaders, using different leadership approaches, demonstrate traditional leadership attributes such as strategic vision; risk-taking and creativity; interpersonal and communication effectiveness; and inspiring and leading change. It discusses the opportunities and implications for nursing leaders and those external to the profession to develop collaborative and transformative partnerships to advance quality health care. Pragmatic leaders demonstrate leadership excellence by effectively translating their nursing care assessment skills into the ability to approach organizational problem solving and decision making in a systematic, logical manner. In contrast to the present-needs focus of pragmatic leaders, charismatic leaders are vision-based leaders who predicate their leadership agenda on attaining future goals. Each of the three nursing leaders profiled understands the importance of being politically astute and effectively leveraging power and influence to make value-added contributions. To varying degrees, the various constituents of the nursing leaders profiled view them as socialized leaders.

Barry H. Smith’s opening is significant: that nursing care is at the core of humanity. He recounts his own experiences with nurses, when as a surgical resident he learned the value of team work, and developed a respect for the nurses who were so tuned in to the needs of the patients and families. Smith asserts that nurses must be the central point of any health care system, and yet many factors have converged to keep nurses in a subservient role within health care. Today, there are Nurses Aides, Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and those with doctorates in nursing, with an increasing premium being placed on advanced nursing clinical practice, as well as research. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.

This chapter talks about becoming a mentor-leader: Beliefs and behaviors, mentoring across cultures and generations, and mentor as Pygmalion: Believing in potential and expecting success. Nurses can learn leadership by observing good leaders, mentors, and role models; studying leadership theories and research; testing leadership behaviors through work and professional association activities; and using reflective learning to develop and fine-tune nurse’s behaviors. Mentor-leaders are present in every cultural and ethnic group and in every generation. Global, cross-cultural, and cross-generational mentoring occur when nurses are open and receptive to learning from each other and are willing to share their unique perspectives and skills. The nursing profession has an impressive track record of global collaboration and mentorship. Through mentor bonds that break down global and cultural boundaries, nurses have unprecedented opportunities for driving change in health and nursing around the world.

This chapter provides an overview of concepts that will explain both organizational and systems leadership. This knowledge helps the reader to enhance their current leadership and communication skills to more effectively provide high-quality nursing care. Describing the organizational culture and design in an organization will enable the reader to be an active, engaged member of the healthcare team. This engagement will encourage them to participate in patient safety and quality care initiatives aligned with organizational goals. The chapter discusses key concepts of an organization's professional practice model, shared governance model, and participation in strategic agenda planning that supports nursing clinical practice. These concepts support the registered nurse in gaining knowledge to promote and participate in a shared governance model. The shared governance model is often used as a strategy for healthcare organizations to ensure higher retention reorganizational test of registered nurses, increased job satisfaction, and empowerment of frontline nurses.

Jean Watson’s theory of Human Caring provides a foundation to carefully examine and purposefully enact caring in nursing. Watson’s work often discusses the importance of cultivating personal practices, including mindfulness, to support caring comportment. Watson’s theory is multilayered and complex. In addition to engaging in spiritual practices to deepen understanding, art provides a hands-on approach that will help clarify underlying structures of the theory, the scaffolding upon which the Caritas Processes are placed. This approach moves away from traditional word-based learning and toward an integrated, holistic understanding. Art activities can facilitate deep insight and mindfulness. For Watson’s theory, pointillism, mandalas, and photography have been the most helpful approaches for stimulating growth, insight, and learning. This chapter presents a brief explanation of each art form and its usefulness for studying and practicing Watson’s theory. It also provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.

Holding altruistic values related to nonharming and having a desire to help wherever possible is foundational to caring in nursing, as is the practice of lovingkindness with others. Lovingkindness consists of varying behavioral expressions that all arise from one thing; a deeply held desire to love and to care in whatever ways are meaningful and helpful in a given moment, within a given situation. This chapter presents three examples of caring science knowledge development from scholarly sources. These examples include the first Caritas Process and also may encompass one or more of the other Caritas Processes. Sitzman analyzed caring online communication patterns from six studies that examined the process of caring in online nursing classrooms. Six communicative elements emerged from this analysis. These six communicative elements illustrated key aspects of Watson’s Caring Science in practice. They also corresponded with mindfulness practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Scientific problem solving is not just for people who do research. Human beings are called to explore phenomena, evaluate various situations, and engage in effective problem solving every day. This chapter lists practices that will facilitate everyday scientific creative problem solving. It presents three examples of Caring Science knowledge development from scholarly sources. These examples include the sixth Caritas Process and also may encompass one or more of the other Caritas Processes. The Caritas Processes are interconnected with one another. The expression of one Caritas Process enables and facilitates expression of the others so they are often evident together. The "Caritas in Action" examples represent examples of nurses who have engaged in creative scientific problem-solving methods for caring decision making, creating Caritas-driven projects to address specific needs and concerns.

Dr. Watson’s caring philosophy is used to guide transformative models of caring and healing practices for nurses, allied health professionals, caregivers, and patients in diverse settings worldwide. These settings include institutions for higher education, centers for education and learning, hospitals, clinics, and public agencies. Transpersonal caring relationships are the foundation of Watson’s work. Transpersonal caring calls for authenticity and an ability to be present to self and other in a reflective frame. Transpersonal caring competencies are related to cultivation of the nurse’s human competencies and ways of being/becoming (ontology). Application of transpersonal caring competencies is lived out through practices of Caritas Processes during caring moments or caring occasions. The dynamic of transpersonal caring (healing) within a caring moment exists in the field of consciousness. This chapter presents the list of 10 Caritas Processes, which will form the basis of study for the remainder of this book.