906 - Own Your Influence: Establishing and Acting on your Leadership Style

Leadership is an activity where an individual guides, motivates, and influences others to achieve a mutual purpose or goal. Nurses are leaders. They lead at the bedside, in the classroom, and the boardroom. However, not all nurses know how to use their skills and knowledge to be successful leaders. This presentation will help nurses build their leadership style, use their talents to mentor others in leadership, and apply examples from research and mentoring experiences to their leadership practices.

A research project was conducted exploring the mentoring relationships between experienced faculty, novice faculty, and students who have graduated nursing school and are transitioning to practice. The mixed-method research design analyzed best practice techniques to enhance outcomes, support the time and resources required for successful relationships, and facilitate personal and professional growth. The qualitative data was collected with semi-structured interviews and focus groups.

The quantitative data was measured with the Mentoring Competency Assessment (MCA) instrument. The MCA has 26 Likert-style questions that measure effective communication, alignment of expectations, assessment of understanding, addressing diversity, promoting professional development, and fostering independence (Fleming et al., 2013).

Simultaneously, a longitudinal mentoring program, pairing novice educators with experienced academic leaders, revealed the value of leadership development to assist novice educators in reaching their full potential. Instances of partnerships, patterns of thought leadership, and examples from project designs will enhance the presentation. Examples of influential situations supported by group discussion will allow participants to apply leadership skills.