RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

SUMMARY Taking on the role of Senior Sister within a rapidly developing haemodialysis unit has been an inspiring challenge. The role inherited minimal numbers of staff, many of who were overworked and disgruntled with no clear direction. The increase in patient activity and the growing demand for renal replacement therapy had the potential to effect the quality of patient care. The need to provide effective leadership for staff, whilst maintaining a ‘hands‐on’ clinical influence within the role had become evident. A transformational leadership style as described by Bass (1) was adopted. Bass believed that transformational leaders envisage organisational goals in order to motivate followers to do their best and perform beyond their own expectation. The inspiration of a shared vision was paramount in order to build a nursing team enthused, uplifted and enabled to rise to the challenge of local reform. The role boundaries of the senior nursing staff were reviewed with a focus on supporting the development and clarification of the role of Team Leader. A strategy was successfully implemented to strengthen leadership. Through providing a support network for all grades of staff, a team culture has been fostered, improving morale and job satisfaction. Without effective leadership, support and encouragement, nurses could potentially withdraw from the emotional demands of the patients and loose sight of the intellectual challenges of everyday practice. Furthermore, this strategy has been a useful tool to encourage recruitment of staff, whilst providing a structure to develop today's skills in preparation for tomorrow's leaders.