Preparing for Leadership: Advice From a Veteran Nurse Leader
Linda Knodel, MSN, MHA, RN, FAAN, senior vice president and chief nursing executive Kaiser Permanente National Program Office, Oakland, Calif., served as AONL board chair in 2014 and has mentored many aspiring nurse leaders. Jerome Dayao interviewed her about the best ways to prepare for leadership roles.
When should a nurse begin thinking about leadership roles?
I do not think that leadership is something that randomly enters one’s mind. Individuals who have an inclination towards leadership often take leadership roles in school. This can be through serving as captain of a sports team or leading student organizations. Many people have innate talents to lead even before entering nursing. If nurses are interested in formal leadership roles, I recommend that they give it a try. This can be through volunteering in committees within their organizations or even within their units.
Aside from education, what kinds of experiences are valuable to someone seeking executive roles? What traits do you look for in a leader?
Being an active member of the community and professional organizations can be very helpful. These experiences can allow you to have a wider perspective that will be helpful in creative problem-solving. A leader must understand that he or she can always learn from someone. Also, effective leaders are motivated to create positive change; you can be the most amazing and talented athlete, however, without motivation you cannot be successful. Environment also plays an important role. The main duty of leaders is to create environments where aspiring leaders can learn, grow and thrive.
What should one consider in finding a mentor?
One thing I always tell new nurse leaders or those aspiring to become a leader is to seek mentors who will help you in your leadership journey. Choose someone who can help you build on the skills you have and help you develop new skills. I also tell them to think about mentorship as you would if you were trying to create a board of directors for your own business. Who would you need to have your business succeed? Choose someone who inspires you and who you aspire to become. Make a list of potential mentors and start reaching out to them. See if there is synergy between the two of you. Mentorship is not a one-sided relationship, the mentor must learn from the mentee as much as the mentee learns from the mentor.
As a former AONL board chair, do you see value in assuming leadership roles away from the workplace valuable?
Being involved outside your organization is very important. A leader must understand that he or she learns from everyone. Many times, I was faced with a leadership question for which I needed an insight from someone with a fresh take on things or someone who had been in this situation before. I am fortunate to have made strong connections and friendships with colleagues I met though professional organizations. It is nice to be able to call someone and know he or she is willing to help or answer any question.
The generational nursing workforce is making a shift. Today, many millennials are taking their first manager or director jobs. What is your advice to them as they work their way up to the C-suite?
I am very inspired by the younger members of the workforce. I think they are a hard workers with talents and skills other generations can learn from. What is great about the younger workers is that they know what they need to learn and they seek this from the other members of their teams. I recommend that they expand their perspective by learning aspects of health care beyond nursing. I recently spoke with two young performance improvement engineers who have gone back to school to study nursing-—a good example of cross-sectional learning. We can improve on our range of competency by learning skills beyond our current abilities. I recommend that nurses pursue education, be it through seminars or obtaining advanced degrees. Beyond education, I think leaders must learn to respect the talent of others and develop beneficial professional relationships. Everybody can teach and learn from each other.
Research has shown that health care organizations do not have adequate succession planning at the C-suite level. As seasoned nurse executives retire, how can organizations better prepare for succession? When should organizations prepare for the turnover of these top-level leaders?
We always need to be prepared and ready. We do not know when people are going to leave. We also need to see beyond the notion that you can lead only areas in which you have clinical expertise. When my director of surgical operations left, I was having a challenging time finding another OR nurse to take the newly vacated role. I looked outside the OR setting and found an exceptional leader from labor and delivery with minimal OR experience. She was an amazing leader and was promoted to the director of the entire perioperative service line. She was an exceptional leader and surrounded herself with superb and competent peri-op leaders. Talent is everywhere; the challenge is having the eye to recognize someone who can successfully fulfill a role. Also, it is important to develop not one person but a pool of leaders and talent. This way the organization can be prepared to fill roles whenever the need arises.
Some nurse leaders aspire to someday become a CNO/CNE. What are your thoughts in preparing aspiring CNO/CNEs to face rejection? How can we prepare them to become resilient in their quest to assume this role?
We should look at failures and rejections as learning and growth opportunities. It is my hope that nurses use these as experiences to better themselves. I think one must reframe one’s thinking. Instead of asking, “Why didn’t I get this job?” ask, “What did I learn from this experience?” I recommend that if a nurse leader is rejected or denied an opportunity that she or he reach out to the hiring manager to ask for feedback. In my experience, many hiring managers are willing to share what an applicant needs to work on, such as communication style, education, experience, fit, etc. I also believe in requesting the same advice in current positions so that you continuously grow. Also, find a mentor—or someone who you trust—with whom you can have an honest discussion about the rejection.
As a senior executive in one of the largest integrated health systems in the country, what are leadership trends you are seeing at the national level?
More and more leaders are becoming involved in their communities and the legislative process. It is very important that nurses become part of boards within organizations or their communities. This will allow nursing input in every avenue that ultimately betters the organization that it serves. Nurses offer a unique perspective that further diversifies the board’s viewpoint. I also encourage nurses to be connected with their local legislators. Attend town halls and meet them, create a connection and introduce them to nursing, including the value nursing brings to so many venues. Have face time with legislators, follow up with them and help shape policies beneficial to many.