shadowing a leader essay

Leadership shadow model: what is it and how can I cast a positive leadership shadow?

Everyone has heard the phrase ‘lead by example’, but what does this mean? And why is it important? A shadow leader is a type of leader who has an influential management style, which can significantly impact the attitudes and morale of people within their team. This article discusses what a leadership shadow is, the impact that your leadership shadow can have on your employees, and how you can work to cast a positive leadership shadow.

Shadow a Leader

I shadowed the principal of a nearby high school, Ms. Tabitha Peterson, for this project. I have known Ms. Peterson for a long time. As a result, setting up an interview with her was not difficult for me. On the basis of our conversation, I plan to write a reflection paper.

My interviewee’s leadership philosophy was the subject of the first question I asked her. A good role model is important to her, she said. According to her, followers are more likely to imitate what they see in their leaders than what their leaders say. According to her leadership style, this means distributing as many tasks as possible to her subordinates. Instead than micromanaging, she prefers to sit back and watch her subordinates fulfill their jobs and manage new obstacles, and only intervene when absolutely required. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, and I wanted to know how she has demonstrated her leadership qualities in these trying times. As a result of the epidemic, her school has lost a large number of teachers and non-teachers. The coronavirus has been ravaging her team, so she used Skype to keep in touch with them and encourage them to keep fighting. For the record, Ms. Peterson appears to be an advocate of teaching leadership styles. She aims to improve the lives of those who follow her by illuminating the path. The coaching leadership style emphasizes the importance of empathetic leadership. Coaching leadership style requires good communication and feedback at the same time (Eden Project, n. d.). Coaches must produce and communicate knowledge that will aid their followers in completing their assigned duties. By fostering a climate that encourages the growth of feedback, leaders can discover what their followers need in order to grow into their best selves.

Ms. Peterson explained to me that her ideal conflict management method entails being objective and listening to others before taking action. Conflict management is just as crucial as communication in her job, she said. Teachers and students alike frequently seek her advice on a wide range of issues. When it comes to dealing with these disagreements, she encourages all parties involved to come to an agreement that works for them all. It appears that Ms. Peterson uses mediation to resolve issues in her workplace. Here, the mediators listen carefully to all sides of an argument and make suggestions for how the parties can come to a compromise (Nolo, n. d.). Both sides must work together to find a compromise they can live with. There are times when the opposing parties fail to come to an agreement, according to her. A couple of these disagreements have gone to court. If the parties are unable to resolve their differences through mediation, it may be necessary to resort to litigation, which may be both time consuming and costly (Nolo, n. d.). According to Ms. Peterson’s remarks, mediation does have some value for resolving disputes, but there are some limitations to it.

To learn about Ms. Peterson, I also wanted to know what she had in store. Ms. Peterson’s school has been a model of excellence in terms of discipline and academic and co-curriculum achievement since she was a child. As a result, I was curious as to her vision for the school’s future growth. A leadership training program for her students and staff has been implemented, she informed me. Every part of her existence has become dependent on her ability to lead. As well, she want to see technology interwoven into the way learning takes place in the company she works for. Because of the present pandemic, she says, she’s had to reevaluate her ideas on technology’s place in society. Until recently, she had always believed that technology, particularly social media, was a harmful force. However, the pandemic has made her realize that digital technology is a crucial tool for education. She plans to expand the use of digital technology in her school and church in the future. She hopes that the two institutions will soon be able to take advantage of modern technology. Ms. Peterson appears to be an excellent and visionary manager.

The second thing I wanted to know about from my subject was how she goes about gaining trust. This was the most interesting section of the interview for me. In the beginning, she explained to me how being honest had helped her develop and build trust in her school and in her family. In addition, she told me that she has built trust with her followers and children by cultivating a sense of accountability in her business, community, and family. When it comes to her children, for example, she guarantees that she tells them the truth about her personal life. This encompasses her professional life as well as the relationships she has or has had. A lot of her children are more open when their mother takes responsibility for her behavior.

As a student, I was keen to learn more about how she empowers others. The moment I asked her about her theory of how people actually learn, she said, “I believe it happens when people are given enough opportunities to do tough jobs.” As a result, she prefers to delegate difficult tasks to her deputy and other teachers. Furthermore, she said she constantly aims to empower others by providing them with sufficient training. If you are interested in educating her students and teaching and non-teaching staff on a variety of topics like leadership development, personal development, or emerging technology, she said she would be happy to work with both for-profit and nonprofit groups. Ms. Peterson, a Baptist church leader, told me that she enjoys organizing retreats and seminars in order to strengthen other Christians.

The conversation with Ms. Peterson made me realize that strong leadership is built on the capacity to set goals, prepare ahead, and accomplish tasks. For her group, Ms. Peterson has a clear vision of how she wants to empower her followers and expand the use of digital technologies. In addition, she empowers her followers by delegating as many work as possible and taking advantage of training opportunities.

In conclusion, speaking with principal Peterson was a very fruitful experience for me. For the first time in my career, I had the opportunity to observe and learn from a leader in action, and I gained invaluable insight into how she sets the direction of her business, resolves conflict, and empowers her team members. Going forward, I intend to use the lessons learned from Ms. Peterson and the class lessons to strengthen my leadership qualities.

Eden Project. (n. d.). What is coaching leadership? Retrieved from https://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-organisations/creative-leadership/what-is- coaching-eadership#:~:text=Coaching%20leadership%20is%20a%20style,their %20specific%20and%20individual%20motivations.

Nolo (n. d.). What Are Mediation and Arbitration? https://www.alllaw.com/articles/legal/article9.asp#:~:text=The%20advantage%20to%20mediation%20is,end%20up%20in%20court%20anyway.

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Leader’s Shadow and Leadership Talent

Introduction, ramesh’s philosophy, ramesh leadership roles.

In my life, I have been on the lookout for an incomparable leader to shadow. One day I went shopping at one of the outlets of Mac’s Convenience Store where I met the store manager, Ramesh Thuong. From then on, I became very fond of him since any time I went to the shop; I had to chat with him for some time. Because I had befriended him, he quickly agreed when I told him that I wanted to shadow him during one of the peak seasons in the store’s operations and consequently write about him. Mac’s Convenience Store is the largest convenience store operator in Canada with many other stores in the U.S. (“About us”). Ramesh takes care of one of the busiest stores in this chain, which is evidence of his great leadership skills.

In my conversation with Ramesh, I discovered his philosophy. In influencing his subordinates to accomplish the company’s objectives, he sets the right example for them to follow. He believes that actions depict true leadership and not mere words. His actions are evident in the way he assigns the employees various duties. He assigns them based on the qualification that enables them to perform effectively the tasks given. In case an employee has been stuck while performing a duty, he makes every attempt to ensure that the employee gets through by offering his assistance. Ramesh’s leadership by example is an inspiration to his colleagues who always learn from his ways. In the period that I was shadowing Ramesh, I noticed that he followed up his philosophy by practicing servant leadership.

He devoted himself to serving the interests of the company. In several instances, employees could come to him seeking clarification about some urgent issues they were facing. He did not throw them away but faithfully attended to the concerns of every one of them. A good leader is indeed made, not born. Ramesh had developed his leadership skills through a thorough method of self-study, learning, training, and experience. Ramesh had a humble beginning as a cashier at Mac’s store. He was then elevated to the position of a marketing manager for about eighteen months. Through doing a lot of self-study, he soon became experienced with the various in-house practices. Because of his exemplary skills in leadership, he got a promotion to the position of store manager.

During the time that I was shadowing Ramesh, several leadership qualities stood out. I noticed that he communicated effectively when he was addressing his subordinates. I asked him why he is concerned so much about effective communication. He reminded me that in any organization, communication is important since without it little can be achieved. Ramesh uses communication to state clearly the goals of the company; therefore, everyone has always felt involved in the running of the store.

To demonstrate good leadership qualities, one has to develop respect for himself or herself and respect for his or her colleagues. Respect is reciprocal since if a leader lacks respect, he or she cannot command a following. Ramesh recognizes the significance of this principle. He relates to all of his staff equally not considering their backgrounds. He regards the place of work as a professional environment and he has never been disrespectful to anyone. Occasionally, I could leave him to go and interact freely with the company staff. I found out that he had a great following because the staff members equally respect him.

Big dreams rarely become a reality through the efforts of one single person since it requires a team effort, solid trust, and strong relationships. Moreover, it needs deep competence and cool confidence, group collaboration, and lastly immense individual accountability. In having extraordinary things accomplished at Mac’s store, Ramesh always enabled others to act. I realized that he was on the road to becoming a good leader by the way he addresses his subordinates. I noticed that he frequently used the word we nearly three times more often than he uses the word I . In doing this, his subordinates responded more enthusiastically and his team became more cohesive when they realized that they were part of us. Ramesh recommended to me to use this magic word more often to make things turn around.

Ramesh fosters collaboration and the building of trust among the staff members. He adheres to this sense of teamwork by going far beyond a few direct reports or close confidants. He engages all the people who are working at the store. He does not restrict operations to a small group of loyalists, but he includes all those who have a stake in the vision of Mac’s store. In the team, he encourages everyone to be committed to responsibility. He usually reminds the team members that it is better to fail to accept a responsibility than to accept one and deliver poor results. This has earned him credibility in the business cycles.

For the whole period that I had been shadowing Ramesh, I noticed that he was strict in keeping time. I asked him about this. He told me that time in the store is constant and irreversible and nothing can be substituted for it since any moment wasted can never be regained. He developed workable time management techniques that ensured that everything around him moves as though on a timer. He regards time as of essence since it keeps getting away and no one is capable of changing it to suit his or her needs. Therefore, Ramesh managed time efficiently to be an efficient manager.

All through my shadowing activity that lasted close to ten hours, I learned one important lesson. The leadership talent that Ramesh possesses illustrates that anybody is capable of becoming a leader. It all depends on the dedication that one puts in making this dream become a reality. Ramesh was not born a manager, but he painstakingly made his way to the top. He capitalized on every available opportunity to sharpen his leadership skills. In his current position, he dedicates a great deal of time and energy to the fulfillment of the goals of Mac’s store. This shadowing experience has enabled me to realize that I also have a leadership potential that when properly nurtured can bring great benefits. I have recognized that if I believe in myself, I can be able to fulfill my ambitions. In the meantime, I have to provide direction and support to my peers especially during uncertain times, utilize fully my leadership talents and strive to set a positive example of what honesty and ethics mean in my daily life.

“About us.” Macs . Mac’s Convenience Stores. 2008. Web.

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• Social Sciences

Shadowing a Leader

27 Sep 2022

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Essay (Any Type)

Words: 1009

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Leadership motivates workers of a high level of production through the leaders’ well-built human relations. I did an interview project of shadowing a leader, and it was an effective, informative, and eye-opening project. The project gave me an overall understanding of the organization's leaders' roles and responsibilities in their daily activities. I interviewed Indra Nooyi, who was the PepsiCo CEO from 2006 to 2018. She greatly improved the company’s performance since she was appointed the CEO. In the interview with Indra, I understood the leadership philosophies that she uses, how she sets the organization’s goals and vision, how she manages to cope with the conflicts that arise within the organization, and techniques she uses to initiate and develop trust with her colleagues and other stakeholders. Through the Indra interview, I understood how a successful leader empowers their employees and motivates them on their work. The interview was effective and helped understand the leader’s quality skills that helped improve their performance. 

Leadership Philosophy 

A person's leadership philosophy is their trusts, principles, and the viewpoints that they apply while leading their organization. To be an appealing leader, the leaders should determine their genuine and meaningful leadership philosophies that enable their employees to understand their leaders' expectations, values, and how they will act. When I asked Indra about her leadership philosophy, she responded that she first identifies her values and sets clear goals for the workers. She identifies herself as the leader she aspires to be, how she wants her relationship with her workers, and wants to get things done. An individual’s managerial beliefs should inscribe the leader’s desired outcomes they are trying to achieve as a leader (Benson, 2018) . She sets the goals she wants to accomplish with her employees to keep them working and moving forward. Her philosophy is based upon guidance and practical affairs that give her a sense of commitment towards the right conduct. These principles act as her mental model in guiding her about her values. Her philosophy enables her to make proper decisions, give the appropriate retaliation, and give the right directions towards an opportunity, problem, or issue. 

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Visions and Goals of the Organization 

Organization leadership with effective leadership unites the employees in an organization in which all have similar encouraging viewpoints. An organization's goal and vision are important as they incorporate its current and future potential and values. When I asked Indra about her organization's goals and visions, she responded that she sets a clear vision. She communicates the organization's vision with clarity and passion to her employees to keep them motivated and inspire them to actualize it. According to her, a leader has the duty of implementing an organization vision that will engage both the employee's energies and imagination. The vision should be linked to the way an organization understands and supports (Fuller & Green, 2005). She identified herself as a passionate leader who communicates her vision to her workers with passion and purpose to ensure they all work towards a common objective. She engages all the workers with a tangible and convincing vision. 

Conflict Management Techniques 

Leaders in an organization should have the ability to identify and resolve the conflicts that arise in the organization fairly and efficiently. The leaders should ensure that they have regular communications with their employees and articulate the organization’s vision. Indra said that conflicts are the main issues that are prevalent in any organization. She said that she had developed strategies to ensure that the conflicts do not distract her employees' effectiveness or slow down their performance. She manages conflicts by collaborating with the employees to ensure solutions are met. She emphasized that collaboration is crucial in managing conflicts as it results in positive outcomes and strengthening the team’s innovativeness and structure. She also knows the boundaries and limitations of her employees. By identifying her employee’s boundaries, she can identify their behavioral proclivities that might provoke their attitudes. A good leader should identify and help other people maintain boundaries (NDC, 2018). By developing learning and coaching sessions, she can deal with much fewer conflicts. 

Establishing and Building trust 

Every leader in an organization has the responsibility of building trust within her employees. Leaders should have strategies to build trust in their workers. Healthy trusts build job satisfaction, workers' engagements and high standard working life (Tomaževič & Aristovnik, 2019). Indra had developed several techniques that she uses to acquire and develop trust within her employees. She first creates a positive relationship with all her workers. Achieving this, she helps them in cooperating towards the organization agendas, helps them to resolve conflicts between them, and ensuring that she gives them honest responses towards organization performance. She also makes sure that she addresses the concerns of her employees to create a conducive environment for them. She is able to demonstrate judgement and expertise skills. Indra has experience and know-how in making good decisions concerning employees' performance, which builds more trust in them. She is also consistent in her actions as she ensures that she meets what she has promised her colleagues she would do through her commitments. 

Methods for Empowering Others 

Empowering workers means giving them the permission to make decisions and take action in an organization. Empowering is very crucial in ensuring that an organization has enduring business processes. Indra is a great leader who has embraced the culture of empowering her employees. She uses various techniques to keep her employees empowered. She clearly states the organization's goals and vision. Being clear in her roles and goals helps the employees develop frameworks that are important in guiding them on making empowered decisions and keeping the customers happy. Empowering leadership is a norm that motivates followers to attain high-performance levels (Cai et al., 2018). She also teaches her employees that it is normal to make mistakes and learn from them. She has also developed a working environment that embraces both success and failures. She celebrates not just the successful workers but even those who risked but did not obtain intended results. Developing an environment that empowers the workers helps in increasing customer satisfaction and improving the employee’s morale. 

Conclusion 

The interview with Indra has shown that she is an effective leader. Through her high-quality leadership skills, PepsiCo has managed to be a productive company. She has managed to strategically organize her organization by setting its goals, vision, and objectives. She has also developed ways to motivate and empower her workers to ensure they work towards their goals. The positive relationship Indra has developed with her employees has enabled them to work towards a common objective, which has enabled organizational development. 

References 

Benson, D. (2018). How to Determine Your Personal Leadership Philosophy . American Association of Physician Leadership. https://www.physicianleaders.org/news/how-determine-your-personal-leadership-philosophy 

Cai, d., Cai, Y., Sun, Y., & Ma, J. (2018). Linking Empowering Leadership and Employee Work Engagement: The Effects of Person-Job Fit, Person-Group Fit, and Proactive Personality. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 (1304). https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2018.01304 

Fuller, J. N., & Green, J. C. (2005). The Leader’s Role in Strategy. A Peer-Reviewed Journal Advancing Business Article, 8 (2). https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/the-leaders-role-in-strategy/ 

National Diversity Council (NDC). (2018). How Leaders Effectively Manage Conflict . https://ndcnews.org/2018/06/27/how-leaders-effectively-manage-conflict/#:~:text=Conflict%20management%20is%20an%20ongoing,and%20organizational%20goals%20are%20prioritized. 

Tomaževič, N., & Aristovnik, A. (2019). Factors of Trust in Immediate Leaders: An Empirical Study in Police Service Environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16 (14), 2525. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph16142525 

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Free Nursing: Leadership Shadowing Experience Essay Example

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Team , Leadership , Management , Communication , Skills , Teamwork , Patient , Nursing

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Published: 03/12/2020

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Leadership Shadowing Experience

Introduction Nurse shadowing is an effective way for nursing students and people interested in getting into nursing as a career to get experience on day-to-day activities of a nurse. Shadowing involves following an experienced nurse and learning through observation and asking questions. This report is a shadowing experience for an intensive care nurse leader. The report covers the observed management and leadership styles, problem-solving skills, communication skills, interpersonal relations, and workplace diversity. Further, the author compares the management theories taught in school with the concepts applied in the clinical setting.

Management Style

The nurse I shadowed is a nurse manager at an intensive care unit. She employed strong leadership with an inclusive approach. She would often ask for the opinions of the other nurses, solicit suggestions and feedback before setting goals and making decisions that affect her nursing team and the wellbeing of patients. Additionally, the nurse manager emphasized team-work, personal and professional development. During nurses’ meetings, she would divide the nurses into groups with each group tasked with a specific duty such as determining the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of hospital procedures and policies to determine which policies should be changed. These opportunities gave the junior nurses an opportunity to develop their leadership and communication skills in a group setting. The nurse manager adopted a strict approach on adherence to hospital policies, and improving the quality of care offered to patients and their families. Although the strict approach reduced staff autonomy, it ensured tasks are completed quickly and efficiently and is the best approach when supervising the nursing team. Using a mixture of management styles is an indication of effective leadership (Grimm, 2010). Every management style has its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, an all-inclusive, democratic approach where the manager solicits the opinion of the other nurses improves morale, job satisfaction, and results in widely acceptable solutions, but does not encourage supervising the junior nurses. In contrast, a strict approach is effective for supervising the junior nurses but does not foster team spirit because it lacks consultation. By using a combination of these two management styles, the intensive care unit nurse manager was able to foster a team spirit and ensure effective supervision while giving all nurses a chance to develop and improve their leadership skills.

Problem Solving

Problem-solving is an important skill in a team setting. The process of problem solving involves identifying the problem, and using a systematic approach to getting solutions through root-cause analysis. Being the nurse manager, the nurse I shadowed solved problems and viewed them as opportunities to improve. The problems solved included patient care plans, interventions, disputes between staff, and challenges facing the intensive care nursing unit. After identifying the problem, the nurse manager collected background data on the problem. The nurse manager used two main styles to solve problems. The first one was a rational and logical approach based on knowledge and judgment. To advance this problem-solving skill, she encouraged evidence-based care as a way of solving problems regarding patient care and interventions. The nurse manager encouraged strict observation of hospital procedures and practices and to solve all problems within the framework of these policies. Where no policy existed, the nurses were encouraged to conduct research on the problem and develop evidence-based policies. The second problem-solving method was a phenomenological approach that was dynamic. This method of solving problems was mainly used in solving problems that arise unexpectedly or ethical and cultural dilemmas. In the intensive care unit, patients could sometimes respond differently to the optimum intervention. In this situation and when dealing with ethical and cultural issues, the phenomenological method of solving problems enabled nurses to draw from their experience and non-nursing knowledge to solve problems. For instance, incorporating cultural and religious knowledge encourages developing patient care solutions that are acceptable to the patient and their families. The nurse manager encouraged the unit nurses to embrace problems and view them as opportunities to improve care. During nurse meetings, she would encourage retrospective analysis of problems solved to ensure that nurses learned from the problems encountered on a day-to-day basis. If I were in the nurse manager’s position, I would have encouraged the junior nurses to be more involved in problem-solving in order to encourage skills development.

Communication pattern and interpersonal dynamics in the unit

Communication among the intensive care unit nurses varied from formal to informal channels. The nurse manager was often used the formal channels such as circulars and official emails. The other nurses usually used informal channels such as word of mouth and posts on an online forum hosted in the hospital website. The unit had an effective patient handover communication protocol at the end of the shift that ensured continuous patient care. I observed that there was better communication between nurses in the same level. This is because the practice nurses shared more on the online forum than they would share with the senior nurses. However, communication was effective in the intensive care unit nursing team since the nurse manager solved very few problems arising from communication failure. Communication encouraged positive interaction between the nursing unit members. This was evidence since all members could interact freely and work any shift. The nurse manager encouraged all unit nurses to use the communication skills developed when interacting within the unit in patient and family education. This improved the quality of care offered because the patients were able to make informed decisions and participate effectively in health care service delivery.

Respect of Diversity

The intensive care unit exhibited diversity in terms of the nursing team members and the patients. The nursing team had members from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds including nurses born in other countries. The nurse manager encouraged the nursing team to leverage on their diversity to improve the quality of care offered. Often, nurse would be encouraged to educate the other team members on their cultures such as how to address the family members of the patient. This ensured that patients from various cultures were offered culturally acceptable care. Cultural diversity among the nursing team members was important in times of disaster when culturally acceptable patient care decisions had to be made in a timely manner. The nurse manager encouraged all unit nurses to view patient diversity as an opportunity to offer quality patient-centered care. She often encouraged the use of culturally acceptable interventions. The most important thing I learned during the shadowing experience was to remember the patient needs always. Respecting the patient’s culture means more than being aware of the patient’s race. It is about offering health services that meet and exceed the patient’s expectations. In the intensive care unit, it was important to extend culturally acceptable care to a family member to relieve their anguish and suffering.

Comparison of leadership and management concepts in reading assignment vs. practice in clinical settings observed

The reading assignment gives leadership and management concepts based on nurse leadership and management theories. According to Giltinane, (2013) nursing management, leadership styles and theories are designed for ideal situations where the variables can be accounted for in the theory assumptions. The five common leadership styles are servant leadership, transformational leadership, democratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, and laissez-faire leadership. These leadership styles differ on the basis of interaction between the leader and the team. Authoritarian leaders are micromanagers while the democratic leaders adopt an all-inclusive approach. Laissez-faire leaders adopt a hands-off approach with little supervision while transformational leaders encourage innovations to solve problems. The servant leaders often lead by addressing the needs of the individual team members. In the clinical setting, however, these leadership styles are used together in order realize synergy from the advantages of each theory. This is a contrast to the learning assignment implication that each leadership theory could be used independent of the other theories. The shadowing experience taught me that effective leadership is not about adopting and consistently implementing a particular leadership style but it is about knowing which leadership style to use in which situation. For instance, while democratic and Laissez-faire leadership may be effective when promoting staff autonomy, they cannot be used to foster changes. On the other hand, transformational leadership fosters change while authoritarian leadership is important in chaotic and emergency situations when there is little time to engage the team and collect the views of each team member (Johnson, 2002).

Giltinane, C. L. (2013). Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard, 27(41), 35-39. Grimm, J. W. (2010). Effective leadership: making the difference. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 36(1), 74-77. Johnson, J. E. (2002). Leadership in a Time of Disaster: Being Prepared for New Age Threats*.

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Interprofessional Learning through Shadowing: Insights and Lessons Learned

Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to improve patient outcomes. Interprofessional shadowing improves students’ knowledge of different roles and attitudes toward other professionals.

This study evaluates (1) how pre-clinical medical students describe the roles of the healthcare professionals they shadowed, and (2) whether shadowing can be used to introduce medical students to the benefits of interprofessional collaboration, and if so, in what ways.

Second-year medical students shadow another discipline and write a reflection on the shadowed discipline’s role and collaboration in patient care. A non-proportional stratified random sample of these reflections was coded during an iterative process. Any number of the 13 possible codes could be assigned to each reflection. Codes relevant to the research questions underwent narrative analysis.

The most frequent codes were ‘specific function of shadowed discipline (SD)’ (88%), ‘SD’s general purpose’ (86%), and ‘value of SD’s role’ (68%). One-third of reflections referenced ‘communication,’ and one-third mentioned ‘teamwork.’ Insights gained included an appreciation for interprofessional care and a global perspective on patient care, extending beyond the inpatient encounter.

Through shadowing, students achieve several IPE core competencies and a broader perspective on patient care. Shadowing is an effective pedagogical method for IPE in the pre-clerkship curriculum.

Introduction

Broad implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) in healthcare responds to the recognition that effective teamwork helps to optimize patient care and outcomes. Educating healthcare professionals for collaborative work aims to improve knowledge and appreciation of partners’ roles, as well as to improve communication within teams. The World Health Organization has defined IPE as “occasions when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes” ( World Health Organization 2010 ).

The Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel has delineated several core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice. They fall into four domains: “values/ethics for interprofessional practice, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork.” As students progress through training, they should be given opportunities to gain the knowledge, attitudes and skills to achieve the competencies in each domain ( Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel 2011 ).

Previous studies support the use of shadowing as an approach to help students build competencies in interprofessional collaborative practice. Shadowing can introduce students to the roles of other professionals ( Fougner 2011 , Wright 2012 , Rosen 2013 , Shafran 2015 , Vasset 2015 ). Students also learn about communication and teamwork through shadowing activities ( Fougner & Horntvedt 2011 , Wright et al. 2012 , Rosen et al. 2013 ). Additionally, shadowing can bring about attitudinal change. Shadowing increases students’ respect for other healthcare professionals ( Shafran et al. 2015 ). Students who shadow nurses have increased openness to learning from nurses, knowledge about what nurses bring to the team, and respect for the knowledge and skills of nurses ( Jain et al. 2012 ).

Of the four interprofessional shadowing studies involving medical students, two utilized survey data to assess students’ attitudes ( Jain et al. 2012 , Shafran et al. 2015 ) with results as detailed above. The other two studies analyzed students’ written reflection papers. One was a study of first year medical students shadowing nurses and included a small group discussion with nursing students ( Rosen et al. 2013 ). This study found several themes among the reflections: recognition of nurses’ knowledge and responsibility, the importance of communication and teamwork and application of basic science information. Some students reported feeling nervous, awkward or humbled by the experience. Another group studied students from a variety of disciplines, including medical students, who shadowed a range of other disciplines ( Wright et al. 2012 ). This study involved a task sheet to guide students’ reflections but did find some unprompted themes including attitudes toward other professionals, power relationships among professionals and the impact of communication.

To further explore what medical students learn from an interprofessional shadowing activity we examined written responses to an open ended prompt about their experiences. This study is unique in that students can choose whom to shadow from an array of professionals, the reflection prompt is open-ended, and written reflections, rather than survey data, are examined. This open-ended approach to data gathering allowed us to collect a wide range of responses from the students. Student essays were analyzed to explore (1) how pre-clinical medical students describe the roles, functions and contributions of the healthcare professionals they shadowed, and (2) whether shadowing can be used to introduce medical students to the benefits of interprofessional collaboration, and if so, in what ways.

All Baylor College of Medicine first and second year students are required to enroll in an 18-month course Patient, Physician and Society (PPS). The course teaches students basic doctoring skills, including history taking, physical examination and communication skills. Students practice these skills during preceptor sessions with an outpatient preceptor the first year and an inpatient preceptor the second year. Students are thus introduced to the inpatient environment in the fall of the second year in preparation for starting clerkships in January. Since 2012 the second year students have been required to participate in an interprofessional shadowing activity as part of PPS. The goal of this IPE intervention is to increase students’ awareness of the roles of other healthcare professionals in caring for patients. There are two learning objectives: (1) explain the role of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, nurses, patient educators and social workers in the care of the hospitalized patient, and (2) describe how physicians can best interact with other healthcare disciplines to optimize patient care. During the session medical students spend two hours in the hospital shadowing a healthcare professional from another discipline, and then write about the shadowing experience in response to the prompt “How does the role of the therapist or nurse you shadowed integrate with the physician’s role in caring for the hospitalized patient?” Students are expected to answer the prompt using their own words and receive credit for completing the assignment. Essays averaged one page in length. Students choose which specialty to shadow from a list of available shadowing sessions. There were more opportunities to shadow some disciplines than others, due to the schedules of the individual departments.

The present study was approved by the Institutional Review Board within the context of a larger grant. It examines three cohorts of second year students: 2012, 2013 and 2014. In total 564 students were enrolled in the course across all three cohorts (n = 188, 191 and 185, respectively) with 97.3% completing the assignment. None of the reflections included any demographic variables (e.g., gender or race/ethnicity) beyond cohort.

Data Analysis

The reflections were reviewed for content to determine themes which addressed our two research questions. (1) How do pre-clinical medical students describe the roles, functions and contributions of the healthcare professionals they shadowed? (2) Can shadowing be used to introduce medical students to the benefits of interprofessional collaboration, and if so, in what ways? Two researchers (AK and LS) reviewed a pilot set of 75 reflections (25 from each cohort) to identify themes addressing the research questions. These themes formed the initial code set. The reflections were deemed data rich from this first review. We used a non-proportional stratified random sampling approach for selecting 25% of our reflections giving us a total sample of 172 reflections to code. The sample was stratified by cohort and by shadowed discipline. The total sample was then divided into manageable sized batches of approximately 35 reflections with samples from each cohort.

The initial code set of 21 codes was finalized at 13 codes ( Table 2 ) after coding the pilot set. Some of the 8 deleted codes were similar to or subsumed by other existing codes. Others had a very low frequency, and we determined that they did not add to our exploration. After the review of the first 75 reflections to create the initial code set, the two authors were joined by a third analyst (TL) to code the reflections independently beginning with the pilot set. The three analysts included a physician, a doctorate-level methodologist and a masters-level research assistant / qualitative analyst. Each analyst, using a coding checklist, identified the shadowed discipline (SD) and whether or not the code was present. The number of codes which could be assigned was not restricted. New codes could be proposed at any stage in the process.

Definition and frequency of codes

After each batch was coded by each analyst, the second author performed reliability agreement for the shadowed discipline. For the six sets of reflection batches, we had 100% agreement for three batches, 97% for two batches and 91% for one batch. Instances of less than 100% agreement were the result of unclear wording or terminology from the student; however, the physician coder who was also the course director had knowledge which clarified information regarding shadowed discipline and led to resolution.

The codes were also checked for level of agreement across the three coders to guide discussion during the iterative process. If all three coders indicated presence of a code, it was assigned to the reflection. If two of the three coders indicated presence and no issue or question was raised by the third coder for discussion, the code was assigned. If a code was indicated as present by only one coder, it was not assigned unless that coder advocated for it and one or both of the other coders agreed.

Once all the reflections were coded with their final assignments, we performed thematic analyses for specified codes to assess whether and how students were learning about the benefits of interprofessional collaboration. These codes included ‘value of the SD,’ ‘attributes of the SD,’ ‘communication,’ ‘teamwork,’ and ‘lack of collaboration.’ Finally the two codes ‘learned something new’ and ‘insights’ were also analyzed to determine what specific new knowledge students had gained and any major revelations. We employed Microsoft ACCESS for data management and queries for frequencies. We managed our qualitative data using NVivo Version 11 Pro qualitative software.

Table 1 shows the frequency of disciplines shadowed. Physical therapy (PT) was the most frequently shadowed, followed by social work and then nursing. Table 2 lists the 13 codes, defines them, and includes the frequency with which each code was present. The most frequent code was ‘specific function of SD’ (present in 88% of responses). This code represented specific tasks the SD performed. For example, a nurse administered medication, or an occupational therapist devised splints. The second most common code was ‘SD’s general role/purpose’ (present in 86%). This code was present if the student included a global description of the SD’s role or purpose. For example, physical therapists work to mobilize patients. The ‘value of SD’s role’ was third highest, occurring in 68% of reflection papers. The presence of this code meant that the student commented specifically on the value or importance of the role of the SD.

Frequency of Shadowed Disciplines

Three codes specifically addressed the question of how students describe the roles, functions and contributions of the shadowed healthcare professional: ‘SD’s general role/purpose,’ ‘specific function of SD,’ and ‘role differences.’ All but one of the reflections (99.4%) included at least one of these codes. Table 3 lists sample student comments on the general purpose and specific roles of the various shadowed disciplines. It also shows how the students contrasted the role of the shadowed healthcare professional with that of the physician.

Student Descriptors of Roles and Functions of the Shadowed Healthcare Professionals

Value and Attributes

‘Value’ (68%) was coded if the medical student observed and commented on the importance of the shadowed discipline’s role. ‘Attributes’ (13%) was coded when the student described the shadowed healthcare professional using an adjective or adverb. For ‘value,’ descriptors included integral, crucial, critical, key, invaluable, the heart of the team, bridge, indispensable, and essential. Descriptors such as compassionate, dedicated, very knowledgeable, proficient, attentive and observant were included in comments for ‘attributes.’ The descriptors for both ‘value’ and ‘attributes’ were applied across all of the disciplines. Overall the medical students found their shadowed disciplines to be highly valuable. They respected the proficiency of these individuals as well as their bedside manner and approach to patient care.

Team/Teamwork

Approximately 33% of reflections mentioned teams or teamwork. The themes which surfaced regarding ‘team / teamwork’ included interdependence and significant value of each team member and his/her role. Students witnessed interprofessional teamwork in action.

• “Healthcare jobs are very interdependent. For example, the doctor has ordered a medication, relying on the nurse to give it timely and properly. The nurse depends on the pharmacy to approve the medications quickly so immediate orders can be fulfilled.”

They gained an understanding of the different facets that go into patient care.

• “Because these patients [patients admitted with a stroke] can require much rehabilitation for many aspects, speech pathologists, physical/occupational therapists and physicians must be able to work in a well-integrated team.”

One student described the relationship between physicians and other professionals as “symbiotic.”

Communication

Comments regarding the ‘communication’ code provided additional perspectives on its importance for effective teams and teamwork. Students’ comments regarding communication included references to documentation, the importance of listening, and impact on patient outcomes.

• “The therapist can provide critical information not only about the patient’s physical well-being, but they can provide information about a patient’s psychological health and their progress in the hospital setting. Communication between both physician and physical therapist, whether verbally or in patient notes, can not only help the physician with patient care, but can likewise help the physical therapist. When the therapist is fully informed about the patient status, it can further facilitate their exercises and expectations of patient progress.”

Thus the student learned that communication is beneficial to both the physician and physical therapist, who share the ultimate goal of recovery for the patient. This example also shows that healthcare professionals do not simply stick to their silo but treat the patient as a whole, for example, recognizing psychological health. Another student also noted that a physical therapist may “pick up on symptoms/concerns of the patient that the rest of the health care team missed.” This student resolved to “read all the therapy notes…during rotations and…as a physician.”

Students were able to witness both the challenges and the critical nature of verbal communication. One student wrote:

• “Instead of spending more time in the patient rooms, [the nurse] was on the phone, trying to call the pharmacy, page a doctor, or communicate with other nurses who were trying to help. While slow and difficult, this communication was critical on more than one occasion – informing the doctor of a missing order for insulin and catching what could have been the beginnings of a hematoma in a post-cath patient.”

Thus medical students educated in the era of the electronic medical record are introduced to the importance and efficiency of verbal communication.

• “The nurse showed me how she is able to see what the physicians …order for tests via EPIC. She … generally will be present for her patients when the internal medicine team rounds in the morning. This she said was the best way to know what changes in care there would be for her patient.”

Lack of Collaboration

While there were very few comments about lack of collaboration between physicians and other disciplines, these episodes provided important learning experiences for the students. Several students commented that doctors were infrequently seen on the wards. A few noted that the majority of communication between doctors and other professionals occurred via the electronic medical record. One student witnessed a physician being dismissive of the occupational therapist.

• The patient’s “grandmother and mother… were clearly distressed and said they had not received any updates from the doctors. At this point, the surgeon entered with her resident and told the patient’s mother and grandmother that he was fine to be discharged the next day. The surgeon had not waited for the report from OT nor taken the time to consult [the occupational therapist] who was standing next to her in the room. The surgeon did not even acknowledge our presence.”

Students responded variably to these instances of lack of collaboration. The student who witnessed the negative interaction between the surgeon and occupational therapist concluded that the surgeon was unaware of the role or importance of occupational therapy. Some students assumed that doctors were too busy with other patients to be seen regularly on the wards. Others accepted that the majority of communication would occur electronically.

Learned Something New

About a third of students noted that they learned something new during this experience. Increased awareness of the roles and responsibilities of various professions was the most frequently type of specific new knowledge acquired. However, students also learned about attributes of people in other professions, the value of other professions, the importance of communication and the interdependence of the various professionals involved in patient care.

Approximately 17% of students’ reflections indicated gaining new insights from this experience. Several students gained an appreciation for the interprofessional nature of patient care.

• “The experience overall instilled in me the realization that each member of the care team has a specialty but at the same time each has the responsibility to treat the whole patient… Other team members should be regarded as reliable sources of information about the patient’s status.”

They gained respect for other members of the healthcare team and learned to value their contributions and input. Students expressed a desire to get to know their non-physician colleagues.

Other students described how patient educators, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, social workers and speech pathologists help to ensure that the diagnostic and therapeutic efforts of the physician can be carried from the inpatient setting into the patient’s day to day life.

• “[The patient educator] taught the patient and his wife how to change his colostomy bag. This encounter reminded me that we as physicians can provide the highest quality of care in the world, but if we do not teach the patient how to take care of themselves on a daily basis, they will not have a high quality of life.”

Many of the insights reflected a more global perspective on patient care, for example increased awareness of patients’ lives outside the hospital. They highlighted the importance of a thorough understanding of the patient’s social situation.

• “I think today I saw more how that social history is an important part of medical care that can really affect how the patient does in the long run.”
• “My understanding is that the role of the social worker ensures that all of the health related efforts put forth by the doctor don’t go to waste due to the patient’s life circumstances. This includes transportation difficulties, living situations, access to medication, and a slew of other complicated and diverse factors. If these factors are not adequately addressed, hospital care becomes a very expensive Band-Aid with little lasting benefit for the enormous costs.”

Thus students gained perspective on their role as future physician, how their role fits into patients’ lives, and how other professionals can help ensure that the common goal of patient well-being is sustained.

Through interprofessional shadowing, students were effectively introduced to the roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals from other disciplines. The students were able to identify their unique contributions and cite their value and importance. Not only did medical students gain an appreciation for the benefits of interprofessional collaboration, but they also witnessed the mechanism by which that collaboration occurs – largely through effective communication and teamwork. Students identified the benefits of interprofessional collaboration, especially in terms of patient outcomes. Many students expressed resolutions to work collaboratively with other members of the healthcare team when treating their future patients.

The present study goes beyond prior research on interprofessional shadowing demonstrating improvements in knowledge and attitudes ( Fougner & Horntvedt 2011 , Jain et al. 2012 , Wright et al. 2012 , Rosen et al. 2013 , Shafran et al. 2015 ). It shows that shadowing can yield insights for preclinical students that many physicians do not gain until residency or beyond. Students gained a broader perspective on patient care. They were able to see beyond simply diagnosing and treating a disease to contextualizing the patient’s illness within their social situation. They gained an understanding of how life factors and psychosocial support impact patients’ prognoses. Students learned lessons like the importance of a thorough social history. Several students identified habits they plan to develop during their clinical years. These included reading all notes in the chart, getting to know nurses, and communicating verbally with nurses and therapists to learn more about how the patient is doing. Thus, this IPE shadowing activity has the potential to change behavior, though further research is necessary to confirm such a change in behavior ( Thistlethwaite 2012 ).

The interprofessional shadowing activity also reinforced lessons the students learn regarding patient safety. Students were able to witness protocols being followed in the hospital, for example, for blood transfusions or heparin drips. Students also witnessed near misses, where communication with an individual from another discipline helped the physician to avoid a mistake. These real world demonstrations of the importance of respect for colleagues in other professions and communication among various professionals may help to shape the students’ behavior in the future.

Review of the students’ reflections revealed that overall the activity’s learning objectives were met. Additionally, through shadowing, students made progress toward achieving several of the core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 1. “Explain the roles and responsibilities of other care providers and how the team works together to provide care.” 2. “Respect the unique cultures, values, roles/responsibilities, and expertise of other professions.” 3. “Recognize one’s limitations in skills, knowledge, and abilities.” 4. “Recognize how one’s own uniqueness, including experience level, expertise, culture, power, and hierarchy within the healthcare team, contributes to effective communication, conflict resolution, and positive interprofessional working relationships” ( Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel 2011 ). The last competency was a stretch for students this early in their training, but some students were able to gain a sense of their own uniqueness, in terms of experience level, expertise and culture.

Our interprofessional shadowing activity produced an array of revelations for the students at little cost. The shadowing activity we implemented required the willingness and participation of members from other disciplines to have students shadow them. It required coordination with these departments and the students’ schedules. Otherwise, there were no costs in implementing this program, and the time commitment required from the students was minimal.

Our study has a few limitations. It was limited to one institution, and shadowing was conducted at an urban county hospital. Students shadowing in another setting may learn different lessons. It is possible that the content of the students’ reflection papers was influenced by the Hawthorne effect, e.g., the students were writing to please the grader. However, students received full credit for completing the assignment, not for their content, which should have mitigated this effect. The nature of the prompt, which implied the merits of interprofessional care, may have influenced results. Since not every reflection was analyzed, it is possible that the sample studied was not representative of the larger group of students. The random nature by which reflections were chosen for analysis should have offset this possibility. The study was also limited by the small amount of time each student spent shadowing and by the fact that each student shadowed only one discipline. The impact of the activity might be broader if the students came together to discuss their experiences in small groups or if the reflection essays were shared broadly with the class. Lastly, our study had no comparison group.

The optimal timing of interprofessional education has been debated in the literature. This interprofessional shadowing activity took place in the second year of medical school with students who would start clerkships in the coming two to three months. One benefit to this timing is that students are at a critical learning period, a time of transition during which they are developing their professional identities ( Soo et al. 2016 ). Goals and resolutions developed before starting clerkships may persist through students’ clinical training and may mitigate any negative role models students encounter. Furthermore some have argued that interprofessional education can contribute to professional identity formation and may result in physicians who are better suited to provide patient-centered care ( Langendyk et al. 2015 ). Timing interprofessional shadowing shortly before clerkships also gives students at least one contact in another field, an individual who may be able to assist them in the course of future patient care.

Given the nature of work in the healthcare professions, interprofessional education would ideally be embedded longitudinally throughout the curriculum. The types of activities should vary based on students’ level of training. Shadowing in a clinical setting is more appropriate for pre-clerkship students, while more senior students may benefit from other IPE formats, including experiential learning during clerkships and teamwork simulations with students from other disciplines.

We posit that shadowing is a useful pedagogical method for IPE in the pre-clerkship curriculum. Shadowing gives pre-clinical students a broader perspective on patient care that goes beyond making a diagnosis and initiating treatment. Interprofessional shadowing should be included early in medical student education as part of a broader interprofessional education curriculum with the goal of improving safety and health outcomes for patients. Future research on shadowing as a method for IPE should consider use of a comparison group.

Practice Points

• Through interprofessional shadowing medical students gain knowledge of the roles of other professions, respect for other professionals, awareness of the importance of communication and an introduction to teamwork in the clinical setting.
• Interprofessional shadowing can provide students with a more global perspective on patient care.
• Shadowing is a useful pedagogical method for interprofessional education in the pre-clerkship curriculum.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Thomas H. Long, PhD for his contribution which included methodological advisement and support, as well as acting as one of the three analysts for coding the data during the iterative process.

Declaration of interest:

The authors were supported in part by funds from the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute grant number R25 HL 108183-01.

Notes on contributors

LINDA A. STELLJES, MA, is a senior research assistant and qualitative analyst for Baylor College of Medicine’s Office of Curriculum.

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Shadows of the Leader - Essay Example

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

• Rebecca Knight

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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Shadow a leader

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The Leadership shadow is going well, and there are many things that I am learning from the current progress. The leader that I am shadowing is my boss. The time is quite useful since it is the time of the year that the company is developing its strategic goals. Within this time the leaders get the chance to formulate the strategies for the company and how they are going to achieve these strategies. In my experience with the boss, I am learning something unique about his leadership style. One of the most outstanding things is the way she able to believe in her. I realized that she has a way of appreciating every individual’s potential and ideas. In this way, she has made each person be a part of the bigger goals of achieving the strategic goals of the company. I have never seen a leader that has such interest in the development of individual employees. I think that she has exceptions leadership skills.

For the past week, I have been spending much time talking to him and asking him more about his leadership skills. One thing that he seems to believe in firmly is that a good leader should only tell people what they need to do but be part of the way to do it. He thinks that charisma should be within any leader. Besides, a leader should have a great sense of emotional intelligence. He says that as much as one might seek to have their point head, they also need to listen to the others and know how to communicate with them.

From the experience that I have had with him, I have also realized that making a change in an organization requires the leader to have a strategic view on issues. However, he also needs to bring other people to believe in the dream that he has. Within this week I have learned how the leader has achieved this goal. I would wish to bring such skills when I become a leader.

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Shadowing the Leader - Essay Sample

Introduction.

The neonatal intensive care unit is an institution set aside, and it is majorly concern with the lives of the premature babies, especially those in life supporting machine. During the research that I manage to conduct in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), concerning the shadowing of the leader, there arose some issues relating to it. The paper will, therefore, discuss the conflict that occurred during the period of research and how the leader demonstrated effectiveness in his professional field in tackling matters regarding the conflict in which they might encounter in their work. Also, it focuses on the leadership style in relationship with how they impact the disputes which might depict itself among them and the people they are serving.

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At the event of research, there were some conflicts which were present in the neonatal intensive care unit. These conflicts were based on the parent of the infant and one of the doctors who was working at that place (Bunting, 2016). The dispute was due to the disagreement over the life existence of an infant. On the part of the nurse who was offering medical care to the baby, he wishes that the life of the infant may be switch off under certain circumstances. These circumstances may be caused by prolonging in the suffering of the infant, which may negatively impact the entire community because more resources are likely to spend rather than using to treat other patients who can recover over a short period. Contrarily, on the other side the parent of the infant, he proposed that the life of the infant should be respected and taken care of since the nurse must provide his services of healing to the best he can.

Although there were some of the conflicts which manifested itself in the neonatal intensive care unit as drawn from one of the leaders who was working as a nurse at that particular hospital, I managed to know how they solved this issues. The neonatal intensive care unit had several means of resolving their conflict whenever it occurred ( Haan, 2014). Firstly, there was the need of family appreciation to why the nurses have decided to end the life of the infant in life supporting machine to create a good relationship between them and the parents of the infant. Also, the neonatal intensive care unit solved their conflicts through the provision of adequate education to their physicians who are working in that hospital. Enough training will help the nurses to deliver their services of discontinuing the life of a patient in such a way that it does not hurt the parents of the infants and hence preventing the occurrence of another conflict amongst themselves.

Based on the research that I found during the shadowing of my leader in the department of neonatal intensive care unit, I encounter with some of the impression dealing with the nurse manager and how they tackle their conflict whenever it arose especially between them and the parents of the infant. To resolve this matter, I adopted some leadership styles which were present at this department. Being democratic to another staff member in the nursing unit is one of the leadership styles that should be applied by the nurses (Rowitz, 2017). This leadership style is competence since it enhances a sense of honoring each worker hence making them offer their services to their level best. Also, transformative should be input in a nurse organization since it involves the empowering all the nurses to have a positive focus during their services deliverance rather than being prone to negativity side such as ending of the life of an infant. The leadership style that I also encourage to be adopted by the nurses in their different departments is the issue of being a servant to their workers. Being a servant involves creating a good environment for their workers, for instance, offering any help to them whenever they need it.

In conclusion, after shadowing the leader, I come to become interested in this field. As one of the leader, I would use visionary as one of the leadership skills as a way of setting my future goals in the institution. I would acquire this by drawing it from relevant examples of the organization who had earlier achieved their goals. On addressing the issue of professional development, I would ensure that there is adequate education to the nurses to enhance openness to the parents of the infant before discontinuing life.

Bunting, M. (2016). The Mindful Leader: 7 Practices for Transforming Your Leadership, Your Orga. John Wiley & Sons.

Haan, E. ., & Kasozi, A. (2014). The Leadership Shadow: How to Recognise and Avoid Derailment, Hubris, and Overdrive.

Rowitz, L., & In Riegelman, R. (2017). Essentials of leadership in public health.

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What Shadow IT Can Teach Us About Managing Shadow AI

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Organizations can navigate the shadow AI era by adopting a strategic approach, prioritizing use cases, centralizing around data, and investing in their teams.

Shadow AI, like shadow IT before it, presents governance challenges—with complexities on a widened scale. Fortunately, we have lessons from shadow IT to draw from to sidestep these hurdles.

If we learned anything from the shadow IT era it was this: people want to do great work. But sometimes their drive for speed and efficiency can come at the cost of adhering to organizational best practices.

Welcome to the AI era, where IT must match the speed and efficiency expectations for every member of the organization.

In recent months, the rapid adoption of generative AI in the workplace has mirrored the earlier phenomenon of shadow IT—where employees bypassed official channels to leverage cloud technologies. Despite growing restrictions on AI tools in corporate settings, employees continue to embrace them—with or without approval. Data paints a sobering portrait: more than half of people in the US are already using generative AI according to a recent Adobe study 1 . Despite this, 45% of enterprises still have no formal GenAI policy in place governing its use 2 . This shadow AI trend, or the unsanctioned use of generative AI outside of IT governance , presents new challenges and risks, making it crucial for businesses to adapt swiftly and wisely.

The Emerging Challenge of Shadow AI

With shadow IT, your risk surface is confined to a subset of team members with access to specific systems and data—as well as bad actors with technical skills and knowledge to try to penetrate them. In contrast, shadow AI widens the scope of risk. A well-intentioned employee may not realize they’ve inputted sensitive information into a public GenAI tool that it then uses as training data. Even a privately hosted AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) model may allow the service provider to review prompts and outputs in certain circumstances. These challenges make it crucial to consider how you will deliver GenAI services internally and govern their use today.

Protecting Your Organization in the Shadow AI Era

Given the stakes, organizations must adopt strategic approaches to mitigate these risks. Steps include:

1. Establish Your AI Strategy and Governance

Considering the rate of GenAI adoption in the workplace, one thing is clear: the best time for organizations to have codified a formal AI policy was yesterday. The second best time is today.

Organizations should first start with centralized management and oversight of AI tools so they can better control usage and access. This helps in setting clear policies and supporting security practices. Determine which tools will be available to team members and clearly communicate what is appropriate use. Ensure these guidelines are readily available and understood.

2. Prioritize Your Use Cases

Many organizations will be assessing use cases and determining which to support or build in-house. In many cases, organizations might have dozens if not hundreds of potential use cases they might want to explore. Cluster use cases by common objectives and prioritize based on which will be most likely to move the needle for your organization’s high-level goals. Communicate progress on these use cases with team members often so they can share in the excitement as tools progress.

3. Bring AI to Your Data

Understanding what data is most sensitive and restricting its exposure is crucial. Organizations should classify data and clearly communicate which types of information should not be processed by public or even privately hosted AI solutions. For highly sensitive data, consider using on-premises AI solutions where data does not leave the organizational boundary.

Instead of sending data out to cloud-based AI services, consider deploying capabilities directly where the data resides . This approach reduces the risk of data exposure and can be more easily governed. It also enhances user compliance as employees are more likely to trust and efficiently use systems that are clearly secure and aligned with organizational policies.

4. Invest in Your People

Training and education are huge components of ensuring team members are using GenAI tools responsibly— and get the most from them . And it turns out most enterprises have a lot of opportunities here. Only 6% of companies have trained more than 25% of their people on GenAI tools, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey of C-suite executives .

Start with the basics: educate team members on how to use approved GenAI tools ethically and responsibly and educate them on the associated risks. From there you can move on to helping them master the tools for better work experience.

The great news is there’s a real thirst for knowledge. A recent Dell survey indicated that 86% of respondents wanted training for themselves or their teams on using GenAI. This suggests, if offered, skills workshops and other training initiatives might be eagerly embraced by teams 3 . Thus, the emergence of shadow AI in your organization might signal an opportunity to seize on enthusiasm to spur innovation .

Out of the shadows

Shadow AI, like shadow IT before it, presents governance challenges—with complexities on a widened scale. Fortunately, we have lessons from shadow IT to draw from to sidestep these hurdles. By implementing a thoughtful approach to AI adoption and governance, prioritizing use cases, bringing AI to the data, and investing in team members, organizations can navigate the shadow AI era while still harnessing the powerful capabilities of AI technologies. The goal is clear: integrate AI into business processes securely and effectively, ensuring that innovation continues to drive growth without compromising security.

For organizations wanting to further simplify AI implementation and unlock a broad range of enterprise use cases the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA can be the key to moving AI business implementations forward.

Learn how we’re helping you bring AI to your data .

1 The Age of Generative AI: Over half of Americans have used generative AI and most believe it will help them be more creative

2 technalysis: A New Beginning: Generative AI in the Enterprise, 2023

3 Dell Primary Research of 200 IT leaders, 2023

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Guest Essay

Xi Thinks China Can Slow Climate Change. What if He’s Right?

By Jacob Dreyer

Mr. Dreyer, an editor and writer who focuses on the Chinese political economy and science, wrote from Shanghai.

At first glance, Xi Jinping seems to have lost the plot.

China’s president appears to be smothering the entrepreneurial dynamism that allowed his country to crawl out of poverty and become the factory of the world. He has brushed aside Deng Xiaoping’s maxim “To get rich is glorious” in favor of centralized planning and Communist-sounding slogans like “ ecological civilization ” and “ new, quality productive forces ,” which have prompted predictions of the end of China’s economic miracle.

But Mr. Xi is, in fact, making a decades-long bet that China can dominate the global transition to green energy, with his one-party state acting as the driving force in a way that free markets cannot or will not. His ultimate goal is not just to address one of humanity’s most urgent problems — climate change — but also to position China as the global savior in the process.

It has already begun. In recent years, the transition away from fossil fuels has become Mr. Xi’s mantra and the common thread in China’s industrial policies. It’s yielding results: China is now the world’s leading manufacturer of climate-friendly technologies, such as solar panels , batteries and electric vehicles . Last year the energy transition was China’s single biggest driver of overall investment and economic growth, making it the first large economy to achieve that.

This raises an important question for the United States and all of humanity: Is Mr. Xi right? Is a state-directed system like China’s better positioned to solve a generational crisis like climate change, or is a decentralized market approach — i.e., the American way — the answer?

How this plays out could have serious implications for American power and influence.

Look at what happened in the early 20th century, when fascism posed a global threat. America entered the fight late, but with its industrial power — the arsenal of democracy — it emerged on top. Whoever unlocks the door inherits the kingdom, and the United States set about building a new architecture of trade and international relations. The era of American dominance began.

Climate change is, similarly, a global problem, one that threatens our species and the world’s biodiversity. Where do Brazil , Pakistan , Indonesia and other large developing nations that are already grappling with the effects of climate change find their solutions? It will be in technologies that offer an affordable path to decarbonization, and so far, it’s China that is providing most of the solar panels , electric cars and more. China’s exports, increasingly led by green technology, are booming, and much of the growth involves exports to developing countries .

From the American neoliberal economic viewpoint, a state-led push like this might seem illegitimate or even unfair. The state, with its subsidies and political directives, is making decisions that are better left to the markets, the thinking goes.

But China’s leaders have their own calculations, which prioritize stability decades from now over shareholder returns today. Chinese history is littered with dynasties that fell because of famines, floods or failures to adapt to new realities. The Chinese Communist Party’s centrally planned system values constant struggle for its own sake, and today’s struggle is against climate change. China received a frightening reminder of this in 2022, when vast areas of the country baked for weeks under a record heat wave that dried up rivers , withered crops and was blamed for several heatstroke deaths.

China’s government knows that it must make this green transition out of rational self-interest or risk joining the Soviet Union on history’s scrap heap, and is actively positioning itself to do so. It is increasingly led by people with backgrounds in science, technology and environmental issues. Shanghai, the country’s largest city and its financial and industrial leading edge, is headed by Chen Jining, an environmental systems expert and China’s former minister of environmental protection. Across the country, money is being poured into developing and bringing to market new advances in things like rechargeable batteries and into creating corporate champions in renewable energy .

To be clear, for Mr. Xi, this green agenda is not purely an environmental endeavor. It also helps him tighten his grip on power. In 2015, for instance, the Central Environmental Inspection Team was formed to investigate whether provincial leaders and even agencies of the central government were adhering to his green push, giving him another tool with which to exert his already considerable power and authority.

At the same time, locking in renewable energy sources is a national security issue for Mr. Xi; unlike the United States, China imports almost all of its oil, which could be disrupted by the U.S. Navy in choke points like the Malacca Strait in the event of war.

Mr. Xi’s plan — call it his Green Leap Forward — has serious deficiencies. China continues to build coal-fired power plants , and its annual greenhouse-gas emissions remain far greater than those of the United States, though American emissions are higher on a per-capita basis. China’s electric vehicle industry was built on subsidies , and the country may be using forced labor to produce solar panels. Those are serious concerns, but they fade into the background when Pakistan floods or Brazil wants to build an E.V. factory or South Africa desperately needs solar panels for a faltering energy grid.

American politics may be inadvertently helping China gobble up global market share in renewable energy products. When the United States — whether for national security or protectionist reasons — keeps Chinese companies like Huawei out of the American market or rolls up the welcome mat for electric vehicle makers like BYD or companies involved in artificial intelligence or self-driving cars, those businesses must look elsewhere.

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act , aimed at tackling climate change, has put the United States on a solid path toward carbon neutrality. But America’s decentralization and focus on private innovation means government policy cannot have quite the same impact that it can in China.

So it is crucial for Americans to recognize that, for most of the world, perhaps for all of us, China’s ability to provide low-cost green technology is, on balance, great news. All of humanity needs to move toward renewables at a huge scale — and fast. America still leads in innovation, while China excels in taking frontier science and making its application in the real world cost-effective. If American politicians, investors and businesses recognize that climate change is humanity’s biggest threat, that could open pathways for diplomacy, collaboration and constructive competition with China that benefit us all.

Together, China and the United States could decarbonize the world. But if Americans don’t get serious about it, the Chinese will do it without them.

And if the United States tries to obstruct China, by way of corporate blacklists, trade or technology bans or diplomatic pressure, it will end up looking like part of the climate problem. That happened earlier this month when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during a visit to China, urged officials here to rein in green technology exports that the United States says are hurting American companies.

Mr. Xi won’t completely toss out the polluting manufacturing-for-export economic model that has served China so well, nor does he seem ready to halt construction of coal plants. Both are considered necessary for economic and energy security until the green transition is complete. But they are now only a means to an end. The endgame, it seems, is to reach carbon neutrality while dominating the industries making that possible.

Much like how the United States showed up late for World War II, China’s clean-tech companies are latecomers, piggybacking on technology developed elsewhere. But history rewards not necessarily who was there first but who was there last — when a problem was solved. Mr. Xi seems to discern the climate chaos on the horizon. Winning the race for solutions means winning the world that comes next.

Jacob Dreyer is an American editor and writer focused on the intersection of the Chinese political economy and science. He lives in Shanghai.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Iran’s supreme leader tacitly acknowledges Tehran hit little in its attack on Israel

JERUSALEM — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there, a tacit acknowledgment that despite launching a major assault, few projectiles actually made it through to their targets.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments before senior military leaders didn’t touch on  the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike  on Friday on the central city of Isfahan, even though air defenses opened fire and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country.

Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as  the Israel-Hamas war  in the Gaza Strip rages on and inflames the wider region.

Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran’s regular military, police and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy.

“Debates by the other party about how many missiles were fired, how many of them hit the target and how many didn’t, these are of secondary importance,” Khamenei said in remarks aired by state television.

“The main issue is the emergence of the Iranian nation and Iranian military’s will in an important international arena. This is what matters.”

Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles that sought to overwhelm Israel’s air defenses in the April 13 attack — the first on Israel by a foreign power since Iraqi dictator  Saddam Hussein launched Scud missiles at Israel  in the 1991 Gulf War.

However, Israeli air defenses and fighter jets, backed by the U.S., the United Kingdom and neighboring Jordan,  shot down the vast majority  of the incoming fire.

Satellite images analyzed Saturday by The Associated Press showed  the Iranian attack caused only minor damage  at the Nevatim air base in southern Israel, including taking a chunk out of a taxiway that Israel quickly repaired.

Iran’s attack came in response to a suspected Israeli strike on April 1 targeting a consular building next to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria,  which killed two Guard generals and others .

“Today, thanks to the work done by our armed forces, the Revolutionary Guard, the army, the police, each in its own way, praise be to Allah the image of the country around the world has become commendable,” added Khamenei, despite Iran facing public anger over its economy and crackdowns on dissent.

The Associated Press

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NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism

David Folkenflik

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument. Uri Berliner hide caption

NPR suspended senior editor Uri Berliner for five days without pay after he wrote an essay accusing the network of losing the public's trust and appeared on a podcast to explain his argument.

NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had "lost America's trust" by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset.

Berliner's five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported.

Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner's essay for the online news site The Free Press . It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump.

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo is among those now targeting NPR's new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the network. Among others, those posts include a 2020 tweet that called Trump racist and another that appeared to minimize rioting during social justice protests that year. Maher took the job at NPR last month — her first at a news organization .

In a statement Monday about the messages she had posted, Maher praised the integrity of NPR's journalists and underscored the independence of their reporting.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," she said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

The network noted that "the CEO is not involved in editorial decisions."

In an interview with me later on Monday, Berliner said the social media posts demonstrated Maher was all but incapable of being the person best poised to direct the organization.

"We're looking for a leader right now who's going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on, sort of, what America is all about," Berliner said. "And this seems to be the opposite of that."

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month. Stephen Voss/Stephen Voss hide caption

Conservative critics of NPR are now targeting its new chief executive, Katherine Maher, for messages she posted to social media years before joining the public radio network last month.

He said that he tried repeatedly to make his concerns over NPR's coverage known to news leaders and to Maher's predecessor as chief executive before publishing his essay.

Berliner has singled out coverage of several issues dominating the 2020s for criticism, including trans rights, the Israel-Hamas war and COVID. Berliner says he sees the same problems at other news organizations, but argues NPR, as a mission-driven institution, has a greater obligation to fairness.

"I love NPR and feel it's a national trust," Berliner says. "We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners."

A "final warning"

The circumstances surrounding the interview were singular.

Berliner provided me with a copy of the formal rebuke to review. NPR did not confirm or comment upon his suspension for this article.

In presenting Berliner's suspension Thursday afternoon, the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a "final warning," saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR's policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.

The Free Press is a site that has become a haven for journalists who believe that mainstream media outlets have become too liberal. In addition to his essay, Berliner appeared in an episode of its podcast Honestly with Bari Weiss.

A few hours after the essay appeared online, NPR chief business editor Pallavi Gogoi reminded Berliner of the requirement that he secure approval before appearing in outside press, according to a copy of the note provided by Berliner.

In its formal rebuke, NPR did not cite Berliner's appearance on Chris Cuomo's NewsNation program last Tuesday night, for which NPR gave him the green light. (NPR's chief communications officer told Berliner to focus on his own experience and not share proprietary information.) The NPR letter also did not cite his remarks to The New York Times , which ran its article mid-afternoon Thursday, shortly before the reprimand was sent. Berliner says he did not seek approval before talking with the Times .

NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

Berliner says he did not get permission from NPR to speak with me for this story but that he was not worried about the consequences: "Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think."

Berliner is a member of NPR's business desk, as am I, and he has helped to edit many of my stories. He had no involvement in the preparation of this article and did not see it before it was posted publicly.

In rebuking Berliner, NPR said he had also publicly released proprietary information about audience demographics, which it considers confidential. He said those figures "were essentially marketing material. If they had been really good, they probably would have distributed them and sent them out to the world."

Feelings of anger and betrayal inside the newsroom

His essay and subsequent public remarks stirred deep anger and dismay within NPR. Colleagues contend Berliner cherry-picked examples to fit his arguments and challenge the accuracy of his accounts. They also note he did not seek comment from the journalists involved in the work he cited.

Morning Edition host Michel Martin told me some colleagues at the network share Berliner's concerns that coverage is frequently presented through an ideological or idealistic prism that can alienate listeners.

"The way to address that is through training and mentorship," says Martin, herself a veteran of nearly two decades at the network who has also reported for The Wall Street Journal and ABC News. "It's not by blowing the place up, by trashing your colleagues, in full view of people who don't really care about it anyway."

Several NPR journalists told me they are no longer willing to work with Berliner as they no longer have confidence that he will keep private their internal musings about stories as they work through coverage.

"Newsrooms run on trust," NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben tweeted last week, without mentioning Berliner by name. "If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and sh--ing on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically, for that matter), I don't know how you do your job now."

Berliner rejected that critique, saying nothing in his essay or subsequent remarks betrayed private observations or arguments about coverage.

Other newsrooms are also grappling with questions over news judgment and confidentiality. On Monday, New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn announced to his staff that the newspaper's inquiry into who leaked internal dissent over a planned episode of its podcast The Daily to another news outlet proved inconclusive. The episode was to focus on a December report on the use of sexual assault as part of the Hamas attack on Israel in October. Audio staffers aired doubts over how well the reporting stood up to scrutiny.

"We work together with trust and collegiality everyday on everything we produce, and I have every expectation that this incident will prove to be a singular exception to an important rule," Kahn wrote to Times staffers.

At NPR, some of Berliner's colleagues have weighed in online against his claim that the network has focused on diversifying its workforce without a concomitant commitment to diversity of viewpoint. Recently retired Chief Executive John Lansing has referred to this pursuit of diversity within NPR's workforce as its " North Star ," a moral imperative and chief business strategy.

In his essay, Berliner tagged the strategy as a failure, citing the drop in NPR's broadcast audiences and its struggle to attract more Black and Latino listeners in particular.

"During most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding," Berliner writes. "In recent years, however, that has changed."

Berliner writes, "For NPR, which purports to consider all things, it's devastating both for its journalism and its business model."

NPR investigative reporter Chiara Eisner wrote in a comment for this story: "Minorities do not all think the same and do not report the same. Good reporters and editors should know that by now. It's embarrassing to me as a reporter at NPR that a senior editor here missed that point in 2024."

Some colleagues drafted a letter to Maher and NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, seeking greater clarity on NPR's standards for its coverage and the behavior of its journalists — clearly pointed at Berliner.

A plan for "healthy discussion"

On Friday, CEO Maher stood up for the network's mission and the journalism, taking issue with Berliner's critique, though never mentioning him by name. Among her chief issues, she said Berliner's essay offered "a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are."

Berliner took great exception to that, saying she had denigrated him. He said that he supported diversifying NPR's workforce to look more like the U.S. population at large. She did not address that in a subsequent private exchange he shared with me for this story. (An NPR spokesperson declined further comment.)

Late Monday afternoon, Chapin announced to the newsroom that Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez would lead monthly meetings to review coverage.

"Among the questions we'll ask of ourselves each month: Did we capture the diversity of this country — racial, ethnic, religious, economic, political geographic, etc — in all of its complexity and in a way that helped listeners and readers recognize themselves and their communities?" Chapin wrote in the memo. "Did we offer coverage that helped them understand — even if just a bit better — those neighbors with whom they share little in common?"

Berliner said he welcomed the announcement but would withhold judgment until those meetings played out.

In a text for this story, Chapin said such sessions had been discussed since Lansing unified the news and programming divisions under her acting leadership last year.

"Now seemed [the] time to deliver if we were going to do it," Chapin said. "Healthy discussion is something we need more of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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