The health care environment is complex, requiring leadership that is  comprehensive and collaborative in the field. It is essential for  leaders to be well-versed in a range of areas (practice, research,  education) as a means of effective engagement with inter-professional  communities. Effective leaders have heightened awareness of self and  individual leadership styles, leading to professional growth, career  advancement, and the ability to develop leaders for the future across  the fields of practice (nursing, health administration, public health).

Your final assignment in your first course will bring together all  the aspects of leadership that you have examined and discussed over the  last nine weeks, as you analyze your own leadership qualities to create a  portrait of the effective health care professional and leader you  aspire to be.

Remember, in graduate work, the use of directly quoted material  should be limited as it is your understanding, interpretation, and  application of the literature combined with your experience that is  important.

Note: Because this assignment requires you to  develop a self-assessment, you may write using first-person voice.  However, it is important for your development as a practitioner-scholar  to recognize that writing in the first person is not usually acceptable  in academic papers, which are written in the third person. Consequently,  you should always carefully consider departing from this norm. If you  have any questions about academic writing style, please contact your  courseroom instructor, or post a question in the Ask Your Teaching  Assistant area of the NHS Learner Success Lab.

Assignment Instructions

Write the first draft of your Personal Leadership Portrait (u09a1) based on the following scenario:

• You have been offered the opportunity to apply for a leadership  position in your organization. As a part of preparing for your  interview, you complete a Personal Leadership Portrait. You will use the  information from the leadership self-assessment you completed in Unit 8  for this final paper. This Personal Leadership Portrait will bring  together all the aspects of leadership that you have examined and  discussed over the last nine weeks as you analyze your own leadership  qualities, to create a portrait of the effective health care  professional and leader you aspire to be.

Your paper should address the following:

1. Analyze your leadership strengths and weaknesses.

• Identify at least one leadership theory or style that you believe best aligns with your own thoughts of what leadership means.
• Use that theory or style in your analysis and identify strengths and weaknesses. Cite your sources.
• Consider potential biases or underlying assumptions in your analysis.

2. Explain how one’s specific leadership characteristics  enable oneself to guide, educate and influence others in managing change  in interprofessional collaborative relationships.

• Consider examples of past successes.
• Consider strategies or best practices that could be applied to improve outcomes.
• Describe at least two additional leadership characteristics you  would like to develop to enhance your effectiveness in this area.

3. Explain how your leadership characteristics will serve  to help you build and maintain collaborative relationships across, and  within, disciplines.

• Consider examples of past successes.
• Consider strategies or best practices that could be applied to improve outcomes.

4. Explain how you can best apply the principles of ethical leadership, given your leadership style.

• Identify the main principles of ethical leadership within your  field of practice (nursing, health administration, or public health).  Cite your sources.
• Consider examples of past successes.
• Consider strategies or best practices that could be applied to improve outcomes.
• Where do you have room to grow in this area?
• How can you prepare yourself to do so?

5. Explain why diversity and inclusion are important to employee relations and the provision of safe, high-quality health care.

• Provide an example you have experienced or read about. Cite your sources.

6. Explain how your leadership characteristics prepare you  to develop and lead a diverse team of employees and serve a diverse  community within an ethical framework.

• In what ways can you address issues of diversity and inclusion, both within an organization and in serving the public?

7. Explain how the academic and research skills you develop  as a practitioner-scholar can serve you in your role as an effective  health care leader.

• What is your understanding of the practitioner-scholar model? How would you apply it in your work?
• How might those skills contribute to your effectiveness and credibility as a leader?
• How will the knowledge and information you have gained from this  course, and from your own research, guide your continued leadership  development?

Paper Format and References

• Include a properly formatted cover page abstract, and reference page (See the APA Style Tutorial paper for examples)
• Length of paper: 5–7 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the cover page, abstract, and reference page.
• References: Cite at least 4–5 different sources. These can come  from peer-reviewed journals or other scholarly resources, the assigned  unit readings, and other reputable resources. Cite your sources  appropriately. Use correct APA formatting for all in-text citations and  references.
• An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] and the associated APA Style  Paper Template [DOCX] are provided in Resources to help you in writing  and formatting your paper. Use APA formatted headers and headings.  Format your work per these documents.