From Clinical Nurse Specialist to Nurse Leader Coach

From Clinical Nurse Specialist to Nurse Leader Coach

Coaches help teams to be their best, on the playing field as well as in nursing units. For Rose Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, three mentors spotted her potential to be a leadership coach and helped her put it into practice.

“I was a clinical nurse specialist and loved working with patients,” Sherman says. “My chief nurses all told me that I was a leader and were anxious for me to move into leadership. It took some convincing, but eight years into my career, I took my first head nurse role and moved up in leadership from there. I never looked back.”

More than 25 years later and now a leadership authority, Sherman helps other nurses form cohesive units. One hurdle that she helps her colleagues overcome is guiding drama queens and kings on how to join the team. It starts, she says, during the interview process.

“Let staff know they are joining a culture of learning and will receive feedback,” she says. “With some staff, it begins with a mindset, and you may have to move them from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.”

Coaching is not always the solution. When there is a serious performance problem that could lead to disciplinary action, it might not be the right strategy, Sherman says. When coaching works, it can help others spot areas for self-improvement and learn how to adopt them.

“All of us can have this kind of impact on our staff. I think it is the most rewarding work you will do in your leadership role.”

Sherman recommends that organizations invest in their leadership and that leaders need to be willing to change their methods as the world changes. She defines her coaching as helping to develop current and emerging nurse leaders through writing, teaching, and coaching.

“It is meaningful work, and I love what I do,” Sherman says.

RELATED RESOURCES

• Join Rose Sherman and fellow nurse leaders in a half-day, LIVE, virtual workshop to learn strong staff management and coaching strategies for navigating through change. We encourage your aspiring leaders to also register for this interactive event.

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• If your career growth would best be served with a job change, connect to AORN’s Career Center where you’ll find more than 1100 job postings from top employers who are looking for a periop nurse like you.