Leading the way

"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control."

- Tom Landry

Being a leader is sometimes something you never expected yourself to be, something you never pictured yourself doing.

I was recently nominated for a co-chair position on a council I participate in at work. This is a 3 year commitment. First year co-chair (assistant to chair), second year chair (in charge of running the entire council), and third year is advisor chair. For someone who freezes up when getting in front of people to speak I decided to take the challenge if given to me. I wrote a little something about myself and why I would be good for the position.

"Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal."

—Vince Lombardi

My Nomination Speech:
My nursing career has taken me from one end of the US to the other. Working in many different specialties and some of the finest facilities, such as John's Hopkins, to some of the worst that have put healthcare to shame. I have experienced burnout and life transformation leading me to the most passionate spot someone can be in their career and their life. My vision is to help nurses transform their own lives and find their passion and happiness again, which in the end will increase patent safety and satisfaction to its fullest. I am described by my colleagues to be hardworking, a strong leader, and driven. I continue to strive to be the best in everything I choose to do. I aspire to be the person that people look up to, to show others what is possible even when the odds are against them. This position would be a chance for me to reach out in the effort to make change and to be a more influential part of a great organization.

Then this past week I got it! I was elected as the new co-chair. What does thus mean for me? It means I will be busy for one...ok maybe busier because I think I was already busy. It means stepping out of the box outside of my comfort zone. It means growth. By doing things you are afraid you do, things you once thought you couldn't possibility do, is how you are going to succeed in giving life everything you have. Really reaching your full potential.

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."

—Jack Welch