Professionalism is Not a Trade-Off for Personality

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope your July is filled with lovely summer air, warm beach days, and most of all, relaxation!
One of the most important and effective qualities to being a fantastic leader to me is being able to communicate professionally and with personality. 
A visible quality in many nursing leaders that I admire is personality. But something that often gets overlooked in professional nursing leaders is also personality! There’s a pendulum between personality and professionalism and the best nursing leaders find that equilibrium. I am here as a future nursing leader to share some light on what I have learned to assist you in being the BEST nursing leader you can be!
I’ve had mentors that have been strictly professional, strictly personality, and the best of both worlds. And I’ve found time and time again that the best leaders not only uphold excellent professionalism when called for, but know how to extract the perfect amount of their personality for the delegation, colleagues, and other leaders to see. 
An excellent example of this is our Executive Director, Dr. Kenya Williams. Not only is she a strong leader in the nursing profession, but everyone who knows Dr. Williams is not only a colleague, but a friend to her. Because of our similar leadership styles, I have learned multitudes of lessons from Dr. Williams. Additionally, while attending all the conferences I have, I’ve witnessed my own key takeaways and would love to share them with you!

• Anyone can be professional but not everyone can be you. 
• The more pieces of yourself that you give to others, the more positive connections you will have to that individual. The more connected you are to an individual, the more likely they are to view you highly. Even if they do not give pieces of themselves for you back. 
• Leadership is not about a title.
• Smiling more is sometimes the only thing standing between a good leader and a great leader.
• Having a positive aura that people feel attracted to is one of the best qualities a leader can have and is not something that you have to be born with. People are attracted to positivity.
• Manners are and should be your best friend and an everyday practice. 

The balance of personality and professionalism looks different for everyone but the more you practice, the better at it you will be! I am by no means a perfect person at this and continue to work on this aspect of my leadership every day. But I have seen firsthand and been told by others the progress that I’ve made and I hope that one day, you will be able to look in the mirror and realize that no matter what stage you are at, you are an exceptional leader. 
Please leave any questions you have for me in the comments below and I will get back to you as soon as possible! If you would like to have a conversation with me on the side, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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