We know a talented nurse manager. The CNO of her hospital, who is retiring soon, has thought of grooming her to take her place. The nurse manager is smart, good with people, clinically sound, and understands how to balance quality of care with budget and business realities.
There is just one problem: On the surface she does not immediately present herself like a leader.
For instance:
- She dresses — to put it diplomatically — immaturely. Rather than wearing business attire, she has been known to wear more informal clothing (jogging shoes, brightly colored socks, casual outfits).
- She doesn’t take pains to groom herself professionally.
- She carries herself more like a follower than a leader, as in the slumped way she walks or her failure to make eye contact in discussions.
Her manager has given her advice and feedback about improving the way she presents herself, and she has not really taken the advice to heart.
Some readers might argue that this is foolish, that if her substance is good then who cares about her style?
We argue here that a nurse manager up for an executive team role should be the full package. She needs to present herself as a leader. Otherwise, she gives subtle (and not so subtle) signals to the medical staff and hospital employees that perhaps they should not take her so seriously.
Here is somebody who is 95% of the way towards rising to the top level. Why not go the additional 5% of the way and improve the way she presents herself.
To give a counter example, we know somebody from a different system who received similar advice from a mentor. She took the advice to heart, bought a new wardrobe, changed her hair style, and even took some presentation skills classes. The effect has been transformative — both for her own confidence and in how people respond to her.
Please don’t think that we are superficial. Nurse managers have enough issues to worry about in their roles and careers. Still, why not take care of one aspect of your role that you can control 100%?
