Week 4 Delegation and Succession Planning
Discussion
Purpose
The purpose of this discussion is to explore the role of the DNP-prepared nurse in the delegation of leadership duties to support succession planning.
Instructions
Consider the following scenario: As a DNP-prepared nurse leader, you developed a succession plan for your current leadership position, but the identified successor has been struggling with delegated tasks. Reflect on your readings this week and respond to the following:
- Identify the steps you would take to modify or continue with your current succession plan.
- Examine the impact of your decision (to modify or continue) on the identified successor and the team.
Please click on the following link to review the DNP Discussion Guidelines on the Student Resource Center program page:
Course Outcomes
This discussion enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:
- Evaluate the attributes of effective communication practices that build collaborative relationships and balance the concerns of individuals with organizational goals. (POs 2, 8)
- Create collaborative relationships with interprofessional and interprofessional groups to champion organizational strategies and goals. (POs 2, 6, 8)
- Analyze the role of the nurse leader in financial management, human resource management, strategic management, and information management at the micro, meso, and macrosystem levels. (POs 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Welcome to Week 4. The purpose of this week’s discussion is to explore the role of the DNP-prepared nurse in the delegation of leadership duties to support succession planning.
This discussion enables you to meet the following course and program outcomes:
1. Evaluate the attributes of effective communication practices that build collaborative relationships and balance the concerns of individuals with organizational goals. (POs 2, 8)
2. Create collaborative relationships with interprofessional and intraprofessional groups to champion organizational strategies and goals. (POs 2, 6, 8)
3. Analyze the role of the nurse leader in financial management, human resource management, strategic management, and information management at the micro, meso, and macrosystem levels. (POs 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Please review the discussion grading guidelines and support your post with scholarly references.
I am looking forward to reading your responses.
Dr. Malate
Rubric
| Professionalism in Communication | Presents information using clear, concise language in organized manner (0-1 error patterns in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information using clear, concise language in organized manner (2-3 error patterns in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information using understandable language; information is not organized 4-5 error patterns in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information that is not clear, logical, professional, or organized; reader has difficulty understanding the post; 6 or more error patterns in English grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation). |
Student Lesson Plan
Overview
- Evaluate the attributes of effective communication practices that build collaborative relationships and balance the concerns of individuals with organizational goals. (POs 2, 8)
- Create collaborative relationships with interprofessional and intraprofessional groups to champion organizational strategies and goals. (POs 2, 6, 8)
- Analyze the roles of the nurse leader in financial management, human resource management, strategic management, and information management at the micro, meso, and macrosystem levels. (POs 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Schedule
| Section | Read/Review/Complete | Course Outcomes | Due |
| Prepare | Assigned Readings | COs 1, 2, 3 | Wednesday |
| Explore | Lesson | COs 1, 2, 3 | Wednesday |
| Translate to Practice | Discussion: Initial Post | COs 1, 2, 3 | Wednesday |
| Translate to Practice | Discussion: Follow-Up Posts | COs 1, 2, 3 | Sunday |
| Translate to Practice | Assignment | COs 1, 2, 3 | Sunday |
| Reflect | Reflection | COs 1, 2, 3 | No submission |
Foundations for Learning
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. (Links to an external site.) https://www.aacnnursing.org/DNP/DNP-Essentials (Note: These Essentials outline the foundational competencies of advanced nursing practice for the DNP.)
American Organization for Nursing Leadership. (2015). AONL nurse leader competencies. (Links to an external site.) https://www.aonl.org/resources/nurse-leader-competencies
Student Learning Resources
Click on the following tabs to view the resources for this week.
Huber, D. L. (2018). Leadership & nursing care management (6th ed.). Elsevier.
- Read Chapters 9, 24
Learning Success Strategies
- Review the assigned readings to ensure you understand the key terms and can relate them to the role of the DNP-prepared nurse leader.
- As you review weekly content, consider how each concept and discussion can be translated into practice in your unique setting.
- Be ready to share your thoughts through the interactive discussion. It is important to share your own thoughts so that we hear your voice. Also, support your positions with evidence from the literature. Growing in your ability to share your ideas is encouraged, and the use of first-person is accepted for the discussion board.
- Review the discussion guidelines and rubric to optimize your performance.
- You have access to a variety of resources to support your success. Click the DNP Resources tab on the home page to access program and project resources.
- Your course faculty is here to support your learning journey. Reach out for guidance with study strategies, time management, and course-related questions. Review rubric feedback and individual comments to optimize performance.
- Let’s Check-In: Tips for Success are available several weeks throughout the course. Check announcements and please listen to the recording posted in the announcements if unable to attend.
- Remember the Week 4 Assignment—DNP-Prepared Nurse as Mentor Paper—is due by 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday.
Interacting with Feedback
Each week your course faculty will provide feedback in the rubric on any assignment you have submitted. Take a moment to review the following video on how to view rubric feedback in Canvas. (After clicking the link, scroll down or click on the title in the Summary area to jump directly to the video.)
- Link (video): Looking at Feedback (Links to an external site.) (2:26)
Review the following video on how to accept/reject track changes when viewing course faculty feedback on your assignment:
- Link (video): Word: Track Changes and Comments (4:19)
Week 4 Lesson 1
Developing a Succession Plan for Organizational Stability
Performance Appraisals: Supporting and Inspiring Performance
Performance management provides a method of clearly aligning individual performance and goals with the global goals and mission of the organization. Performance appraisals provide a process for providing feedback and transparent conversation about the development and progress of a team member in meeting the defined expectations of their role. The appraisal process provides an opportunity to help colleagues perform at their highest potential and grow professionally to meet their personal career goals.
Watch the following video on the appraisal process.
Performance Appraisals (3:29)
Developing Staff Through Delegation: Avoiding the One-Man Band
The development of future nurse leaders to assume vacant leadership positions is critical to the sustainability of any organization. Delegation is a focused method of providing future leaders with a path to gain experience under the watchful eye of an experienced nurse leader. Delegating is not a new concept in nursing practice as nurse leaders have delegated clinical duties to both licensed and unlicensed personnel for decades. However, delegation is also a means of shifting identified leadership tasks or responsibilities to a delegate and can provide significant benefits to both the DNP-prepared nurse leader and the delegate.
For a DNP-prepared nurse leader, delegation can provide a provision to accomplish the substantial work responsibilities that accompany the nurse leader role. Entrusting authority and responsibilities to others can help preserve work-life balance and avoid a one-man-band mindset. In music, a one-man-band is someone who plays multiple musical instruments at the same time, without the contribution of another musician. A one-man-band mindset is, therefore, one in which a leader believes they are the only person capable of performing their duties. This type of leader may feel they can do the job better themselves or that it would take too much time or energy to explain the task to someone else. The one-man-band leader may believe their authority and power will be compromised if a subordinate takes on aspects of their role, or perhaps the subordinate might do a better job than the leader. This level of self-micromanagement can be detrimental to the DNP-prepared nurse leader and result in fatigue, burn-out, and frustration among staff who desire to advance in the organization.
A leader with the one-man-band mindset can become so over-tasked, that they lose focus on their priorities. A DNP-prepared nurse leader may wear many “hats”:
Nurse Leader Responsibilities Image Description
With so many varied responsibilities, delegation can ease time constraints and yield authority to subordinates to make some decisions, thereby increasing their leadership skills and autonomy. The delegating of duties can also boost the team member’s involvement on the unit or within the organization and gradually enhance their leadership decision-making skills as more complex tasks are assigned. For delegation to be successful and work effectively, the DNP-prepared nurse leader should role model how decisions are made within the matrix of the healthcare system. As authority is given to a subordinate, the nurse leader remains accountable for the outcome of the actions and decisions made by the subordinate. As feedback is provided to the delegate, the nurse leader can gradually expand upon the tasks assigned, thereby building rapport between the nurse leader and the team member. Feedback during this time is crucial as it provides the team member with reinforcement on their decision-making skills and an opportunity for reflection of personal and professional growth.
Barriers to Delegation
Prior to the delegation of any leadership tasks, the DNP-prepared nurse leader should clearly communicate to the entire unit the specific tasks being assigned to the delegate. Poor communication regarding the delegation of tasks can result in pushback and hostility from the team and frustration for the delegate. In addition, the chain of command for any delegated tasks should be clearly communicated to avoid unit distractions. Distractions on the unit can compromise patient safety, patient satisfaction, and staff satisfaction.
Barriers to Delegation
Additional barriers to delegation may include the following:
- Low self-confidence of the delegate
- Inexperience in decision-making
- Ambiguity by the nurse leader on expectations
- Poor organizational skills
- Ineffective communication
- Lack of trust
- Organizational culture
Delegation is a crucial component of successful succession planning. Without proper communication and preparation, the DNP-prepared nurse leader and their delegate may experience reluctance from other team members to support the transfer of duties. It is critical for the DNP-prepared nurse leader to support the delegate as they assume additional tasks and to make their support visible to others within the organization.
Lesson 2
Anticipatory Succession Planning
Succession Planning: Why Failure to Plan is a Plan for Failure
In previous lessons, we discussed the impact of nurse turnover on the organization and the loss of knowledge, experience, and skill that leaves the organization when the attrition of staff occurs. To an even greater degree, nursing leadership turnover significantly impacts patient safety, patient and staff satisfaction, and clinical outcomes.
Succession planning does not happen by accident, but rather through careful assessment and planning. DNP-prepared nurse leaders often assume 24-hour responsibility for the care provided within their unit or organization. Vacancies in these leadership roles can be devastating to the organization and the community. Effective succession planning supports the stability of a healthy work environment and ensures that quality initiatives do not falter during a change in leadership.
Succession planning is more than filling a human-resource gap; rather, it is a deliberate business strategy that mitigates risk and safeguards intellectual capital and practice continuity. For succession planning to flourish, there must be an organizational commitment to investing in the professional development of “not-yet leaders” to gain the long-term benefits of the investment. Those with high potential for future leadership positions should be identified and cultivated in an atmosphere that acknowledges their value to the organization at present and in the future. By identifying potential leaders, the organization establishes a best practice for developing and maintaining talent and is prepared for the undeniable reality that there will be transitions of leadership in the future.
When a succession plan does not exist, power struggles can occur within an organization as employees battle for a position. This can negatively impact nurse retention and result in conflict among employees. More importantly, when leadership is lost, day-to-day processes and care can suffer, and patient outcomes can decline. Interprofessional collaboration can be damaged and spill over into the financial resiliency of the organization. When an organization does not engage in succession planning, it could be viewed that the organization does not value the contribution of the leader. The only plan becomes a plan to fail.
