The leadership course helped to expand my thinking in several ways. Firstly, I was not aware that there are whole theories centered around the concepts of leadership. I learned about theories such as connective leadership, emotional intelligence, and transformational leadership. I felt that the transformational leadership theory was most appropriate for the nursing profession because it focused on developing leaders who are able to embrace and facilitate changes, reward and empower staff, and who have the ability to engage others in pursuit of their vision. It is for those reasons that I chose to incorporate the ideas of transformational leadership into my own leadership theory.

The large leadership project which was a requirement for this course also helped to challenge and expand my current ways of thinking. I learned about the qualities that I admire in a leader; knowing which qualities I look for in leaders inspires me to try and live and work with those same qualities.

This project used a tool which forced me to examine relationships that I have in my current place of employment. When I assessed these relationships, I discovered that I do not put much effort in having relationships with leaders of my organization. This discovery helped me to realize that, whether I like it or not, these are the people that have the power to help me in achieving future goals I may have and that it is important to foster good working relationships with administrative personnel.

Another important tool that I was exposed to in this course is the "RACI" model. I like that this tool essentially forced me to put down not just a step-by-step plan for how a change can be initiated, but included who is responsible for each action and what resources may be needed for the change to occur. Although I often think about a project and maintain a mental to-do list, I think having something concrete and easily presentable is more appropriate in professional situations.

I had fun interviewing faculty members who were posing as applicants for a job. I felt this exercise helped to cement some of the topics such as labor laws and discrimination which were presented in detail to our class by an attorney. It is important to be aware of these issues, especially when placed in a position where direct questioning of candidates is a necessary and expected function of the position.
Overall, I feel that this course contributed to my growth as a nurse and potential leader. I was able to develop my own leadership theory after careful consideration about what is important to me and what the evidence demonstrates makes great leaders. I am proud of the final project that I turned in for this course and plan on keeping it as an example of my work.