10// Accelerating Nursing Career Growth for the Experienced Nurse : Lessons in Leadership from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X

Join me,  as we celebrate Black History Month by exploring how these figures' can invigorate your own approach to leadership in healthcare. This episode is a treasure trove of insights into leading with love, kindness, and assertive strategies when necessary, all aimed at empowering you to make a real difference in advocating for patients.

Explore the secrets to amplifying your influence in the nursing field without relying on titles. We delve into the power of community, the importance of exposure and experiences, and why great communication is your ally on this leadership journey.

 You'll come to see that nurturing your unique leadership style can have a ripple effect, sharpening your peers as you grow. So tune in, absorb the lessons, and let's advance together on this path of professional and personal development. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to the Ambitions Nurse podcast, where I provide tips, tools and resources for the experienced nurse to put in your career bag to help you be a better person, a better leader, a better professional and, most of all, a better nurse. I'm your host, bonnie Meadows, a career coach and a clinical nurse specialist with over 18 years of experience in health care and nursing. It's my passion to help experienced nurses develop their careers to impact health care and their communities. Hello and welcome back. So excited to be back again to talk about a fresh topic. On today, I have a pretty interesting take, as we are going into the month of February, and February not only it's the month of love, but it is also Black History Month. So I will have two podcast episodes focused on Black History Month. The first one is today and the next one is next week. I actually already have a blog post on it, but I just wanted to take some time to go back through it again and just talk about leadership within Black History and in nursing. So that will be next week.

Speaker 1: 1:28

This week I have just a different take and I'm going to use Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X as my two examples in talking about leadership, and so this concept came to me about sometime last year and I am always on Twitter. I'm usually just scrolling. Every once in a while I might say a little something, but there are a few people that I follow, lots of people that I follow. Some are nurses on Twitter and I typically follow a lot of Black nurses on Twitter, or maybe not a lot. I mean, they just show up on my feed and then if they have something interesting that they're saying, then I pretty much I try to follow them. I look at their timeline and see what they've been talking about and if it's somewhat in the positive arena, then I click and follow them. I was say one thing that we tend to deal with as Black nurses. I mean, I know everyone that's listening to this podcast is not Black, so I am pretty much the whole podcast is not going to be about that, but I do give you a peek inside our world of the way many of us view it, and so there are some of us, as Black women or Black nurses I'm going to say that experience Black nurses. So I am still in that realm of how do you grow professionally as an experienced nurse, and a lot of that is leadership.

Speaker 1: 3:05

Many of you who are listening to this podcast, you want to grow. You are ambitious, you want to do other things besides work at the bedside. You want to expand your reach, and a lot of it has to do with you want to grow in leadership. John White Maxwell gives me just at such a comforting definition of leadership, because I have been in leadership since high school Captain of the cheerleading squad, I reached up to Colonel, which is like the highest rank in our junior ROTC they don't give that out to everybody and then held several leadership roles when I was in college. And then it just continues to spilled over, like when, when I was in high school, you had to be invited to go to leadership school and that's where I learned a lot of my training was in my junior ROTC program and it was Air Force shout out to Air Force. But I learned a lot in that. And back to John Maxwell he gives the gives this definition of leadership and he said that leadership is not about a title but it's about your influence.

Speaker 1: 4:21

And if we think about Dr Martin Luther King Jr and we think about Malcolm X, yes, they were leaders. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, he was a pastor and Malcolm X. He was a leader in his own right in the Islamic faith and y'all. If I get that wrong, please forgive me. Please forgive me, I'm not going to be. I'm going to be in general terms here. I am not going to be factual today. So this is all opinion. This is all just my thoughts, just to kind of get you thinking about. Let's stay focused. We are, I am here to get you thinking about. What does influence look like for you? That is what this podcast is about.

Speaker 1: 5:07

And so if we think about how Dr Martin Luther King Jr led his way of leading with, influence was through love and kindness. They both had the same mission, martin Malcolm same mission Generally they wanted black people to be treated equal. Martin was probably a little bit broader. However, once Malcolm came back from Mecca, his definition probably became a little bit broader because he was exposed to different ways of thinking and a different understanding. So just let that settle there. Exposure can give you a whole lot. Sometimes it's not just about what credentials you have, but it is what exposures that you've had in your career that you can put in your back pocket. That will help you to grow and make an impact, and so Martin's method was by love and kindness, you know, do unto others that you would have them to do unto you this, that and the other. Malcolm's method was, by any means necessary, hands down. They both had a heart for the people, they both wanted justice for those who were wronged, and they both had a great following.

Speaker 1: 6:29

And we, as nurses who are ambitious, who want to grow our careers, we have a heart for our patients. If you're listening to this podcast, you more than likely have a love for healthcare and you wanna see it grow and you wanna see it flourish and you want to reduce the injustices that are happening to our patients and you wanna figure out ways to fix it, and so I wanted to do a short exploration on their influence and the way they went about it. So one thing they had in common was that they were both great speakers. I'm not saying that that's what you have to do, but let's just state the obvious they were great speakers. And I'm not saying that you have to go out and start creating all of these speeches and speaking to the masses and doing this, that and the other, but you need to have an understanding of what is it that I stand for and what can I speak on, and how can I hone that area of impact and influence? What am I passionate about? What more can I learn about it so that I can speak to it when someone needs cause?

Speaker 1: 7:41

People do date an opinion on things. It does need to be factual. Your opinion, like you, are putting the pieces together using your scientific method of but these facts say this, then this is cause and effect and this should happen. Hypothesis this, that and the other, and then pulling together those things to say here's what I believe we need in healthcare in order to improve the care for our patients. They both had a message placed in their hearts and others resonated with that message. So don't have a message that people don't resonate with. Like I said, martin's message was rooted in loving others and treating them with kindness, regardless of how they treat you.

Speaker 1: 8:24

Malcolm's message, like I said, it was by any means necessary. It was on the front part of his career. It was more so a put down of another area and a lift up of another, and I'm not condoning that. But I will tell you what I see on Twitter, and sometimes, a lot of times it's with black nurses and sometimes it's white nurses, or sometimes it's little to everybody. But we do this thing where we're putting down another just to elevate another, and it shouldn't have to be that way. You can elevate your own group, your own value.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Some go at it like hardcore, like they're going for your neck when they come for you. And then there are others who will Kind of weave it into telling you you're wrong. Others will flat out tell you you're wrong and then they'll tell you why. So they'll beat you down to it. And then others will just kind of lovingly say well, you're wrong. Hey, you know, and here's why I Am a Martin type of person I will tell you that you're wrong, but I will do it in a lovingly way.

Speaker 1: 9:31

And then, if I don't feel like you're going to receive the fact that I'm telling you you're wrong, then I'm going to ask you enough questions for you to think about whether you are wrong or whether you're right when I'm having a discussion with someone who thinks totally different from what I think. One, I am a stickler about standing on the facts and two, I'm not here to change your mind. My goal is to Get you to a point to where you're understanding where I'm coming from, and then you can make a decision as to whether you want To change your mind or not. And so the point from this one is what is your message? What do you want to get out to the world? Where do you want to make that impact? And then, what is your stance on Nursing and in healthcare? What are those things that you believe Should be focused on in nursing and in healthcare? That helps you to just to solidify your value. It helps you're already valuable with the knowledge that you have. It just takes a moment to sit and reflect. People don't know who they are because they don't sit down and reflect. We fly off the handle and we do just whatever because we're not sitting down to reflect, but you end up getting yourself in trouble along the way if you don't stop and think.

Speaker 1: 10:54

Number two they believed in getting in the fight, but in different ways. Martin's message was don't fight back with your fists and weapons, but fight back with action and with love. Talk to talk and love them along the way. Montgomery bus boycott. Talk to talk, walk the walk. Because they weren't necessarily like in a position to talk, but they was walking the walk and their money did the walking of the loss of billions of dollars from not riding on a bus. Take action in love. Fight back with your dollar. Malcolm's message was more so Fightful, was right for me, yours, and if they come for you, be prepared to fight back by any means necessary.

Speaker 1: 11:40

Let me tell you, both methods are effective and you actually need both methods in the fight, because I am a Martin type of leader. I actually do need a Malcolm on my team. It's like Steph Curry and Dreymond Green. He needs to be the antagonist. So Steph Curry can be who he is, because somebody got the ruffle of feathers and not think that the team is soft.

Speaker 1: 12:05

Same way in healthcare. If you've got somebody who's like a negative Nancy or a no, but they do great work Listen to him because they've gotten an opinion about something and if they're really trying to do right about the patient, it's. It's very appropriate for you to listen and understand where they're coming from and then y'all team together To work on improving your workplace, your hospital, your state. Work together. That's what ended up happening in the long run. Malcolm and Martin started working together because they're like we better together than a part. Those my people I'm just like. Go for it. You push me hard enough and I'll come for you.

Speaker 1: 12:48

But that's not my initial MO. It's not. And so you have to think about which one do you want to be portrayed as and be okay with that. Do you want to be the one who is able to win others over with words, or do you want to win others over by force, by any means necessary Sometimes it takes by any means necessary. I'm just going to tell you. I probably use that maybe once or twice in my life. That's not my initial MO, but if it's yours, great.

Speaker 1: 13:24

Number three, last one they both had influence and, like I said at the top, influence is leadership, leadership is influence. It is not about your title. There are plenty of people who have a title and they don't have influence, they don't have respect. I'd rather have influence all day long than for you to give me a title. Actually, let me back that up I would rather have influence and walk in the freedom to do what I have been called to do in an unconventional way than to have a title. But you micro manage me at the whatever level. I'm good on that.

Speaker 1: 14:13

I'm not knocking those titles. I think those titles are great and you can have influence and be in those titles at the same time. And they do give you some influence. They do. But just remember that just because you have the title, like, that influence might be there initially, but if you're not really leading, then you lose it. You lose the influence that you have. So it is better to build up your leadership skills so that you can have influence than for you to get a title and just be like oh well, y'all should listen to me just because I am who I am. What have you done? And not even physically like how are you motivating the people? How are you supporting the people? That's just like and I've seen this several times before nurses will get a master's degree in nursing and then will apply for these jobs that they've not to date. They qualify for on paper, but when they write the best out, they weren't doing anything. And I believe that even if you have lots of kids, there's always something that you can be involved in that doesn't take time outside of work. If that is your struggle. But you need to be building your resume along the way so that when it is time for you to move forward, you've built resources and influence in other areas.

Speaker 1: 15:39

I will say I believe Martin's message went further because he was able to influence at a very high level in politics and in government. He seemed, and someone said to me before you are very accepting of people. And I said I am very accepting of everyone because I believe everyone is a human being. I believe everyone has a chance at growing, at doing, at being, and everyone is valuable as a human being. But just because you're acceptable of everyone, it doesn't mean you're agreeable, and I believe that that's the stance that Martin took. He was accepting of everyone because he felt like every human being was valuable. But it doesn't mean you have to be agreeable, and people mistake acceptableness with agreeableness Two different things. But you can have influence in not being agreeable, and that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Take your stance, lead how you're going to lead, whether it be the Malcolm Way or the Martin Way. Let your goal be about the mission, not the title, so that you can have influence, to be able to make impact. People are less guarded when you lead with love. So if you have a hard time leading the Martin Way and you're leading the Malcolm Way, then partner up with someone who is leading the Martin Way, because they need you to work together. You can be strong in your stance without strong arming someone else to convince them that your way is right. However, when the strong arm is needed, you need to raise up. Raise up because we need you.

Speaker 1: 17:21

I hope you enjoyed this podcast on today. I really want you to consider and think about are you a Martin leader or are you a Malcolm leader? And what are you doing? What is your stance in nursing and in healthcare? What are those things that you truly have a heart for, believe in? Those are the things that make up your personal, your professional brand. You can't be about everything, so what is that thing that you're going to hone in on and say these are the few things that I choose to focus on as I build my career, because this is what I've learned that I do love about healthcare and nursing and where I feel like I have the most passion around it. And if you figure that out, let me know. Thanks, see you next time.

Speaker 1: 18:14

Thanks for joining us this week on the ambitious nurse podcast to review the show notes and any links mentioned in today's episode. Please go to the ambitious nurse podcastcom. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow or subscribe so you don't miss a future episode. Also, please consider leaving a rating, review and or comment about what you want to hear. This helps more nurses, just like you find this podcast. Thank you for joining me, bonnie Meadows, on the ambitious nurse podcast. I look forward to chatting with you the next time and remember you don't have to grow your career alone. As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another. Thank you for letting me sharpen you as you take this knowledge to sharpen the next.