The meaning of self-leadership for nursing academics in the context of a leadership programme at a higher education institution in the Western Cape
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNISA Press
Abstract
A self-leadership development programme was created in 2012 for ten nursing
academics with the aim of empowering them to embark upon research projects,
write for subject matter publications, and develop as leaders at a school of
nursing in the Western Cape. This study aimed at exploring and describing
the experiences of nurse leaders with regard to the meaning of self-leadership during a leadership development programme offered by a lead researcher at
a school of nursing. A qualitative, exploratory, narrative, and contextual study
was conducted with a sample of eight participants who were lecturers in an
undergraduate nursing programme. The researcher collected the data by means
of individual narratives. An open coding method of data analysis was followed to
transpose collected data into meaningful data. The participants were between
the ages of 28 and 57 years. Two main themes emerged from the data analysis,
namely leadership attributes and responsibilities towards the group. Nursing
academics were motivated to use their self-influence to direct themselves to
achieve optimum performance in the programme. Broadly speaking, the meaning
attached to self-leadership was closely linked to concepts of shared leadership,
reflective leadership, and collaborative leadership that were concepts leading to
group leadership according to the leadership framework of Jooste (2011).
Self-leadership is regarded as an essential component of leadership and an
integral aspect of the nursing academic's role.
Description
Keywords
Higher education, Nursing, Self-leadership
Citation
Jooste, K. et al. (2015) The meaning of self-leadership for nursing
academics in the context of a leadership
programme at a higher education institution in the Western Cape. Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 17(1): 122-133