Reflective Thinking and Practice
Other leadership theories that have gained prominence in the past decade are those of reflective thinking and practice. Sherwood and Horton-Deutsch (2015) note that today’s chaotic health-care environment requires nurse-leaders to be nimble, flexible, and responsive to change. “The need for change arises from the awareness that current practices or processes aren’t working—those results are not the desired outcomes” (p. xiii).
Thus, the goal for nurse-leaders must be to become so agile that they are able to continually adapt, reflect on progress and setbacks, and adjust their course as needed (Sherwood & Horton-Deutsch, 2015).
Sherwood and Horton-Deutsch (2015) suggest that reflection provides an opportunity to apply theory from all ways of knowing and learning as an extension of evidence-based practices and research.
It also allows individuals to learn from experience by considering what they know, believe, and value within the content of current situations and then to reframe to develop future responses or actions. Sherwood and Horton-Deutsch suggest two questions nurse-leaders can use to increase their reflective practice (Display 3.7).