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Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare is an inspiring and thought-provoking read for all healthcare professionals, especially nurses. The authors offer unique insight into the idea that all nurses are leaders, whether formal or informal, and that successful outcomes-driven leadership requires care for self, as well as care for other caregivers and patients. Through the introduction of the Human-Centered Leadership model, the text challenges readers to consider the type of leader they are, and the type of leader they want to be. By way of example and explanation, the model’s inside-out approach to leadership is certain to resonate with nurses and others who have dedicated their lives to the service of caregiving.

From the opening motto “It starts with you, but it is not about you,” the reader is drawn into this important contribution to nursing leadership theory, Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare. The concept that leadership cannot happen without a leader’s deep understanding of self will resonate with new as well as seasoned nursing leaders. The authors present their ideas in clear and conversational dialogue that makes one feel as if they are sitting down with other nurses having a lively discussion about ways to improve how we practice and lead. The layout of the chapters is thoughtful and moves one from well-referenced concepts and clear clinical examples to discussion, then reflection, and on to proactive steps to apply the concepts. There are also important integration tables of the book’s key ideas with innovation concepts, Magnet, ANA Code of Ethics, and the soon to be released AACN new competencies for nursing education. Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare will make a major contribution to the nursing leadership literature and will be a welcome resource for practicing nurses, nurse leaders, and those in academia.

I have spent my entire career in healthcare focused on Human-Centered Leadership. It’s the cornerstone of everything I believe in. This book does a beautiful job of giving nurse leaders all the tools they need to make Human-Centered Leadership a reality, at a time when they really need it. Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare is filled with compelling evidence, great stories and most importantly great tactics to take your nursing leaders to the next level. And if you get nurse leadership right, everything else falls into place.

Our recent experience with the pandemic has served as a crucial reminder of how vital human-centered leadership is to sustain a resilient healthcare workforce. In the book, Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare, the authors present a roadmap on embracing self-care practices, developing authenticity, practicing courageous leadership, and building work cultures of inclusiveness and respect. The most complex person you will ever lead is yourself. Use the wisdom in this book to become the leader you are meant to be.

Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare is the product of a leadership journey taken by its authors who started out with a question regarding one’s humanity and led to an important revelation. The ability of nurse leaders to truly and completely care for, develop, and connect with self and then others will result in a form of exceptional leadership achievable for those willing to learn how. Human-Centered leadership in nursing will transform you personally and professionally beyond your expectations, enabling you to do the same for others. Through this blueprint, these authors will guide you on how to enact this kind of leadership which is truly needed in today’s healthcare landscape.

There is no more important time than now to develop a human-centered leadership approach. Our complex pandemic world has left us all a little off balance. The authors of Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare provide a path to find personal balance and leadership success by offering a guided journey to leading yourself and your teams in building a culture of excellence, trust and caring.

Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare is the epitome of what we are craving as individuals, workgroups, and as a society—excellence, trust, and caring. Whether it be in government or healthcare or any industry in between, there’s room for Human-Centered Leadership. The model calls for authenticity—in leaders and cultures—and establishes its foundation in evidence-based truths. With solid footing, it then not only gives its audience permission, but sets the expectation, that creativity, growth, and innovation are no longer what the few, elite organizations do, but are requirements for any organization’s health and survival. The new normal for most of us will continue to be fraught with both environmental and human complexities and challenges. Human-Centered Leadership is a timely and essential investment in leaders—in any position and organizational cultures—in any industry.

As a CNO and past president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, I believe Kay, Lucy, and Susan have written a compelling must-read book for anyone in nursing leadership or aspiring to be a nurse leader. The most important competency of a nurse leader is relationship management including communication. Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare provides a practical approach to the nurse leader’s focus on self and others. I recommend not just reading but sharing this book with colleagues as it is filled with great insights into nursing leadership.

Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare is one of those books that sets a new path in our thinking about leadership. This work looks at the person of the leader in an entirely different light. Using emerging knowledge related to complex adaptive systems and human-centered leadership practices, the authors have given us powerful insights and great tools for truly sustainable leadership going forward. This is a “must read” for anyone eager to embrace effective leadership for the future.