Review and compare competencies from the ANA Competency Model and AOEN Nurse Manager Competencies.

Competency Model

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A N A L E A D E R S H I P

Embark on the journey.

F o r a l i s t i n g o f a l l A N A L e a d e r s h i p
e d u c a t i o n a l o f f e r i n g s , p l e a s e c l i c k

https://www.nursingworld.org/continuing-education/ce-subcategories/leadership/

O V E R V I E W The American Nurses Association’s Leadership embarked on the journey of building,
enhancing, and strengthening the leadership competencies of nurses and those
working or serving the nursing profession by reflecting on the seminal work of the ANA,
foundational elements of the nurse profession, and incorporating evidence-based
instructional design and leadership theories and research.

As depicted in the Model of Professional Practice Regulation (see Figure 1),
the professional organization is responsible to the public and the profession to define
the scope and standards of practice for nursing. ANA established the foundational
work for the profession through the ANA Leadership Package which consists of three
specific documents: Scope and Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics for
and ’s Social Policy Statement. These foundational documents guide the
practice of nursing, frame the standards of care and reflect the patterns of professional
performance in the dynamic environment of health care.

QUALITY

EVIDENCE

SAFETY
QUALITY

EVIDENCECE

SAS FETY

FIGURE 1. MODEL OF PROFESSIONAL
NURSING PRACTICE REGULATION (ANA, 2010)

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 201 . All Rights Reserved.

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These documents also serve as the embodiment of the bottom tier of the pyramid;
the highest level of the pyramid—Self Determination—is the key focus of the ANA
Leadership. It is within this model and at this level that the ANA Leadership has
established its work to help the nurse leader prepare and enhance the leadership
qualities, abilities and impact of the nursing profession for the health of society.

The Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance include
competencies required of registered nurses. The Standards of Professional Performance
contains ten standards that dovetail with the ANA Leadership competencies that were
selected from the Center for Creative Leadership’s (CCL®) Competency Library and
serve as the foundation for all courses, programs and offerings.

The following standards of professional performance dovetail with the ANA Leadership competencies:

COLLABORATION | The registered nurse collaborates with health care consumer, family, and others in the conduct
of nursing practice. For ANA Leadership, collaboration surfaces in the competencies related to participative
management and building collaborative relationships. Nurse leaders must be able to work in collaboration with
other health professionals and leaders from other disciplines including finance, manufacturing, and other for-profit
and non-profit industries.

COMMUN ICATION | The registered nurse uses a wide variety of communication skills in all areas of practice. For
ANA Leadership, communication is reflected in the competencies that embrace effectively communicating
information and ideas in writing and verbally as well as expressing ideas clearly and concisely and inspiring others.

EDUCATION | The registered nurse attains knowledge and competence that reflects current nursing practice.
Education is a key element of the nursing profession and life-long learning, and the ANA Leadership embraces and
encourages professional development through the various courses, seminars, and programs across the three
leadership tracks.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH | The registered nurse practices in an environmentally safe and healthy manner.
For ANA Leadership, environmental health is reflected in the leadership programs related to wellness and
self-care—the elements embodied in image, initiative, and self-awareness.

ETHICS | The registered nurse practices ethically. For ANA Leadership, ethics is reflected in the integrity competency
that includes elements of honesty, responsibility, credibility, and the ability to use ethical considerations to guide
decisions and actions.

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE AND RESEARCH | The registered nurse integrates evidence and research findings into
practice. For ANA Leadership, evidence-based practice and research is embodied in the work and also reflected in
competencies of business acumen, systems thinking, and learning capacity.

LEADERSHIP | The registered nurse demonstrates leadership in the professional practice setting and the profession.
For ANA Leadership, leadership competencies are the foundation of programs developed for Leadership and
embody three key areas for leading the self, leading others, and leading the organization.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE EVALUATION | The registered nurse evaluates her or his own nursing practice in
relation to professional practice standards and guidelines, relevant statutes, rules, and regulations. For ANA
Leadership, professional practice evaluation is embodied in the competencies of self-awareness, learning capacity,
image, adaptability, interpersonal savvy, and self- management, self-insight, and self-development.

QUALITY OF PRACTICE | The registered nurse contributes to quality nursing practice through creativity,
innovation and overall quality improvement. For ANA Leadership, nurse performance and overall leadership
preparation and enhancement contributes to the quality of practice.

RESOURCE UTILIZATION | The registered nurse utilizes appropriate resources to plan and provide nursing services
that are safe, effective, and financially responsible. For ANA Leadership, resource utilization is highlighted in the
competencies of business acumen, influence, systems thinking, vision and strategy.

ANA Leadership Competencies embrace the Standards of Performance
competencies listed above and reflect the well-established competencies for leadership from

the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) from which they are drawn.

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 2018. All Rights Reserved.

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As stated in the Scope and Standards of Practice (second edition), the public has a right to expect registered
nurses to demonstrate professional competence throughout their careers. This responsibility is shared across a
continuum. The registered nurse is individually responsible and accountable for maintaining professional competence.
It is the nursing profession’s responsibility to shape and guide any process for assuring nurse competence. Regulatory
agencies define minimal standards of competence to protect the public. The employer is responsible and accountable
to provide a practice environment conducive to competent practice. Assurance of competence is the shared
responsibility of the profession, individual nurses, professional organizations, credentialing and certification entities,
regulatory agencies, employers, and other key stakeholders (ANA, 2010).

ANA believes that in nursing practice competence can be defined, measured, and evaluated. Additionally, ANA
believes professional leadership competencies can also be defined and measured. The set of competencies selected
from CCL’s Competency Library, an evidence-based resource of research on leadership, support the foundation of
work across the Nurse Leader Track.

Professional Competence in
Practice & Nurse Leadership

An individual who demonstrates competence is performing
at an expected level. The Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2003),
defined professional competence as “the habitual and judicious
use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical
reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for
the benefit of the individuals and community being served.”

A competency is an expected level of performance that
integrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment.

The integration of knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment
occurs in formal, informal, and reflective learning experiences.

Knowledge encompasses thinking, understanding of
theories, professional standards of practice, and insights
gained from context, practical experiences, personal
capabilities, and leadership performance.

Skills include communication, interpersonal, and problem-
solving skills.

Ability is the capacity to act effectively. It requires listening,
integrity, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and
openness to feedback.

Judgment includes critical thinking, problem solving, ethical
reasoning, and decision-making.

Interprofessional refers to the shared relationship
among individuals, groups, and organizations from
different disciplines. The synergies created through groups,
committees, projects that comprise individuals from different
disciplines; the impact of teamwork.

Interdisciplinary as used in this context refers to cross
disciplines of health and health care (e.g., medicine,
pharmacology, nursing) and business (e.g., leadership,
communications, finance).

Transformational leadership includes the competencies
required to inspire and stimulate followers to achieve
extraordinary outcomes and in the process, develop
their own leadership capacity. They help followers
grow and develop into leaders by responding to needs,
empowering the individual, and aligning the goals and
objectives across the span from follower/subordinate
to leader to organization.

Formal learning most often occurs in structured, academic,
and professional development practice environments, while
informal learning can be described as experiential insights
gained in work, community, home, and other settings.

Reflective learning represents the recurrent thoughtful
personal self-assessment, analysis, and synthesis of
strengths and opportunities for improvement. Such
insights should lead to the creation of a specific plan for
professional development and may become part of one’s
professional portfolio. The ANA Leadership Institute has
developed individual 360-degree assessment tools and
instruments to support this aspect of an individual’s
leadership journey.

DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS RELATED TO COMPETENCE

A number of terms are central to the discussion
of competence whether in the clinical setting,
academic or professional/administrative setting:

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 201 . All Rights Reserved.

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Professional Development
in —an art & science
is a scientific discipline as well as a professional journey. The science of
nursing is based on an analytical framework of critical thinking known as the
nursing process comprised of assessment, diagnosis, outcomes identification,
planning, implementation and evaluation. Nurses as scientists rely on evidence
to guide their policies and practices. Central to nursing practice is the art of
caring and the personal relationship that the nurse enters with the patient.
Across the profession—combining the art and science, nursing focuses on the
promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention or resolution of
disease, illness or disability.

While early education and professional practice enables nurses to conduct their
clinical work, additional preparation and professional development is central to
enhancing the ability to function and contribute in a rapidly changing health
care environment. A continued commitment to the nursing profession requires
a nurse to remain involved in continuous learning and strengthening individual
performance within varied settings. ANA Leadership was developed with the
professional development of nurse leaders in mind. Health care reform will
continue to evolve and thus, provide additional opportunities for nurses to
function either within their full scope of practice across various settings or in
various leadership positions across health care and beyond.

ANA LEADERSHIP
ANA developed the ANA Leadership for
the nurse interested in excelling in a
career path, a leader within a health care
organization who represents the interests
of the nursing profession, a seasoned
nurse or health care administrator
interested in refining skills to differentiate
them from the competition or to advance
to the next level of leadership. The
professionally developed programs draw
on evidence-based practice and multi-
disciplinary approaches to build, develop,
enhance and grow the leadership impact
of every nurse and nurse leader who
makes the investment.

EVALUATING COMPETENCE
ANA designed the Leadership program with a focus on evidence-based
application. The rich history and grounded research conducted by CCL to
identify leadership competencies provided the foundation upon which ANA
started the journey. ANA believes that competence in nursing practice must
be evaluated by the individual nurse (self-assessment), nurse peers, and nurses
in the roles of supervisor, coach, mentor, or preceptor. Additionally, other
aspects of nursing performance may be evaluated by professional colleagues
and patients. ANA Leadership has embarked on an additional form of
evaluating competence—the 360-degree assessment tool—customized
specifically for ANA and those serving the nursing profession.

Competence can be evaluated by using tools that capture objective and
subjective data about the individual’s knowledge base and actual performance
and are appropriate for the specific situation and the desired outcome of the
competence evaluation. One tool that could be used to inform improvement is
the National Database of Quality Indicators (NDNQI®). NDNQI was
developed to aid the registered nurse in patient safety and quality
improvement efforts by providing research- based national comparative data
on nursing care and the relationship to patient outcomes. NDNQI is the only
national, nursing quality measurement program which provides hospitals with
unit-level performance comparison reports at the state, regional, and national
levels. One of the measures of NDNQI is the RN survey which is conducted on
an annual basis to serve nurse managers in addressing the needs of their nurse
staff, improve work environments and assist with retention and recruitment.

To assist with overall evaluation of the impact of ANA , the ANA
convened an Evaluation Group comprised of key experts in nursing
performance, leadership, and evaluation design to develop a series of
methodologies to inform the leadership development and
enhancement process.

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 201 . All Rights Reserved.

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ANA Leadership
Competencies

Each program offering is designed according to expected outcomes based on
competencies drawn from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) Competency
Library—an evidence-based process for tailoring competencies most relevant for
leadership development at different stages of a career trajectory. CCL, a top-ranked

provider of executive education,
is a pioneer in the use of assessment and their expertise has earned the trust of

thousands of professionals and consultants around the world.

While other organizations within the nursing community (e.g., American
Organization of Nurse Executives, American Association of Critical-Care

Nurses, and Oncology Society) have developed leadership
competencies, ANA identified a unique niche and need to develop

programs based on a selection of competencies from the CCL that
transcend any one specialty or profession and identify leadership
competencies across the trajectory of professional development.

Additionally, ANA Leadership curriculum is designed to
specifically address career derailment factors that impact career
success. These factors include difficulty building and leading a
team, developing good working relationships with others,
changing or adapting, following up on promises or
completing a job, and lacking the depth to manage outside of

one’s current function.

As shown in the graphic to the left, the full complement of
competency clusters are organized by three distinct domains:

Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading the Organization.
These three domains encompass specific competencies from which the

ANA derived the specific competencies for career advancement for the
nurse and nursing professional.

Center for Creative Leadership, CCL®

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 2018. All Rights Reserved.

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ANA Leadership
ADVISORY COUNCIL
ANA secured an external group of experts to provide
input, perspective, expertise and guidance to ANA
Leadership. The individuals include:

• Dawn Bazarko, DNP, MPH, RN
Senior VP, Center for Advancement, United Health Group
Minneapolis, MN

• Linda Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, CEO
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
Denver CO

• Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN
Senior Adviser for , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Princeton, NJ

• Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN
Senior VP, AARP Public Policy Institute, Chief Strategist,
Center to Champion in America
Washington DC

• Rose Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, CNL, FAAN
Associate Professor, Director, Leadership Institute,
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL

• Les Wallace, PhD
Owner, Signature Resources
Denver, CO

In May 2013, the Advisory Council
convened to review the CCL
competencies, discuss the types of
leaders within each track, and identify
the competencies according to a
career trajectory. They completed
the selection process via email
exchange and dialogue to develop
the final set upon which the
curriculum is developed.

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ANA LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

ADAPTABILITY
Openness to influence, flexibility

IMAGE
Executive image

INITIATIVE
Motivates self

INTEGRITY
Builds relationships

LEARNING CAPACITY
Knowledge of job, business

SELF-AWARENESS
Self-awareness

COMMUNICATION
Communicating effectively

CONFLICT
Confronting problem employees

DIVERSITY
Leveraging differences

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Developing and empowering

RELATIONSHIPS
Building collaborative relationships

BUSINESS ACUMEN
Seeks broad business knowledge

CHANGE
Change management

DECISION MAKING
Decisiveness

INFLUENCE
Strategic perspective

PROBLEM SOLVING
Getting information, making sense

of it; problem identificatn

SYSTEMS THINKING
Acts systemically

VISION AND STRATEGY
Strategic planning

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Organizes

L E A D I N G Y O U R S E L F L E A D I N G O T H E R S L E A D I N G T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N

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ANA LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES FOR NURSE LEADERS

COMPETENCY
CLUSTER

DESCRIPTION BEHAVIORS

Communication Communicating effectively
Expresses ideas clearly and
concisely; disseminates
information about decisions,
plans, and activities.

• Expresses ideas fluently and eloquently.
• Prevents unpleasant surprises by communicating important

information.
• Encourages direct and open discussions about important issues.
• Writes clearly and concisely.
• Conveys ideas through lively examples and images.

Conflict Confronting problem
employees
Acts decisively and with
fairness when dealing with
problem employees.

• Can deal effectively with resistant employees.
• Acts decisively when faced with a tough decision such as laying off

workers, even though it hurts him/her personally.
• Moves quickly in confronting a problem employee.
• Is able to fire or deal firmly with loyal but incompetent people without

procrastinating.
• Correctly identifies potential performance problems early.
• Appropriately documents employee performance problems.

Diversity Leveraging differences
Works effectively with people
who differ in race, gender,
culture, age, or background;
leverages the unique talents of
others to enhance
organizational effectiveness.

• Promotes policies that are sensitive to the needs of a diverse
workforce.

• Works well with people who differ in race, gender, culture, or age.
• Leverages the unique talents and viewpoints of others.
• Hires people with a diversity of skills and backgrounds.
• Respects employees regardless of their position or background.

Employee
Development

Developing and empowering
Offers constructive feedback
and encouragement; delegates
work and encourages
individual initiative.

• Delegates work that provides substantial responsibility and visibility.
• Acts as a mentor, helping others to develop and advance in their

careers.
• Supports the decisions and actions of direct reports.
• Utilizes others’ capabilities appropriately.
• Develops staff through constructive feedback and encouragement.
• Encourages individual initiative in determining how to achieve broad

goals.

Relationships Building collaborative
relationships
Builds productive working
relationships with co- workers
and external parties.

• Gets things done without creating unnecessary adversarial
relationships.

• Uses good timing and common sense in negotiating; makes his/her
points when the time is ripe and does it diplomatically.

• When working with a group over whom he/she has no control, gets
things done by finding common ground.

• When working with peers from other functions or units, gains their
cooperation and support.

• Tries to understand what other people think before making
judgments about them.

• Quickly gains trust and respect from his/her customers.
• Can settle problems with external groups without alienating them.

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CLUSTER

DESCRIPTION BEHAVIORS

Acumen

Seeks broad business
knowledge
Has an understanding of the
business that goes beyond
his/her own limited area;
seeks to understand both the
products/services and the
financial aspects of the businesss.

• Has a solid understanding of our products and services.

• Knows how the various parts of the organization fit together.

• Knows the business.

• Understands the financial side of the business.

Change Change management
Uses effective strategies to
facilitate organizational
change initiatives and
overcome resistance to
change.

• Leads change by example.

• Accepts change as positive.

• Adapts plans as necessary.

• Takes into account people’s concerns during change.

• Effectively involves key people in the design and implementation of
change.

• Adjusts management style to changing situations.

• Effectively manages others’ resistance to organizational change.

• Adapts to the changing external pressures facing the organization.

• Is straightforward with individuals about consequences of an expected
action or decision.

Decision
Making

Decisiveness
Prefers quick and
approximate actions in many
management situations.

• Does not hesitate when making decisions.

• Does not become paralyzed or overwhelmed when facing action.

• Is action-oriented.

Problem
Solving

Getting information,
making sense of it;
problem identification
Seeks information and can
create order out of large
quantities of information.
Gets to the heart of a problem.

• Seeks information energetically.
• Probes, digs beneath the surface, test the validity of information.
• Creates order out of large quantities of information.
• Is a keen observer of people, events, and things.
• Defines problems effectively, gets to the heart of a problem.
• Spots problems, opportunities, threats, trends early.
• Is logical, data-based, and rational.

Project
Management

Organizes
Sets priorities, is able to help
employees do the same.

• Organizes tasks and projects effectively.
• Prioritizes projects and tasks logically.
• Is good at helping employees prioritize tasks.
• Is a good coordinator of employees and projects.

ANA LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES FOR NURSE LEADERS

ANA Leadership • Competency Model ©American Nurses Association 2018. All Rights Reserved.

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COMPETENCY
CLUSTER

DESCRIPTION BEHAVIORS

Influence Strategic perspective
Understands the viewpoint
of higher management and
effectively analyzes complex
problems.

• Does his/her homework before making a proposal to top management.
• Works effectively with higher management (e.g. presents to them,

persuades them, and stands up to them if necessary).
• Links his/her responsibilities with the mission of the whole organization.
• Once the more glaring problems in an assignment are solved, can see

the underlying problems and patterns that were obscured before.
• Understands higher management values, how higher management

operates, and how they see things.
• Analyzes a complex situation carefully, and then reduces it to its

simplest terms in searching for a solution.
• Learns from the mistakes of higher management(i.e., does not repeat

them him/herself).
• Has a solid working relationship with higher management.

Systems
Thinking

Acts systemically
Understands the political
nature of the organization and
works appropriately within it;
effectively establishes
collaborative relationships and
alliances throughout the
organization.

• Understands the political nature of the organization and works
appropriately within it.

• Considers the impact of his/her actions on the entire system.
• Establishes strong collaborative relationships.
• Deals effectively with contradictory requirements or inconsistencies in

the organization.

Vision and
Strategy

Strategic planning
Develops long-term objectives
and strategies; translates vision
into realistic business
strategies.

• Regularly updates plans to reflect changing circumstances.
• Translates his or her vision into realistic business strategies.
• Weighs the concerns of all relevant business functions when

developing plans.
• Develops plans that contain contingencies for future changes.
• Successfully integrates strategic and tactical planning.
• Articulates wise, long-term objectives and strategies.
• Develops plans that balance long-term goals with immediate

organizational needs.

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ANA LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES FOR NURSE LEADERS

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CLUSTER

DESCRIPTION BEHAVIORS

Adaptability Openness to influence;
flexibility
Takes ideas different from
own seriously; shares
responsibility and
collaborates with others;
accepts criticism well; doesn’t
assume a single best way.

• Listens well.
• Takes ideas different from own seriously and from time to time

changes mind.
• Accepts criticism well; easy to give feedback on his/her performance.
• Is a participative manager; shares responsibility and influence with

direct reports.
• Collaborates well with others.
• Is flexible; good at varying his or her approach with the situation.
• Thinks in terms of trade-offs; doesn’t assume a single best way.
• Creates good give-and-take with others in conversations, meetings.
• Doesn’t let power or status go to his/her head.

Initiative Motivates self
Is focused and self-
disciplined.

• Is self-disciplined — stays on task even if difficult.
• Has a strong work ethic — creates a productive atmosphere.
• Is energetic — stays active, moving, and productive.
• Is determined — committed to success.
• Is involved — is there when needed.

Image Executive image
Communicates confidence and
steadiness during
difficult times; adapts
readily to new situations.

• Communicates confidence and steadiness during difficult times.
• Projects confidence and poise.
• Adapts readily to new situations.
• Commands attention and respect.
• Accepts setbacks with grace.

Integrity Builds relationships
Has credibility and is
trustworthy in the eyes
of co-workers.

• Is trustworthy—produces trust in employees.
• Has credibility in the eyes of employees.
• Keeps relationships with employees strong.
• Treats people fairly and with consistency.

Learning
Capacity

Knowledge of job, business
Excels at his or her
professional function; is a
quick study; understands
financial information.

• Is a good general manager.
• Is effective in a job with a big scope.
• In a new assignment, picks up knowledge and expertise easily,

a quick study.
• Is at home with graphs, charts, statistics, and budgets.
• Understands cash flows, …