300 ■ III: ROLE FUNCTIONS OF DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
course of being coached, new leaders often report that they feel alone, unsure of whose
information to trust, unclear about who to go to for input and answers, and uncertain
how much personal disclosure is appropriate in their new cohort group. It takes time to
find the answers to these questions and to feel securely situated.
THE COMPETENCY CHALLENGE
Competency in one professional area does not necessarily translate into all aspects of
new roles or assignments. Each shift in the role involves new content-related areas of
skill development and also new leadership demands. For example, one coaching client
(a woman) was a top-notch teacher and a highly responsible taskmaster in all parts of
her faculty responsibilities. When promoted to an academic administrative role, she was
surprised to learn that part of her actual job was to spend time nurturing and maintain-
ing relationships with her colleagues. She had formerly dismissed such activities as a
waste of time, but now needed to practice the art and competency of relationship build-
ing. With awareness and determination, she learned to maintain connections with her
colleagues in new ways—asking about people’s children, stopping by people’s desks
during the day, and hosting people in her office when it was not time for a meeting. As a
newly promoted executive, she gained leadership skills beyond her academic excellence
and increased collaboration with her own and ancillary departments.
THE CONFIDENCE CHALLENGE
If we have been at our job long enough, we usually feel settled and confident. We know
the rules of the game. We know how to speak up within our work group. We have got-
ten feedback about how well we perform. Just when we feel proud of accomplishments
and comfortable with an existing level of responsibility, a shift in role, even when posi-
tive, can create a crisis in confidence. For example, one coaching client (a woman) who
was formerly accustomed to being outspoken with her professional peers, suddenly
experienced great fear about speaking up in her new leadership group. She worried
that her strong voice would be seen as too aggressive. She feared exposing herself
as not knowing all that others expected her to know. Struggling with these doubts,
she inhibited her expressions and contributions until her confidence was once again
established.
THE IDENTITY CHALLENGE
As we move into different roles, we undergo a transformation. How we see ourselves,
how we feel, how we dress, how we move—all these aspects of who we have been
start to shift. For some, the shift in identity is quite subtle and may take place with no
noticeable attention. For others, the shift is unsettling and as tumultuous as for Alice in
Wonderland , as she slips through the looking glass.
Who are you?” said the caterpillar...
“I-I hardly know, Sir, just at the present,” Alice replied rather shyly. “At least
I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been
changed several times since then. (Carrol, 1981, p. 34)