312 ■ III: ROLE FUNCTIONS OF DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
CASE 1
Dr. Flynn was promoted to the department chair after years of teaching excel-
lence at the university. Her development needs included assertiveness, man-
aging conflict, finding a leadership presence, performing responsibilities with
greater confidence, articulating opinions within the executive nursing coun-
cil, and becoming more visible within the larger university system. Dr. Flynn
worked closely with Dr. Morgan, the associate chair, who had a big personal-
ity, had extensive administrative experience, but who was new to the college.
Together, they inherited a complex department that channeled large numbers
of students into different specializations, at a time when the structure for these
programs was in flux. Dr. Flynn felt responsible for helping Dr. Morgan learn
the ropes and spent many hours in this role behind the scenes. She also let Dr.
Morgan be of the more visible presence. One year later, Dr. Flynn was seen only in
Dr. Morgan’s shadow. Coaching sessions with Dr. Flynn focused on her person-
al barriers to establishing autonomy and on strategies to assert her authority
successfully. In the coaching process, Dr. Flynn became more comfortable with
the conflict resolution. She established a separate identity and created greater
visibility within the university.CASE 2
Professor Castle was promoted to administrative leadership with a reputation
as an excellent teacher and an efficient taskmaster on any given profession-
al assignment. Extremely introverted, she liked to work with her door closed
with minimal social exchange and treasured quiet time alone at her desk. She
spent long days at work and looked forward to renewing herself at home after
hours. Although she was liked by others and always socially appropriate, she
maintained a strong personal boundary. Professor Castle was surprised to learn
that her new role involved not just task accomplishment, but also informal at-
tention to relationships, which involved verbal and visible accessibility, which,
by nature, she had formerly considered a waste of time. Learning to converse
casually in order to gain others’ trust and comfort, making daily connections,
and stopping by other peoples’ offices all were aspects of leadership that had
not been on her radar screen. Being more accessible, while also attending to
her needs for working and being alone, became a focus for the coaching proc-
ess. Professor Castle and the coach talked about ways to create greater ease
with stopping by other department chair’s offices, and how she could answer
e-mails so they were to the point, but also made some personal references that
would build connection between herself, her faculty reports, and other depart-
ment chairs. They identified hours of the day she could most comfortably have
an “open door policy,” and other times that she would partially close her door.
Over time, Professor Castle felt more comfortable with the extroverted parts of■ CASE STUDIES: Two Individual Case Examples (continued)
(continued)