Introduction

Several reports, including the Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021-2025) from the World Health Organization and the State of World’s Nursing Report (2020), called for leadership development in nursing at all levels.

Sigma Nursing, with support from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, has answered this call. The Global Nursing Leadership Competency Framework establishes a guide for nurses seeking to evaluate their leadership. Employers may use this framework to establish professional development opportunities based on the leadership competencies that need growth. The framework can also serve as a valuable tool for educators or professional organizations as they develop leadership training programs.

Through a collaboration of nurse leaders from around the world, 10 key competencies were developed. Each competency is leveled with performance indicators for nurses who identify at the novice, competent, expert, and luminary levels. Learn more about the framework's development and purpose. 

Key Terms

Domains – key areas that nurse leaders at all levels use for their work. They are the categories that capture the primary areas of competence for nurse leaders at all levels.

Lenses – perspectives that nurse leaders at all levels use in their work. Diversity and Inclusion, Systems Thinking, and Political Savvy are keys to success for nurse leaders at all levels in that their influence on the domains may make the difference in how the nurse leader performs.

Together, the domains and lenses make up the key competencies in the framework.

GNLC_Framework_infographic_V2web

Next Steps

The full Global Nursing Leadership Competency Framework is now available for download in eight languages. To test your own or your employee's leadership competency and detect areas that require further professional development, click the link below. Before downloading, we will ask you to provide us with some basic information about yourself so that we can better understand who wants to use the framework. We may follow up with you on how you use it and how it can be improved. This information will only be shared with Sigma leaders and will not be used for monetization in any way. 

We encourage you to use the Framework in research projects. We request that you give Sigma/ the Johnson & Johnson Foundation attribution for the development. 

View Framework dissemination. 

Ready to take your nursing leadership to the next level? Download the complete framework »          

Only non-commercial use of the Framework is permitted.