The Dandelion Question
We cultivate roses.
We study how to prune them, fertilize them, protect them from frost. We display them in prominent places and describe them as refined, rare, and worthy of admiration.
Dandelions, by contrast, are pulled. Sprayed. Discarded. Yet they are resilient, medicinal, pollinator-friendly, and capable of growing where roses cannot.
In nursing leadership, we rightly value advanced education, certifications, and formal leadership roles. They represent discipline, scholarship, and commitment to growth. But when visible credentials become the primary marker for credibility and recognition, other forms of expertise can be treated like dandelions: common, replaceable, and easy to overlook.
Consider these examples:
A staff nurse who obtains an advanced degree or certification is publicly praised on social media with a group photo around a banner highlighting her professional achievement, while a strong, seasoned night shift charge nurse with an ADN receives no recognition.
In a staff meeting, a CNA raises a concern about the unit policy that patients should always be within arm's reach when in the bathroom, stating that there isn't enough staff to be able to accomplish it. The nurse manager simply states "that's the policy", but when a DNP prepared Quality Specialist raises staffing concerns around the policy, the nurse manager begins exploring solutions.
In an effort to improve patient throughput, a unit secretary suggests having ambulatory discharged patients wait at the nurses' station rather than in patient rooms so that patients from the Emergency Department can be on-boarded more quickly. The idea is dismissed because she isn't a nurse and "doesn't understand the clinical needs of patients".
Evidence from organizational behavior literature shows that status characteristics such as titles and degrees influence whose input is heard in decision-making (Ridgeway, 2014). Leaders may unintentionally give greater airtime, affirmation, or follow-up to those with advanced degrees.
On the contrary, however, inclusive leadership research demonstrates that leaders who actively invite and legitimize contributions across roles strengthen engagement and innovation (Carmeli et al., 2010).
Incorporating the Art of Noticing and Observation
Some micro-practices you might want to consider:
Track Airtime During Meetings. Track who speaks first and whose ideas are affirmed. Note patterns tied to credentials or titles.
Notice Interruption Patterns. Who gets interrupted? Who is rarely interrupted? How could you ensure that all voices are acknowledged?
Who Do You Hear? Do you discount ideas from some people while saying "That's exactly right" to others? Why are those voices louder to you?
Examine Language. Are there phrases in the common language such as "only a bedside nurse" or "just a CNA"? What would it take to remove that language?
Consider these Reflective Questions
Whose perspective am I unconsciously weighting more heavily?
Am I equating credentials with competence?
What evidence am I using to judge credibility?
Do I discount the voices of other disciplines because they aren't nurses?
Do I discount the some nurse specialties because I deem them less rigorous or important?
And most importantly: Following key decisions, ask: Whose voice have we overlooked?
Bottom line: The question is not whether roses deserve cultivation. It is whether our system of valuing unintentionally narrows what we are able to see. We can value rigor and achievement without ranking people.
💫 Reimagine your leadership.
For a self-paced leadership workbook on Building Trust which includes a values exploration exercise, click here: Trust in Nursing Leadership: A Reflective Practice Workbook for Nurse Managers
References:
Carmeli, A., Reiter-Palmon, R., & Ziv, E. (2010). Inclusive leadership and employee involvement. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 498–511.
Ridgeway, C. L. (2014). Why status matters for inequality. American Sociological Review, 79(1), 1–16.