A look at May 2024 Winner for The Betty Casali Transformational Leadership Award
Jami Travis, Nursing Director Critical Care Division
(summary of her nomination) Jami exemplifies what it means to be transformational leader and is a personal mentor for many nurses and leaders. She actively demonstrates to me what a good and transformational leader is by making it a priority to actively listen to the concerns and challenges faced by her colleagues, offering personalized guidance and encouragement tailored to each individual’s needs. Jami effectively conveys her vision and goals to her team through weekly division meetings and daily check-ins. You can often find her rounding on not only her units but every inpatient unit. It is common to see her just having daily conversations with PCTs and RNs, helping with patient care and getting an overall pulse of all the units. This conveys a sense of pride in ones work and sets the example of what the culture of leadership is at UAMS.
Jami’s unwavering optimism serves as a beacon of hope and resilience, especially during challenging times. She maintains a positive outlook in the face of adversity, emphasizing the opportunities for growth and learning that arise from every obstacle. Jami’s optimism is contagious, uplifting the spirits of her team members and fostering a culture of perseverance and optimism. For example, when our department faced budget constraints and staffing shortages, Jami remained steadfast in her belief that we could overcome these challenges through innovation, collaboration, and resourcefulness. She inspired us to stay focused on our goals and work together towards finding creative solutions. Her ability to connect our daily tasks to a larger purpose instills a sense of pride and fulfillment in her team, fueling our commitment to delivering exceptional care. Jami’s leadership mirrors the traits she learned from her former nursing manager Betty Casali, and deserves to be the recipient of this award.
A Transformational Leader stimulates and inspires followers to achieve positive outcomes through growth, development and empowerment.
The recipient of the Betty Casali Transformational Leadership Award should reflect by example specific qualities that resulted in empowering/encouraging others to achieve a positive outcome. This leader utilizes the four (4) core components (listed below) of transformational leadership to achieve results:
1) Individual Consideration: The leader acts as a mentor or coach, listens to concerns and attends to the needs of those they are leading.
- Mentor/coach
- Good communicator
- Empathetic
- Demonstrates respect for team
2) Intellectual Stimulation: For such a leader, learning is valued and unexpected situations are seen as opportunities to learn. Those being led, ask questions, think deeply and figure out better ways to execute their tasks.
- Risk-taker
- Solicits ideas from followers
- Encourages innovation and creativity
- Challenges assumptions
3) Inspirational Motivation: Those being led by this leader are willing to invest more effort in their tasks; they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities.
- Visionary
- Optimistic
- Goal-oriented
- Relay a strong sense of purpose
4) Idealized Influence: Followers tend to identify with their leader and desire to emulate them; the leader is respected and trusted.
- Role Model
- Highly ethical behaviors
- Persistence/determination
- Instills pride
Nomination Requirements
- The nominee must be a registered nurse and in a formally appointed position such as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Associate Chief Nursing Officer (ACNO), Director, Assistant Director, Clinical Service Manager (CSM), Assistant Clinical Service Manager (ACSM), Clinical Specialist (CS), APRN Coordinator, RN IV, RN V or applicable. Nurses in a shift or term limited role such as Charge Nurse, Team Lead, or Resource Nurse are not eligible for this award.
Nomination Process
- Complete online application below in its entirety relating to the nurse you are nominating. If you have any supportive information in the area provided in the nomination form, please attach it. NOTE: Nominations will not be accepted after the closing date.
- The nominator may provide evidence from the nominee to include as evidence to support the nomination.
Selection Process
- Nominations, that meet criteria, will be blinded and reviewed by the Awards Committee. The Awards Committee will select winners based only on the information provided in the nomination and supportive information.
- Nominees who meet the criteria, as well as the selected winner, will be celebrated during annual Professional Nursing Awards ceremony .
Click here to view past nomination example.
Award nominations are closed at this time. Check back the first part of 2025.