During this interview I learned that a nurse leaders influence is based on the integration of advocacy, communication skills, competency, confidence, credibility, and ethics. Nurse leaders must engage in professional interactions, relationships and collaborations, that earns social commitment and compliance among individuals, groups and communities in order to inspire support for decisions and actions. A nurse leader must work to promote joy in work through physical and psychological safety, meaningful purpose, engagement in an environment that supports choice and autonomy, recognition and rewards, participative management, teamwork, daily improvement, wellness and resilience. The responses from this interview further educated me about the importance of leadership in nursing and further enhanced my skills of managing conflict and criticism effectively. The individual I interviewed recently started a new position performing COVID initiatives, it is imperative that she stays current with national health policies during this pandemic. Daily she consults evidence-based research and changes at the organizational level by coordinating with the manager. In this current position she does not manage conflict but as a floor nurse faced it head on therefore she had a great deal of useful advice to manage conflict and criticism with coworkers and patients. The response that reinforced my knowledge was in regards to managing conflict. Rather than shy away or avoid conflict we as nurses must listen without bias, provide open communication with the appropriate people and create a common goal to reach a mutual conclusion that both parties are happy with. This interview further strengthened my admiration and respect for this leader, as we have both grown together it was inspiring to conduct a professional interview with her about her experiences in nursing. She strongly recommended staying connected with nursing organizations and/or associations in order to continually learn and become a better nurse. The identification and establishment of a mentor can facilitate a bidirectional relationship in which the mentee can also provide teaching to the mentor such as technology teaching as most hospitals operate with online charting. I admire her ability to identify her personal leadership styles and provide self-reflection to how she implements these. She identified herself as somewhere between an Autocratic and Authoritative leader. The Autocratic side prevails when crucial decisions need to be made on the spot such as during a code or critical change in patient status. The Authoritative leadership style is the mark of confident leaders who map the way and set expectations, while engaging and energizing followers along the way. Authoritative leaders take the time to explain their thinking, they don’t just issue orders. I respect her passion to teach students based on choice and latitude to achieve common goals. I will apply this new knowledge in my future nursing career by accepting that everyone has a right to their own opinion. Therefore, actively listening, acknowledging differences and working towards a common goal. I will also respond to criticism as a learning opportunity, people criticize you not to hurt you, but to improve your practice as a nurse, they want to see you succeed not fail.  Furthermore, I will also seek mentorship when I secure my first nursing job to further advance my practice as a nurse, establish professional relationships and provide support to co-workers.