**4. Leadership and strategy**

Nurse managers have 24-h responsibility for managing nurses, nursing units, and patients and serve as a bridge between the operational and management levels of the facility [7]. They are responsible for creating a safe and healthy work environment for the healthcare staff as well as ensuring that members of the multidisciplinary teams continue to grow professionally and offer high-quality treatment, foster a supportive and encouraging work environment [7]. The nurse manager position is significant thus, requires effective and efficient leadership that is conceptual, technical, and humane.

To understand strategic leadership, it is important to separate the two words, leadership, and strategy. Leadership is a process whereby people are influenced by an individual to work toward the attainment of a mutually agreed goal willingly and enthusiastically [8]. On the other hand, management is defined as "the pursuit of organizational goals efficiently and effectively by integrating the work of people through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the organization's resources" [9]. Strategy is a matter of doing things differently or doing the same things in a new way, making a deliberate decision to do something different from your competitors, and developing a system of operations that is distinct from those of competitors. To cut costs and improve on-time performance, one needs a system that sets apart us from the competition.

The nurse manager in maintaining her unique position in the healthcare facility needs both leadership and strategy to coordinate the affairs of colleagues and stakeholders to uphold the values and integrity of the facility. Leadership is needed for developing and sharing a sound vision whereas strategy is needed to achieve the vision and position the facility within the environment with an incomparable competitive advantage.
