Strategic Directions

Advancing Knowledge, Learning and Service

The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International influences and changes the health of people by engaging the intellectual capital of nurses around the globe. By developing and building connections with diverse people and entities, the honor society enables nurses to collectively and individually develop, use and apply their knowledge to make a difference for the greater good of people’s well-being.

Founded to advance the knowledge, learning and service of nurses, the honor society focuses on scholarship and leadership in its social and ethical commitment to excellence.

During the next four years, the Honor Society of Nursing, through its stakeholders, will use knowledge and research guided by social responsibility to improve the health of the world. With informed leadership and service to others based on the cultivation of collaborative relationships within and between our respective communities, the honor society will make distinct and visible the value of nursing to global health.

Having built a strong organization, based on a call to renewal, the honor society must strategically harness the internal strength of the organization for a greater impact in the external environment. By capturing the collective wisdom of the honor society from evaluation and assessment of accomplishments and future trends, the Futures Advisory Council has crafted a living plan open to continuous evolution, for creating a desired future.

This document addresses the core values of a responsive organization committed to five strategic directions that will guide and sustain the honor society as it fulfills its mission.

Vision

The vision of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International is to create a global community of nurses who lead in using knowledge, scholarship, service and learning to improve the health of the world’s people

Mission

The mission of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International is to support the learning, knowledge and professional development of nurses committed to making a difference in health worldwide.

Strategic Directions

KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge is defined as that body of information gained from science and inquiry and research. It is developed, disseminated and transferred through and from research to improve health for all. Knowledge is evaluated using the best available evidence including: research findings; nursing expertise; and the values, preferences and experiences of the people served. Knowledge is used to shape decisions and action, informing and being informed by professional nursing. The honor society will lead in the development and transfer of knowledge through the following strategic actions:

• Champion knowledge and research development and dissemination opportunities for all areas of professional nursing.
• Augment funding for knowledge development and research activities.
• Build and develop linkages around knowledge and research between nurses and other disciplines.
• Provide technological infrastructure to support knowledge creation and distribution globally.
• Stimulate the clinical practice of nursing, guided by science.
• Create and integrate culturally significant knowledge transfer models and methods.
• Engage in educational activities that demonstrate application of nursing knowledge for the greater social-ethical good.
• Generate and publicize evidence regarding nursing impact on health care.
• Communicate the contributions of nursing knowledge to society well-being.

LEADERSHIP
Leadership involves a social responsibility to use knowledge and collective expertise, resulting in nursing actions that transform the health of communities and environments. Transformation involves influencing the choices individuals and groups make for lasting, positive change. The honor society will focus on the development of creative nurse leaders in all areas of practice who influence and transform communities and environments through the following strategic actions:

• Develop the leadership knowledge, skills and talents of nurses across the span of their careers.
• Design leadership development and succession models through global relationship building.
• Create forums for dialogue about nursing influence on strategic change.
• Link collective expertise of nurses with people having diverse perspectives.
• Provide models and methods for nurses to lead in a socially responsible manner in
  health-related communities and environments.
• Position nurse leaders to act and influence the health of communities.
• Influence the health policy-making process through the involvement and leadership of
  nurses.
• Build leadership alliances for collaborative action and change around health issues.

SERVICE
Service is the application of knowledge and leadership used to make a desirable difference for others. Commitment to service involves collective accountability and securing public trust. It is evidenced by action and the application of knowledge for social-ethical good. Service requires the development of social and professional networks that respond to the public need. Through the honor society’s commitment to service and its professional networks, the vision and value of nursing will become more evident. The following strategic actions will support this direction.

• Foster social responsibility awareness in the personal and professional lives of nurses.
• Support service commitments through communities of interest in practice, education and research.
• Act as a catalyst for consumer/clinician health care dialogues.
• Foster the development of clinical practice solutions, based on identified health needs and trends.
• Stimulate relationship building between professional nursing and other disciplines.
• Create strategic alliances and partnerships among professional networks.
• Provide models and methods that demonstrate the value of nursing in health systems.
• Celebrate nursing excellence in public forums.
• Generate and publicize evidence regarding nursing contributions to health care.

COMMUNITIES
Communities are diverse networks of individuals and groups drawn together by commitment to common values and purposes. Communities are created through relationships encompassing collaboration, cooperation, consensus building, alliance formation and partnerships. The honor society will promote the development of communities among the nurses of excellence within its membership, chapters and beyond to address issues of importance aligned with the vision, mission and strategic directions of the organization. These knowledge, learning and service communities will represent purposeful inclusiveness, have distinctive identities and come together in a fluid, transparent manner for the common goal of people’s health. Strategic actions include the following:

• Build diverse communities that foster relationship-centered, collaborative leadership connecting social and intellectual capital of the organization.
• Create culturally responsive models and mechanisms of community that maximize the talents and interests of individuals within communities in professional networks.
• Activate methods of engagement that demonstrate social responsibility through community service.
• Provide opportunities to build effective communication skill sets that support cross-cultural learning and relationship building among nurses globally.
• Act as a catalyst providing venues for building professional networks that act on health issues of importance.
• Stimulate dialogue with consumers about the value of nursing knowledge and expertise to the health of their communities.
• Design methods that foster global community building through innovations in education, communications and technology.
• Respect and celebrate the diversity within the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International community.

SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is the cultivation, acquisition, stewardship and development of human and
fiscal assets that preserve the vision, values and legacy of the honor society. Sustainability
supports all of the strategic directions. The honor society will meet its corporate accountability through engagement in philanthropic activities, prudent management and the following strategic actions:

• Develop policies and practices that support social responsibility and collective accountability.
• Assess and systematically evaluate corporate, fiscal and operational performance.
• Assess and systematically evaluate organizational partnerships and strategic alliances.
• Align sustainability goals and activities across all subsidiary corporations.
• Safeguard the real and personal property of the organization.
• Prioritize fiscal resources with strategic directions.
• Stimulate learning about philanthropy in order to increase the base of charitable contributions.
• Seek financial support through cultivation of strategic relationships and entrepreneurship.
• Develop fiscal policies and practices sensitive to a global environment.