SPOTLIGHT ON A LEADER
CINDY R. BALKSTRA
Sunday, December 14, 2008
• Name: Cindy R. Balkstra, MS, RN, CNS-BC
• Current jobs: President, Georgia Nurses Association; Pro re nata (PRN) pulmonary clinical nurse specialist for St. Joseph’s/Candler in Savannah; PRN for Chestatee Hospital in Dahlonega, United Hospice in Gainesville and Cardinal Health.
• Past jobs: Staff nurse, nursing educator and applied nursing supervisor at University of California San Francisco Medical Center (1981 to 1994); pulmonary clinical nurse specialist at St. Joseph’s/Candler, where she helped develop the pulmonary center (1995 to present).
• Recent accomplishment: Elected chair of the American Nurses Association’s Constituent Assembly, which is comprised of the presidents and CEOs of the state nurses associations affiliated with the ANA. She will serve a two-year term.
• Family: Balkstra lives with her husband, Marlon, and eight cats in Dahlonega.
• What makes a good leader? “A good leader has to be an excellent communicator and have good listening skills. You have to be honest with others and can’t be afraid to say, ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I want to think about that.’
“Following up on the details of the job is important, but much of what leaders need to know how to do is build consensus. That’s what I do a lot. You have to be comfortable with strong personalities and conflict. But at some point, the leader must say, ‘Let’s come together and see where there is common ground.’ ”
• What are you most proud of in your career? “Being elected president of the Georgia Nurses Association was my proudest career moment. I had a very strong opponent who was better-known than I was, but my friends and co-workers in Savannah went to bat for me. They staged a grassroots campaign by sending out postcards and making phone calls. It made me proud to win for them, and especially to know that they believed in me”
• Who has inspired or mentored you? “Eunice Bell, another clinical nurse specialist, took me under her wing when I moved to Savannah. We met at a GNA meeting in 1995. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and is community-oriented. She’s fairly outspoken — something we share — and she helped me make good career moves.
“She was one of the people I consulted before deciding to run for GNA president, because I wanted her thoughts on my ability to do the job. She still mentors me.”
• Away from work: “I like to read, listen to music, travel and play with my cats. I find that riding motorcycles uses a completely different side of my brain and requires such different skills. It humbles me.”
• Rule to live by: “The Golden Rule. I believe in being respectful of others and treating them as you would like to be treated.”
— By Laura Raines, Pulse editor. Do you know a health care leader who deserves to be recognized? Send an e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com.