Strength in nursing leadership: the key to the evolution of intellectual capital in nursing

Intellectual capital, what does it mean? After reading several articles on the subject, I found the perfect definition by Leif Edvinsson, the chief architect behind a dynamic and holistic reporting model. According to the model, the hidden factors of human and structural capital, everything that gets left behind when the employee goes home added together comprises intellectual capital. "Human Capital is defined as the combined knowledge, skill, innovativeness, and ability of the company's individual employees to meet the task at hand. It also includes the company's values, culture, and philosophy. Human capital cannot be owned by the company" (Bontis N. Assessing knowledge assets: a review of the models used to measure intellectual capital. Int J Manag Rev. 3(1):41-60). Today there seems to be an extraordinary value being placed on what people know, and yet knowing doesn't always translate into action. The action most often occurs when social connections are strong and numerous so that trust is built and information flows. This article will address how nursing leadership is critical to unleashing the human capital inside every staff nurse.