Charge nurse is non-confrontational
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Dear Joan:
I am a Registered Nurse in a sea of Licensed Vocational Nurses, with diverse backgrounds. They fight continuously because some work and others hide and read books. I am new to the clinic and am charge nurse while the head nurse is out.
I am non-confrontational and appear to have sucker written on my forehead. My question is how to approach the situation without fear (and the Joint Commission is coming next week).
I am older and have been in nursing 25 years; however I’ve only been an RN for a few years, so conflict management is a work in progress. I hope you can help, thank you.
Answer:
As a charge nurse, who is only in charge on occasion, you will need to join forces with the head nurse to change this dysfunctional culture. If you try to step in on your own, you will be caught in the cross fire and have little success.
I have been involved with similar situations in health care and this battle can only be won with a unified front of leaders, who establish standards of behavior and stick to them. It can take years to turn this around but with consistent diligence it can be done.
If the head nurse doesn’t support this strategy and either backs down, or applies standards inconsistently, the “prison will be run by the inmates”. However, if she agrees to take back her job as leader, you will need to step up your skills and assertively confront inappropriate behavior, as well.
Here’s how I’d do it:
Ask for a meeting with your boss and talk frankly about the state of the department and your desire to help her create a fair, respectful, healthy work environment. Share your opinion that standards need to be reestablished and people need to be held accountable…even if it’s easier to look the other way. Tell her that it will be difficult at first but over time, it will get easier as people either get the message, or lose their jobs.
If she agrees, discuss reasonable standards that you both agree on—respect your coworkers, do your share, timely breaks, use “down time” to help others, face-to-face discussions (not backstabbing), etc. Create a list and call a meeting of the team.
During the meeting, don’t point fingers or lecture. Calmly and firmly share the list and give each person a copy. Ask each person to score how they think the team is doing on each item. 1=lowest 10=highest. They hand it in and one of you writes the numbers on a flipchart or white board.
Ask the group to discuss the numbers and lead the discussion toward the conclusion that they all have to work together to move these scores up. You may want to get them in groups of three or four to get more dialogue. Tell them you will keep these numbers and in three months and six months you will be asking them to rate the team again. This process will create some awareness of the changes that are expected and creates a level playing field—no one will be caught by surprise. It will also create some hope and, ideally, get some buy-in.
Ask each of them for a commitment to take some personal steps to improve the group’s effectiveness. Ask for ideas of some simple, respectful things they could do to begin to move the numbers upward.
Tell them that the leaders are committed to changing the culture and you hope they will be positive contributors to that end. Give them fair warning that inappropriate behavior and violations of the Team’s Code of Behavior could result in everything from a reminder to disciplinary action.
Then go on the lookout for any positive efforts. Notice and compliment any helpfulness, teamwork, or any work toward the end goals.
When tattling increases, be measured and diligent in following up objectively on the issue. Encourage the tattler to go to the person and have a one-to-one conversation that isn’t blaming or angry. It won’t happen at first, but over time you will know progress is being made when it happens. The tattlers—although annoying—are demonstrating their desire to make things better.
Identify the most positive and effective performers and make a special effort to notice and thank them. The fence sitters are waiting to see which way to fall—so give them a reason to go toward the best performers.
The most negative and poor performers will test you. They will threaten others, ignore your standards, and find reasons to find fault with everyone but themselves. Don’t give them an inch. Most of the worst will fire themselves. Let the standards do the work.
If you fear confrontation, inspire your efforts by reminding yourself that the good employees are silently begging you to make this a better place to work. And your patients deserve it, too. In the end, you will be proud of what you have created and the team will respect you for it.
Does your team need a tune-up? W
e will conduct a detailed assessment and get to the bottom of the problem. We will provide you with detailed recommendations and work with you, and your team, to implement needed changes. We work with all levels within your organization, team or department. We have an excellent track record of success with teams in a variety of industries. Call us today for information at (800) 348-1944.
Confronting poor performance, or difficult behaviors, is difficult. Joan Lloyd’s
How to Coach & Give Feedback CD is a step-by-step approach to giving feedback to your employees, your coworkers, or even your boss. Actually reduces defensiveness and encourages open communication.
Joan Lloyd is a Milwaukee based executive coach and organizational & leadership development strategist. She is known for her ability to help leaders and their teams achieve measurable, lasting improvements. Joan Lloyd & Associates, specializes in leadership development, organizational change and teambuilding, providing: executive coaching, CEO coaching & team coaching, 360-degree feedback processes, customized training (leadership skills, presentation skills, internal consulting skills & facilitation skills), team conflict resolution and retreat facilitation.
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