In A Quandry - What To Say

[TrudyRN]

Hi, I am seeking advice.

I am wondering if I should apply for a promotion. Actually I already applied, just it is now time for the next step (interview). I would be supervising my current peers and people that I already supervise, just in a higher capacity. This can be awkward but I can live through it.

I have mixed feelings, as I really don't much like to tell others what to do :nono:and am not really very good at disciplinary measures. Actually, I'm good at that but not so good at giving clear directives and at coaching people, which should certainly come before any disciplinary measures (depending on the situation, of course). But if I am uncertain about how to handle something, I tend to talk softly and indecisively and that is confusing to the troops, who then do not want to follow or feel comfortable following.

Also, If I don't know the answer to something, I am not reluctant to admit it but I think supervisors are expected to know everything and never to admit they don't and that it is considered a sign of weakness to not be able to "think on one's feet" and to bluff and bluster and I am just not so good at that. I tend to figure that people can see through that, just as I can when my boss does it to me. So I respect them enough to be straightforward and just say I don't know and then go find out. But that seems not to be the desired way, with a lot of people anyway, maybe with some it's fine. I tend to be open and honest, not a BS'er, if you know what I mean. And that is not good, it seems, for supervisors.

There is an awful lot about the place that I do not know, even though I am very good at my present job, have good attendance and punctuality and no c/o from other staff or any patients and their families. Plus, I know I could learn whatever I need to learn.

I do need the extra pay, I am bored in my present position but not that bored but still... How come my peers, who have been there much longer than I, aren't applying? Does that have anything to do with what I should or shouldn't do?

I'm just in knots, very stressed, what to do, thanks for any advice. What questions and comments should I make at the interview? Have to shop for new outfit, do hair, nails, teeth, wash car just to feel uplifted mentally, etc. :uhoh21:

[llg, PhD, RN]

I find it interesting that your post listed all the reasons you should NOT be chosen for the job and NONE of the reasons why you should. What does that tell you?

If you can't identify why you should be chosen for the job and what skills and strengths you will bring to the job, then you are probably not the right person for the job. Perhaps you should try to rewrite you OP, this time emphasizing the reasons you why you want the job and why you are the right person for the job. Start with that and build from there to focus on any specific areas of concern you may have.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

How come my peers, who have been there much longer than I, aren't applying?

I know this is just a tiny piece of the question but I wanted to respond. People turn down management roles for a million reasons. I've been a line manager and an upper manager. Afer years of that I took a consultant job where I never again have to schedule, discipline, cover sick calls and maternity leaves, yell at people for showing up late etc. I get to work my hours and no more. I've got a union that takes care of me. I don't have to do extra, unpaid, just to keep up.

Some people do not want to be in charge. Some people hate it and the money doesn't matter. Some people just love hands on care. Others loathe being trapped in meetings. Or politics.

Don't worry about why other people don't want the job. Think about why you DO.

Best wishes to you!

[TrudyRN]

Hmm, good observation, llg. Thank you.

Ok, let's see. I have need of the higher pay, I wouldn't mind the prestige (a little ego there, sorry), and not having to clock in and out are perks I'd like. I have many years of Nursing experience and a broad-based background, which gives me a strong, solid Nursing foundation. I want patients properly cared for and I want nurses to have what they need to do their jobs well and in a way that satisfies them so they are happy - supplies, manageable workloads, time for breaks (and I will relieve them myself as often as possible or have a float nurse who's free to do it), back-up and be an extra pair of hands in times of patients crashing or nurses being criticized by docs, visitors, whoever. I'm very good at smoothing ruffled feathers and have never had a complaint I couldn't resolve or a complainer I couldn't satisfy. This skill alone is worth so very much.

I view my work as a service to all of God's people and try to honor Him in all that I do. That means treating everyone as I want to be treated. Sometimes I fall short but I do try. I know how to staff and I know how to make peace when tempers flare. I don't hesitate to do a write-up when all else fails. I don't like doing disciplinary stuff but sometimes it is necessary and I do it.

Where I feel weak is in knowing all the answers to questions and problems that will come up. I know I won't have all the answers but I don't want staff to know that or my bosses to think I'm not competent when what the problem really is is a lack of experience in the supervisory role that I would be learning.

I do feel somewhat uncomfortable dealing with Admin types but would do that minimally, as they are off-site. I would report only major stuff to them and that happens rarely. There will be meetings and that's ok, as the way to handle them is to almost always remain silent and to never, ever express disagreement with the boss.

Thanks for helping me express this. LOL, I sound like I almost have a halo, huh? :innerconf:thankya::bowingpur:bow:

Quickbeam, you're so right. I have done it before, the things you are saying, and you are so very right. I do rather enjoy my present role of being a line worker. There is a certain peace to it but I am bored and getting sort of crabby and short-tempered with my regular coworkers and that's not good. I know I need some change. Don't want to resign or switch employers.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Much better, Trudy. Now, that sounds like a serious candidate for a promotion. Good job!

There is something that I would advise you to reconsider. No reasonable person expects you to know all the answers. What they expect is that you know how to FIND the answer and to have the integrity to pursue the correct answer -- to not settle for less. You should appear to have enough confidence in yourself so that not knowing all the answers doesn't detract from other people's confidence in you -- but you don't actually need to know everything. The key is to know where and how to use your resources to find the answers. Being confident in your ability to use resources is what gives you that necessary confident air.

[TrudyRN]

I did not find this to be the case in the past. Staff nurses expect supervisors to know it where I work, not have to look it up. They bytch and moan and stab you in the back and talk badly about you even if you do know and I have heard them c/o that the current supervisor is outdated and unhelpful when they ask her for help. Somehow, this type of c/o always gets back to the bigger bosses. It doesn't matter for the current sup, as she is resigning but it would matter for me.

BTW, congrats on your wt loss! I need to lose a few pounds myself.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If they really expect you to be perfect, then that sounds like an expectation that NO ONE can meet -- and anyone who takes the position would be doomed to fail. I wouldn't want to set myself up for failure like that. I would only be interested in the job if it were made clear from the beginning that the expectations would be reasonable.