After the Evidence

[NCineas]

Now that you know what the evidence shows, Are you holding your staff accountable? Leadership without accountability doesn't work. I can't tell you the number of issues I have seen in organizations that stem from lack of accountability. Nurse managers must hold staff accountable in order to achieve great outcomes. I find managers have a hard time confronting small to large issues. The minute you let a small issue go by with addressing it is the minute it will develop into a systemic issue on your unit. Managers need to hold staff accountable from the small things to the big things. Staff want to be managed. Staff want a strong leader. The key is understanding the players on your team and the delivering the message based on the individuals characteristics.

[toomuchbaloney]

Nurse managers manage budgets, manage staffing schedules, manage issues, etc.

When they try to manage professional staff they run into problems.

Professionals engaged in their work typically prefer leadership to management. They prefer to be engaged in problem solving and process improvement and don't appreciate someone telling them how to do their jobs.

Teams are built on trust and accountability. There has to be room for honest discussion of issues so that the evidence can be examined and considered in relationship to the work and flow of the department. When staff have a department manager who will respect their needs and their opinions, whom they trust, they can be very creative and can come up with some very creative and innovative solutions to problems.

Good department managers engage their staff, empower them to problem solve, and lead them through implementing process improvement whenever that is an option. When that is the standard in the department the staff are much more accepting of the things which MUST be dictated to them, over which the manager has no control.

Good department managers understand how to develop and support teams and team members.

IMHO