What makes a good manager?

Jules A, MSN · May 23, 2017

Offers to help on the floor when needed. .

Yes, this! Actually has the ability to help out on the floor!

I'm sure there are exceptions but my favorite nurse managers have been the ones who have been there done that. Seasoned nurses who were willing to get their hands dirty when we were being clobbered and were a help rather than getting in the way attempting to verbally interject their lack of experience all the while clutching their clipboard like its the holy grail. In my experience the best NMs have worked as a nurse, imagine that?, know when a policy coming down the pike is BS and will have the decency to say "look I know this sounds absurd but its the directive so we need to at least attempt it" and then will advocate for the team and stand up to admin when the latest impractical idea from above doesn't work.

Natasha A., CNA, LVN · May 23, 2017

I had one manager who I admire so much till this day. She was very supportive and a great listener. She knew I wanted to pursue a higher education and would kindly donate brand new NCLEX books and A&P learning material for me to have. She would even send me hand-written "Thank You" notes that were personable because she took the time to get to know my strengths. I never had a manager that supportive with great people skills. Best of all, I admire her integrity. She was challenged in many ways, but I witnessed how she handled things with respect and ethics. I always told myself if I ever become manager I want to be like her :)

JerseyTomatoMDCrab, BSN · May 23, 2017

I think the best manager is the kind that remembers what it's like to be a floor nurse, who isn't afraid to get his or her hands dirty and show some solidarty for their staff. I had a manager at a former job who worked 3p-11p. She was the "night manager" since it was such a huge floor and would help with meds, get patients on and off the bedpan, answer call lights. All the time. It was amazing. My first shift ever at my current PRN job ended with my manager coming in, in her scrubs, on a Sunday, to help from 7p-11p until the supplemental 11-7 nurse came in. The sight of those women did more for morale than any silly nurse appreciation week gift I could imagine.

Neats, BSN · May 23, 2017

How I have succeeded as a manager in the Healthcare arena

1. Take care of the staff first

2. Treat others the way you want to be treated-communicate changes at every level

3. Always on a monthly basis hold a one to one with each employee for 10 minutes-record that meeting and then at annual review you have a month by month review so the annual evaluation goes by so fast and employees get credit for what they have done

4. Allow employees working together to set the monthly schedule up-without overtime

5. Allow employees to interview the top 2-3 candidates of a possible new employee, after all they will be working side by side with them and I want to know their top person they want to work with. (this process is supervised by HR)

6. Acknowledge each employees strengths, and challenge employees weakness if they want to improve (if not it is OK, we just focus on something else)

7. Be fair about holidays, seniority does count but allowing for extended holidays/days off for all is important, recognize people have private lives

8. Be assessable to staff-not at all times but times that are conductive to the staff schedule i.e. I come in early 3 times a month by at least 3 hours so the night staff can have a chance to talk, to bring forth improvement and so I can train if needed (I usually bring breakfast), and to recognize management is not only 9-5

9. Adhere to policies and procedures. I have read some of the prior threads. There is a reason for policies and procedures. If they are not working, if they are outdated, if they make you work harder than you should, I need to know before the policy is not going to be followed by staff. We can always revamp/update a policy/procedure

10. Always be on time...be the one in the right uniform, right time, right place

11. Have the ability to say I do not know the answer but if we work on this together...or go to the employee who is subject matter expert, obtain the information and give that employee credit

12. Have a sense of humor, we work in a stressful environment. The ability to laugh at oneself is an attribute that is acquired and comes with thick skin. I once went to the wrong funeral (staff from that facility still send me obits asking if I would like to go)

The above are what makes me succeed as a healthcare manager. Nurses are not taught to be managers/supervisors you ether learn how to be a great manager or you stumble each day. Allowing staff to guide you does help, let them do their job, strive for a healthy work place environment that is free from hostility filled with laughter, and consumed with staff wanting to be there each day.

Amy01 · May 23, 2017

One who is open to all, can respects others equally. Is a friend to all and appreciate his team. Therefore cease to exist

catsmeow1972, BSN, RN · May 23, 2017

i have a management team that I cannot say enough good things about. All of them are easy to talk to and totally understand that i am in a new environment (Many years in the OR, now on the floor) and it's a tough switch. Even when i've had problems with organization and charting and such, it's not been punitive. They really want to help me succeed. For that, i am eternally grateful.

In recent jobs I have had managers that run the gamut from those who probably haven't been within 20 feet of a patient in a coon's age and their overtures of offers to help are totally fake to the ones who would gladly throw their colleagues under a bus (then back that bus over them again) if it meant better recognition and advancement for her. So I have had some pretty crappy managers and it makes me appreciate what I have now that much more.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · May 23, 2017

One that pitches in when you are drowning instead of chasing after you to tell you what you already know you have to do...I will get to it, but I have to put out the fire first. Priorities. If you have the time to chase me down and tell me, you should have the time to maybe do it and have someone call me to let me know it's already done (I will be forever greatful and tell you so when I can finally breathe and take myself off life support, figuratively speaking) Teamwork. Teamwork. Teamwork.

One that answers her phone when I'm left in charge of 110 residents. I'm only calling you because it's an emergency. I've arrived for my shift and NOBODY is HERE (except the residents and their soon to arrive family visitors....HELP ME!!!). Do not leave me to a book of phone numbers that we already know will go to voicemail and no one is willing to come in.

RNperdiem, RN · May 23, 2017

I suspect the majority of what a manager does is invisible to me. Kind of like outsiders see us on the computer and complain that nurses do nothing. I like it when good managers hire quality people who don't need heavy-handed management. Quality coworkers makes work so much better.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · May 23, 2017

I've had good managers and bad ones, too. The good ones will listen to the story, the problem, both sides of the argument before reacting.
The good managers will support their employees and then, if required, discipline them behind the scenes. I had a colleague make a really dumb mistake, and she made it in the middle of physician rounds. Voices were heard loudly exclaiming about the morons that work in this ICU, and how did someone so stupid make it through nursing school. The manager went in, defused the situation, told the physicians they needed to apologize for their rudeness toward her nurse (and waited until they did) and then whisked the nurse into her office for a little talk. Only after my colleague was done crying over being humiliated so publically did the manager discuss the actual mistake with her. And although not everyone knows it, there was discipline involved as well. The bad ones -- and this was me -- will pile on publically and then never seek out the rest of the story. "Did you, Ruby, tell Dr. Iusedtobeapathologistandamnowtryingoutcardiacsurgery that he was a moron?" "No, ma'am. I only told him that if he wanted to do a heart transplant on every patient who had a cardiac tamponade, he'd better have a cousin in the enforcer business to go around and line up donors for us. He told me that only an idiot would say that to a man who had just finished telling a patient's wife her husband was going to die without a transplant, so I told him that only a moron would talk to the wife about a heart transplant without at least checking with his Fellow about opening the chest because the experienced ICU told him his patient had a tamponade and he needed to get on it NOW rather than after his pizza break." (OK -- I was somewhat more tactful -- but the manager didn't understand my POINT. The patient had a tamponade -- needed to be fixed now. He didn't need a transplant, although he would have needed a pine box had the charge nurse not dragged the Fellow out of the OR -- the resident was so sure he was right and I was wrong he wouldn't even PAGE him -- and we opened the chest.) She told me I needed to apologize to Iusedtobeapathologistandamnowtryingoutcardiacsurgery; the Cardiac Surgery Fellow brought HIM to apologize to ME.
A bad manager tells you that if you need Wednesday off because the biopsy came back positive and the HMO's only oncologist is only available on Wednesday in the clinic three hours away, you'll need to find your own replacement. A good manager asks you how you're doing, and if Wednesday is the absolute soonest you can get an appointment and if she can call her friend who is the oncologist's scheduler's mother to see about getting you in sooner. And by the way, I've taken you off the schedule for Wednesday and if you need any other days off, please let me know.
A poor manager hears about you being on your cell phone all day while your orientee (who is nearing the end of her orientation) and tells you that you're obviously not fit to precept. A good manager asks you if anything is going on at home, because you're not usually on the phone at work. When you tell her that Mom has Alzheimer's and your sister programmed your cell phone number into Mom's direct dial and Mom has been calling you all day looking for your father, who died two years ago, a good manager takes you off the schedule so that you can fly home and sort out Mom's living situation, faxes the FMLA papers to you in hour home town that is so small there's no cell phone coverage and sends you an Edible Arrangement because that's all you have the time and energy to eat.
A bad manager accosts you at 7:35, waves your rhythm strip which is already analyzed and signed in your face and says "This is inadequate charting." A good manager wanders by at 7:35, sees that you've already posted your rhythm strip and says "Good -- now we'll have documentation that he actually WAS in atrial fib so that cardiology resident will have to believe that nurses can distinguish A fib from that other rhythm."
A good manager either knows the job and can do it well, or understands the outlines of the job and trusts her staff to do the job well and believes them when they tell her that they need more X, Y and Z and perhaps someone could talk to Dr. Dick and explain to him that "Yes, nurses can analyze a rhythm and if he ever again refuses to come when called because of a serious dysrhythmia, she'll be having a talk about it with the Highest Head Honcho of Doctoring." A bad manager will talk to her nurses about not pestering Dr. Dick at nigh because he needs his sleep.

Ruby Vee, I love your stories!

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · May 23, 2017

I think "will come in scrubs to help out" is a common denominator. Spend some time away from the desk!

Boomer MS, RN · May 24, 2017

I've had good managers and bad ones, too. The good ones will listen to the story, the problem, both sides of the argument before reacting.
The good managers will support their employees and then, if required, discipline them behind the scenes. I had a colleague make a really dumb mistake, and she made it in the middle of physician rounds. Voices were heard loudly exclaiming about the morons that work in this ICU, and how did someone so stupid make it through nursing school. The manager went in, defused the situation, told the physicians they needed to apologize for their rudeness toward her nurse (and waited until they did) and then whisked the nurse into her office for a little talk. Only after my colleague was done crying over being humiliated so publically did the manager discuss the actual mistake with her. And although not everyone knows it, there was discipline involved as well. The bad ones -- and this was me -- will pile on publically and then never seek out the rest of the story. "Did you, Ruby, tell Dr. Iusedtobeapathologistandamnowtryingoutcardiacsurgery that he was a moron?" "No, ma'am. I only told him that if he wanted to do a heart transplant on every patient who had a cardiac tamponade, he'd better have a cousin in the enforcer business to go around and line up donors for us. He told me that only an idiot would say that to a man who had just finished telling a patient's wife her husband was going to die without a transplant, so I told him that only a moron would talk to the wife about a heart transplant without at least checking with his Fellow about opening the chest because the experienced ICU told him his patient had a tamponade and he needed to get on it NOW rather than after his pizza break." (OK -- I was somewhat more tactful -- but the manager didn't understand my POINT. The patient had a tamponade -- needed to be fixed now. He didn't need a transplant, although he would have needed a pine box had the charge nurse not dragged the Fellow out of the OR -- the resident was so sure he was right and I was wrong he wouldn't even PAGE him -- and we opened the chest.) She told me I needed to apologize to Iusedtobeapathologistandamnowtryingoutcardiacsurgery; the Cardiac Surgery Fellow brought HIM to apologize to ME.
A bad manager tells you that if you need Wednesday off because the biopsy came back positive and the HMO's only oncologist is only available on Wednesday in the clinic three hours away, you'll need to find your own replacement. A good manager asks you how you're doing, and if Wednesday is the absolute soonest you can get an appointment and if she can call her friend who is the oncologist's scheduler's mother to see about getting you in sooner. And by the way, I've taken you off the schedule for Wednesday and if you need any other days off, please let me know.
A poor manager hears about you being on your cell phone all day while your orientee (who is nearing the end of her orientation) and tells you that you're obviously not fit to precept. A good manager asks you if anything is going on at home, because you're not usually on the phone at work. When you tell her that Mom has Alzheimer's and your sister programmed your cell phone number into Mom's direct dial and Mom has been calling you all day looking for your father, who died two years ago, a good manager takes you off the schedule so that you can fly home and sort out Mom's living situation, faxes the FMLA papers to you in hour home town that is so small there's no cell phone coverage and sends you an Edible Arrangement because that's all you have the time and energy to eat.
A bad manager accosts you at 7:35, waves your rhythm strip which is already analyzed and signed in your face and says "This is inadequate charting." A good manager wanders by at 7:35, sees that you've already posted your rhythm strip and says "Good -- now we'll have documentation that he actually WAS in atrial fib so that cardiology resident will have to believe that nurses can distinguish A fib from that other rhythm."
A good manager either knows the job and can do it well, or understands the outlines of the job and trusts her staff to do the job well and believes them when they tell her that they need more X, Y and Z and perhaps someone could talk to Dr. Dick and explain to him that "Yes, nurses can analyze a rhythm and if he ever again refuses to come when called because of a serious dysrhythmia, she'll be having a talk about it with the Highest Head Honcho of Doctoring." A bad manager will talk to her nurses about not pestering Dr. Dick at nigh because he needs his sleep.

Ruby Vee,

You are truly a great story teller, or a writer of interesting exemplars, as some would note.

oldandintheway · May 24, 2017

I experienced leadership and management training in a very unforgiving environment a long time ago and dealt with the harshest peer review imaginable, would they come back for you when your a** was hanging in the wind. I learned the single most important quality of a leader is to protect your team, then make sure everyone has what they need to succeed (training, tools, defined roles, and a plan succession) Recruit and hire for cohesiveness, be responsible for a unit culture that thrives on high performance and teamwork.

A good manager takes responsibility for short comings as well as rewards success.

Then this manger gets ground to dust by corporate management, and all those people that hang around the part of the hospital with carpet on the floors. And the older staff will sometimes say "remember so and so, he was a good manager what ever happened to him"