Leadership articles – Page 5

Team strength through diversity

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.”

~ Malcolm Forbes

The combination of digital technology and the availability of dependable travel has linked people in distant areas of the globe and opened the door to blending cultures through unusual partnerships. With the click of a mouse, executives in the United States can have a video conference with just about anyone, anywhere in the world. People who were previously separated by geographical boundaries can now interact freely with one another thus creating the opportunity for diversity of thought within their organization.

In addition to connectedness created by technology, immigrants fleeing terrorism or seeking opportunities for employment are flooding across borders both in Europe and America, changing the ethnic makeup of the population, and contributing to diversity in host countries. Clearly, demographics are changing in many areas of the world and organizations on the cutting edge of their industry welcome and capitalize on opportunities that accompany diversity. Cultural diversity in the workplace is promoted when employers actively seek to hire employees from every religious and ethnic background and then capitalize on the variety of experiences that they bring to the workplace. Building a diverse team strengthens the organization and here is why.

A member of the Q6 customer service team in Perth, Australia, R. Heryati documents the following advantages that arise from a diverse workgroup:

Increased productivity
Improved creativity
Increased profits
Improved employee engagement
Reduced employee turnover
Improved company reputation

Writing for Entrapraneur.com, author Kim Abreu adds to the list of advantages to having diversity on a team by noting that diversity correlates with improving innovation and recruiting. From blogs to books, authors evaluating the relationship between diversity and productivity affirm the importance of having a diverse team when seeking creative answers to workplace challenges.

Two types of diversity are commonly found in the modern healthcare workplace; cultural and interprofessional.

Cultural diversity refers to a person’s family heritage. Do people at your workplace have different skin color, facial features and hair color? Do they speak a second language? What religious holidays do they celebrate? The greater the variation between individual workers, the more diverse the workplace.

Interprofessional diversity arises from the mix of professions that must work collaboratively to render evidenced-based care to the patient. Doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff are only a few of the professions that combine their efforts in a busy hospital environment. Each sub-group has a different purpose, has received different specialty training and brings a different perspective to the table when discussing issues and developing plans. In an ideal situation, every sub-group will have equal say and be given equal respect when interprofessional teams are formed to address issues or create policies. The term abrasive collaboration is used to describe diverse professional groups working collaboratively to find a mutual solution while, at the same time, ensuring that their individual professional needs are met.

4 ways to promote diversity in your workplace

Educate yourself. Connect one on one with people on your team and learn about their family’s country of origin and family traditions that carry over to today. If members of your team have different religious beliefs, learn about their traditions. Adjust your work schedule to enable team members to attend important religious or cultural activities.

Solicit different perspectives. In personal conversations and at team meetings openly encourage each person to voice their point of view. Seeking a variety of opinions is especially effective with reference to interprofessional groups. To be effective, the hierarchical “doctor knows best” attitude must be replaced by a commitment to collaboration where each person has an equal say.

Develop diversity activities. Include dates on the team calendar that recognize the culture or religion of your team members. Encourage people to share their traditions with the group and schedule ethnic food days to celebrate the various cultures represented on your team. When team members celebrate one another’s heritage, they respect for the contributions that each person makes to the team and become more receptive to their ideas.

Be the leader. You are the leader and set the tone for the workplace. If you are dismissive of diverse thoughts, your team will follow your example. Conversely, if you welcome and openly solicit diversity, your team will follow your lead. Openly welcome both cultural and interprofessional diversity in your workplace.

The best ideas arise from many ideas combining ideas from people with different cultural and professional background strengthens the team. First, assemble the right group and then be inclusive of their ideas when making decisions. Doing so will position you and your team for success.

“When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization.” ~Pat Wadors, Head of HR at LinkedIn

“If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don’t particularly like.”

~Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda

Tom is a noted author, speaker and mentor. Contact tom@procrna.com for information about the 4-part values-based leadership webinar series.

Legend in Leadership: John C. Maxwell

By Thomas Davis CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

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“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts.

It is about one life influencing another.”

~John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell has bestowed a lasting gift to those in leadership positions throughout the world by his commitment to developing leaders at all levels of the chain of command. Born in 1946, John Maxwell is the son of a minister who followed his father’s call to the cloth, earning a bachelor’s degree at Ohio Christian University and a master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University. While working as a pastor, he found that his greatest gift to society lay in leading others to discover their true talents.

John and his brother Larry are the co-founders of EQUIP, a non-profit organization that is founded on the premise “We believe that every person is born with the potential to influence others.” The organization is based on Christian values and has taught over 5 million people in 126 countries techniques to motivate and empower one another. Maxwell’s style of leadership coaching is based connectedness and the development of interpersonal relationships which create a synergy and makes everyone a better person.

John’s success with his approach to leadership coaching has grown into a multi-million-dollar organization that offers books, articles, seminars, and keynote speaking to audiences worldwide. With sales topping $18 million for copies of his 12 books and having written countless articles, John Maxwell has established himself as a legend in leadership development.

Reviewing the lifelong work of John Maxwell reveals that his highly successful approach to leadership is built upon five essential elements – Vision, Values, Relationships, Attitude and Communication.

Vision “Great leaders always seem to embody two seemingly disparate qualities. They are both highly visionary and highly practical.” ~Maxwell. Effective leaders can visualize what their workplace would look like if collaborative teamwork opened the door to peak performance. Leading a team starts with being able to see the end point and relentlessly working to get there.

Values “The respect that leadership must have requires that one’s ethics be without question. A leader not only stays above the line between right and wrong, he stays well clear of the ‘gray areas.'” ~Maxwell. Values provide an essential navigation tool for guiding a team. Aligning personal and organizational values will establish the standard for behavior that is acceptable in the workplace and forms a basis for decision-making.

Relationships “The bottom line in leadership isn’t how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others.” ~Maxwell. Productivity moves at the speed of relationships and in John’s own words, “interaction fuels action.” Maxwell describes 5 levels of leadership and at level 2 the leader connects one on one with each team member. Those who make the effort to connect with others open the door to two-way relationships that produce unexpected rewards. “The rewards leaders give are counterbalanced by the results that their people give in return.” ~Maxwell

Attitude “The leader’s Attitude is like a thermostat for the place she works. If her attitude is good, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the environment is easy to work in. But if her attitude is bad, the temperature is insufferable.” ~Maxwell. Attitude is contagious and how you show up each day is quickly perceived and copied by members of your team. Per John Maxwell, “people hear your words, but they feel your attitude.” Be a leader and set the tone for your workgroup. Leverage your position and exude the attitude that will elevate your team.

Communication “If you really want to be an uncommon leader, you’re going to have to find a way to get much of your vision seen, implemented, and added to by others.” ~Maxwell. The key to communication is delivering information in an open and transparent manner and then listening to feedback that it generates. In his book, Everyone communicates, few connect, Maxwell reinforces the importance of listening to understand the other person as a way of broadening diversity of thought. “As a leader, you will never get ahead until your people are behind you.” ~Maxwell

Now in his 70’s, Maxwell’s lifelong commitment to leadership development has earned him the status of being a legend in leadership. His books, seminars and leadership coaching has directly touched the lives of millions of leaders and indirectly touched the lives of those they supervise. In the words of John Maxwell, “leaders stretch with challenges, followers struggle with challenges and losers shrink from challenges.” Follow Maxwell’s five essential elements for effective leadership and become a legend in your own workplace.

Tom is a noted author, speaker and mentor. Contact tom@procrna.com for information about the 4-part values-based leadership webinar series.

The Listening Leader

The Listening Leader

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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Leaders who listen are positioned to build productive teams. According to the Harvard Business Review analysis of employee engagement and productivity, employees are 31 percent more productive with 37 percent higher sales on average when they are happy or satisfied. Building a happy, satisfied team of employees is multi-faceted and based on the worker’s perception of being valued and respected. At the core of feeling valued and respected is the perception of being heard by leadership, that “my opinion matters.” Ergo, effective leaders listen.

Writing in Inc.com magazine, author Samuel Edwards offers 6 tips for enhancing employee satisfaction. At the top of the list is listening. Edwards emphasizes the importance of listening when he says, “By listening to your employees, you show that you respect their opinions and truly value them as part of the organization.” The same can be said of the importance of listening to your clients as evidenced by the 2013 report issued by CMS that indicated 6 in 10 patients stated that they were not listened to or respected. Satisfaction is enhanced by Value and Respect. Sound familiar?

In a recent Prosynex on-line webinar for CRNA leaders, we discussed listening as a powerful tool for leaders who are intent upon building a productive team and preferred workplace. We had a stimulating dialogue regarding the levels of listening, after which, we reviewed techniques for improving listening skills. Below is a summary of our discussion of the three articles covered in the webinar.

Team members seek the attention of the leader and want to share personal or professional thoughts with the expectation that they will be heard; but, if the leader’s mind is elsewhere, both people walk away empty. In our first article from the Black Swan group, Derek Gaunt notes that there are 5 levels of listening:

Level 1 Listening for the gist The listener’s mind is elsewhere while the person is talking. The listener may nod and say, “ya, ya” as the person talks but very little is absorbed. If the listener is texting or checking email while talking, the speaker is tuned out.

Level 2 Listening to rebut The listener is actively preparing a reply as the person is talking. The listener is more intent on defending his/her point of view than learning about the issues motivating the talker. The listener learns nothing new and the talker walks away feeling invalidated.

Level 3 Listening to logic The listener is aware of both the words that are being spoken as well as the logic driving them. Without the need to be defensive or rebut the talker, the listener is able to learn new information and gain insight into the speaker’s point of view.

Level 4 Listening to emotion The listener is aware that many issues emerging to the surface are triggered by emotion. Moving beyond the logic of the points being made allows the listener to observe body language and voice inflection that may reveal any underlying emotions, such as fear or anxiety, at the core of the concern.

Level 5 Listening for the greater world view The listener walks away with an awareness of the foundational values that the speaker. During the conversation, the speaker may leave clues about whether he/she is liberal, conservative, religious, financially responsible and many other basic personality traits.

Our consensus during this part of the Prosynex discussion was that “most leaders tend to listen at levels 1 and 2.” But, by semi-consciously tuning out, or consciously rebutting a speaker, the leader shows disrespect and misses a valuable opportunity to connect with team members. Avoid assuming a defensive posture and move to the preferable next step of listening by attentively tuning in to the logic behind the other person’s words. Effective listening is respectful and empowering for both parties.

We pursued this pithy discussion by reviewing 6 tips for becoming a more effective leader as suggested by author, Glen Llopis, in Forbes magazine.

Show that you care. Have a physical presence with your team and take an active interest in their concerns. When people talk to you, give them your full attention and never allow yourself to be distracted with mobile devices while listening.
Engage yourself. While you are interacting with your team, ask members for their opinions. Many people wait until they are asked before sharing.
Be empathetic. Problems affect people on a personal level and an emotional one. Commonly, issues are either triggered by emotions or the issue triggers an emotion. Either way, learning to sense the subtle non-verbal signs that accompany a person’s words will increase understanding and reinforce the perception of being heard.
Don’t judge others. One of the quickest ways to cut off dialogue is to tell the other person that he/she is wrong and why. If you don’t have all the facts, pre-judging ensures that you won’t get them. Listen attentively even if you think the other person is wrong.
Be expansively mindful. Put the other person’s words into the context of their environment, personal background and emotional state. Imagine how you would look at a problem from the other person’s point of view.
Don’t interrupt others. Just like being judgmental, interrupting will shut the other person down. You know what you know, and nothing new is learned by interrupting and stating your point of view. Resist the urge to be the expert leader and be the expert listener and learner instead.

The giants in leadership agree: Employee happiness and sense of self-worth affects their commitment to the job and ultimately, productivity. It is no accident that effective listening will enhance scores in 6 of the 12 identified on the Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey. Effective listening is at the core of effective leadership. Show each member of your team that he/she is valued; be a listening leader.

Tom is a noted author, speaker and mentor. Contact tom@procrna.com for information about the 4-part values-based leadership webinar series.

Kotter, for a change

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret.)

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“Change is the only constant in life.”

– Herculitis, Greek philosopher (535 BC – 475 BC)

We know that change in the workplace is unavoidable and that it can sometimes be painful, making people cling tightly to the secure comfort of status quo. Savvy leaders know that modifying and implementing new policies or guidelines is inevitable and to make the changes less difficult, they find ways to rally the team.

Writing in the Forbes.com blog, author, Larry Alton, agrees with the Greek philosopher and recommends addressing change head on. Culture evolves based on relationships. Therefore, to achieve a successful rollout of a new policy or plan, it is essential to build an energized team of individuals who can accept variation and take the lead during implementation.

John Kotter, professor emeritus at the Harvard Business School studied both the necessity for and the resistance to change. In his book, Leading Change (1996), the Kotter 8-step model for managing change is presented as a thinking framework to smooth the process of making modifications in the workplace. Repeatedly and successfully used in business, industry and healthcare, the Kotter model can be applied to just about anything that requires transformation. Here is an example of how we used this dynamic, interactive model to improve the workflow at our ambulatory surgery center.

One of the myths that our ASC embraced is the belief that every female patient who is not post-menopausal must have a pregnancy test before receiving anesthesia. Being a fast-paced GI center with rapid patient turnover, any delay caused by waiting for a urine specimen slowed the work flow and ultimately caused subsequent patients to experience delays. Many of our patents have zero likelihood of being pregnant and the drugs we use pose no risk to the pregnant patient, therefore, many on our staff felt strongly that it was time to change the policy. A grassroots movement was emerged and we were well on the way to fulfilling the requirements of the first step on the Kotter model:

Create urgency Often when things don’t seem to be quiet right, the initial response is “somebody ought to change that” and the sentiment quickly progresses to “we gotta fix it.” At our ASC, Doctors, CRNAs and nursing staff all complained about delaying cases while awaiting a pregnancy test. The concerns of the staff were reinforced by negative feedback from patients when they were solicited to evaluate their experience at our center. Specifically, evaluations from patients expressed dissatisfaction with the ASC due to the required pregnancy test. ASC staff and managers sensed urgency to change the policy and we collectively agreed that we WILL address the issue head-on and take corrective action.
Form a powerful coalition There is strength in numbers. When building a coalition to support a proposed change, it is important that all stakeholders are on board with the new plan. Building a coalition involves gaining consensus among your peers who share your view point as well as from collateral professionals who look at the same problem from a different perspective. Our coalition of stakeholders included doctors, nurses and support staff; all of whom were included in the development of the new policy to modify our current practice. Patients were the ultimate stakeholders and, although we took their feedback seriously, we did not include them in revising the policy.
Create a vision Having identified the problem, we clearly knew what we didn’t want: Unnecessary testing that slowed the workflow without adding value to the process. We turned our attention to what we did want: A policy that maintained patient safety, facilitated workflow and elevated patient satisfaction. After a “best practice” review of the literature to ensure that we were on solid ground, our efforts were rewarded when the new plan was developed to support our goal.
Communicate the vision Before implementation, the new plan was shared with every worker at the ASC through email and informal discussions. The sense of urgency already in place from step 1 smoothed the process of sharing the plan with the entire group. The ASC team quickly embraced the vision that would improve workflow and patient satisfaction.
Remove obstacles There were very few obstacles for our proposed change. Knowing that involving stakeholders would increase buy-in, we reduced potential resistance by making sure that everybody was kept informed. In addition, we made sure that everybody knew that our new policy was in line with safe practice.
Create short-term wins This was a change to a local policy and it did not have a big impact on the organization, so the sense of achievement was confined to our workgroup. We gave recognition to those who were instrumental to developing the plan; however, the nature of the project did not warrant a major celebration.
Build on the change The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) recommends the plan, do, study, Act (PDSA) model for improving a plan. The PDSA model involves implementing a pilot plan, evaluating the results, modifying the plan and re-implementing a better version which, hopefully, will produce even better results. Our plan improved the overall workflow by eliminating mandated pregnancy testing and had the collateral effect of improving patient satisfaction. Success with this project motivated us to look at other workflow issues and seek ways to make further improvements.
Anchor the change in corporate culture “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” does not mean that it’s still the best way, nor does it mean that we must to continue a non-productive practice. Our new corporate culture includes the knowledge that grassroots initiatives are received in a positive light and that change can be initiated by any person in the organization.

Eliminating the need for every female to receive a pregnancy test before undergoing anesthesia is only one example of the use of the Kotter model for introducing and managing change. What is the greatest need for revision in your organization? Take time to pre-plan and practice the Kotter model when change is required. Apply it chronologically, one step at a time. It will be self-defeating to build a coalition before creating the sense of urgency or trying to implement a vision without first developing a plan. Embrace transformation and proactively use Kotter’s model to reach your desired outcome.

Heraclitus observed that change is inevitable, but he did not say that change is a bad thing. The great philosopher also said, “You could not step twice into the same rivers; for other waters are ever flowing onto you.” Today, one thing that has not changed over time is that the only constant is change.

Tom is a noted author, speaker and mentor. Contact tom@procrna.com for information about the 4-part values-based leadership webinar series.

Mentoring; Connect for Winning Results

By Thomas Davis CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

— Winston Churchill

For many healthcare workers, an ideal job includes working within an environment where individuals are valued, creative thinking is welcomed and professional development is enhanced. Effective mentoring addresses those essentials and more. This ongoing cultivation of relationships in the workplace connects less experienced workers who have a need and desire to expand their abilities with more experienced people who have knowledge and a willingness to share. Mentoring offers an opportunity for two people to connect one-on-one in a relationship that promotes personal growth for both individuals.

According to Wikipedia, an engaged employee “…is fully absorbed and enthusiastic about his/her work.” Mentoring enhances employee engagement which, in turn, increases productivity and job satisfaction. In the still highly-regarded 1996 Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey, 6 of the 12 items on the survey could be improved by an effective mentoring program. From both personal experience as a leader and a review of the small business literature, here are some of the advantages that arise from connecting people in a relationship designed to boost personal and work skills.

Promotes professional development
Connects mentee with someone who is interested in his/her advancement
Stimulates personal/professional growth
Creates a sense of accomplishment
Teaches self-discipline
Expands professional network of colleagues

The Journal of Applied Psychology (2004, Allen et al) published a report identifying additional tangible advantages that were gained by those who had a mentor in their workplace,

Greater overall career success
Increased compensation over the course of the career
More promotions than non-mentored peers
Higher job satisfaction
Greater loyalty to the organization.

Establishing a relationship that benefits both the mentee and the mentor requires preparation and commitment from both individuals. Whether you are the well-informed advisor or the neophyte learner, these two components are essential for the partnership to work.

Start with self-assessment Before entering a mentoring relation, take time for introspection and think about what you have to offer as a mentor, or what you need if you are the mentee. Are you a good match for the other person? How much time can you commit to the mentoring process? Why do you want to be a mentor? Mentoring demands sincere effort to connect with and elevate the other person; it is never a platform for self-promotion.

Establish expectations Having common expectations aligns both people in the mentoring relationship and clarifies up front what each person has to offer and what can be expected from the other. Establish and agree on the amount of time and the level of preparation needed from each person before commencing the mentoring process. To be effective, mentoring is more than casual conversation over a cup of coffee.

Make it personal In addition to sharing information, take a personal interest in the other person and include things that are important to him/her as an individual. A good mentoring relationship can produce a friend for life.

Be a thinking partner All too often, the mentor assumes the role of an authority and eagerly tells the learner how to think and do the assigned task. Avoid being an authoritarian task-master by assuming the role of thinking partner and use your experience to guide the learner to an “aha” moment.

Share your network Those in a mentoring role often hold a more elevated position in the organization than the mentee, and/or have been with the organization for a greater length of time. Introducing your mentee to those whom you trust for advice expands his/her network of connections and establishes resources for future projects. Conversely, the mentee who is lower on the chain of command has a network of trusted colleagues at the grass-roots level. Working with a mentee may give the mentor insight into frontline issues that have not yet made it upward through the power structure.

Mentoring is an opportunity to create a two-way relationship that validates the mentee and provides a sense of fulfillment to the mentor. Having someone in the workplace who cares about you as a person as well as your individual professional development is a win-win in which both parties will grow by becoming more engaged, more creative and better informed . If you are an experienced worker, share your knowledge willingly with those who will become the future leaders in your organization. If you are new to the job, seek a mentor to help you learn about the company culture and provide guidance to ensure your future success. Effective mentoring produces lasting connections and winning results.

Tom is a noted author, speaker and mentor. Contact tom@procrna.com for information about the 4-part values-based leadership webinar series.

Legends in Leadership: W. Edwards Deming

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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Edwards Deming was an impactful thinker in transforming post WWII Japan into an industrial power that would challenge the rest of the world for a share of the international marketplace. Deming did not have a background in business or economics; rather, he was a statistician who knew how to gather and interpret information. Immediately after the war, the US government sent Deming with a group of advisors to assess the damage and to assist in the post-war rebuilding of the country. When the Japanese business and manufacturing communities needed advice, Deming evaluated the numbers and shared what the statistics revealed. Based on the willingness to take advice from Deming, the Toyota Corporation jumped to world prominence. From the work of this America statistical thinker, the Toyota style of management emerged and has been adopted by many healthcare organizations throughout America. Here are some lessons and suggestions for implementation from this month’s Legend in Leadership, W. Edwards Deming.

Have a purpose Before you embark on a project, Deming advises taking time to identify what it is that you are trying to accomplish. Most large organizations have a vision for the success that they are working to achieve. Aligning your team with the vision provides a sense of direction to guide decision-making. In addition, your team can create its own vision with the proviso that is in alignment with that of the organization. Once established, constantly remind your team of their shared goal and when a project arises, develop a plan that moves your team and your organization toward achieving the vision.
Stop inspecting Inspection creates a focus on defects and shifts attention away from the goal of zero defects. In healthcare, many safety initiatives spend too much time discussing the problem and not enough time discussing ways to create a new workflow that is free of glitches. Rather than inspecting, spend the time looking forward with the intention of designing a system in which it is not possible to create a defect.
Eliminate complacency Whatever is done today may not be effective tomorrow. Don’t bask in success; instead, remain aware that victory is temporary and motivate your team to constantly seek ways to improve the quality of the service that you provide. With the desire to consistently make things better, you establish a dynamic environment wherein creativity is encouraged, and the team stays one step ahead of competition.
Promote staff development Foster education and self-improvement among your team to build knowledge, improve skills, and further engagement. Mentoring provides a unique opportunity for both the mentor and the mentee as ideas are shared through two-way dialogue and the networks of each person are expanded. Often, a coaching/authoritarian style is effective in mentoring relationships.
Be a leader Deming advises, “don’t supervise, be a leader.” Connecting one on one with each person on your team satisfies the requirements for Maxwell’s level 2 leadership; however, going to the front and working shoulder to shoulder to increase team productivity earns respect and takes you to level 3 leadership. Stop telling others what to do, be a working partner and show them the way.
Work collaboratively At the heart of Deming’s teaching is collaborative work in an environment free from fear of fall-out. Within the Toyota model, barriers between work teams are torn down and people talk directly to those with the information that they need rather than sending messages through established conduits.
Make quality job one Coming full circle, the purpose of the organization must include delivering a product that is free from defects. Quality must be at the front of each team member’s mind and the basis for creating a process that ensures safety, satisfaction and maximum outcome for each of our clients. At each team meeting, openly discuss the reason the company exists, what it is trying to accomplish, and the role each person plays in achieving the goal.

Seventy-five years ago, W. Edward Deming disregarded the wisdom of Harvard Business School and recommended a plan for manufacturing that he knew was statistically correct. At the heart of his plan was collaboration among workers and a focus on the desired outcome of delivering a defect-free product. Follow his sage advice and adopt a motto that continues to survive the test of time: We deliver healthcare defect-free.

Tom is a noted author, speaker, educator and clinician. Join Tom the second Tuesday of each month on the Leadership journal club webinar

What’s in a brand name?

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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“Rebranding generates enthusiasm and brings attention to an existing operation

that may be taken for granted.”

The morning news grabbed my full attention with this announcement: Dunkin donuts is doing away with donuts. “What?” I screamed silently. “No more Bavarian cream filling or toasted coconut crunch? How could they do such a thing?” The reporter went on to explain that the company (relax, everybody) will not stop making donuts but will be dropping the word “donuts” from the company name, logo and advertising. The intent is to rebrand and give the company a fresh look while opening the door to promote a line of drinks that will compete with the Starbucks grip on the grounds. The purpose of the press release was to make me visualize Dunkin Donut coffee. Rebranding works.

Dunkin’s announcement comes only a few months after the media blitz surrounding the rebranding of IHOP to IHOB – International House of Burgers. The pancake giants “want the world to know that they also have a great menu for lunch and dinner.” Even though it was a hoax, the announcement certainly got the public’s attention as people all over the country flocked to IHOP for an IHOPB. Weight Watchers is in the less startling process of rebranding as they plan to rename themselves WW with an emphasis on wellness rather than strictly on weight loss. Branding works and when a company wants to renew enthusiasm for their product, they regain attention by rebranding.

A recognized brand serves many purposes and collateral benefits within a crowded marketplace.

Recognition Established brands stand out and are known for the product they deliver. When you pull off the highway and see McDonalds, Starbucks and Shell gas, you immediately know who they are and what they provide. Branding promotes consistency thus removing doubt and uncertainty.
Credibility Attached to an established brand name is the appearance of expertise. When I was at The Johns Hopkins, we treated a global patient population most of whom were attracted to the JH brand and the expectation of proven excellence tied to the name. Branding expert, Lisa Cron, notes that good branding increases revenue because clients are willing to pay at a higher price and are more compliant with making payments.
Loyalty Branding promotes loyalty both from the customer base and from employees. Established quality brands attract the top applicants who perform at a higher level. Good people providing a quality product for a recognized company creates a loyal customer base.
Culture Brand identity promotes a company culture of excellence and collaboration. Workers who feel pride in and loyalty to a known brand will develop a loyalty to the company and embrace the company culture initiated from the front office. Branding lets both clients and employees know what the company stands for and forms a basis for acceptable behavior.

Brand your Workgroup

In healthcare, we are not BK or Mickey D’s; however, a recognizable brand identity for your healthcare team offers some of the same advantages as those in the business world, namely consistency, collaboration and a loyal customer base. One simple suggestion to develop a team brand that yields big results is for your team adopt to a motto or tagline that represents your team’s shared values. For example, the Cleveland Clinic has kept their name but updated the corporate motto to reflect their collective values; “We are all caregivers.” To create or update your healthcare team motto or tagline, bring the group together and review the organization’s mission, vision and values. Discuss the purpose of your team, for example, I work in a busy GI clinic where we pride ourselves in the service we provide for patients, gastroenterologists and referring physicians. Challenge your group to establish a motto that will both inform clients and remind one another of why the team exists.

Sample mottos and taglines

A personal relationship with medical excellence
Exceptional people, extraordinary care
Changing the way you receive healthcare
A passion for putting patients first
A Transforming, Healing Presence

Once your team has established its identity, treat it as your brand and use it to tell the public about the excellent service they will receive from your team.

Market your new brand

Posters Create and hang posters with your team motto in common areas where they can be viewed by both patients and staff.
Business cards Make business cards with your team motto on one side and a place on the other side for the care giver to write his/her name, freely giving cards to patients and their family members.
Buttons Make campaign style buttons with your team motto and encourage your team members to wear them prominently at team meetings, department parties, state meetings and healthcare fund raisers.
Messages/Memos Make a template on your signature block that includes your team motto ensuring that every message you send is a reminder of the purpose of your work.
Signs at work stations Attach your motto to the base of every computer on your unit as an ongoing reminder to staff members.

Literature arising from today’s business community reinforces the importance of having a recognized brand to attract customers and standardize the product delivered by workers. Whether branding for the first time or rebranding to renew interest, you can create advantages for your workgroup by developing a team motto and tagline, advertising it and then using it to promote team identity, collaboration and consistency. Creating or recreating consumer familiarity takes time but soon enough your patients will become just as confident about the expectations of care that they will receive from your team as you are about the Pike’s Place with a shot you pick up on the way to the Hospital. Brand your team for success, and in the meantime, I think I’ll pick up a Dunkin dozen…just in case.

Tom is a noted author, speaker, educator and clinician. Join Tom the second Tuesday of each month on the Leadership journal club webinar.

Get the most from your professional meeting

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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Professional organizations of every description tend to favor autumn for gathering their respective flocks and commonly select popular locations for their meeting. You survived the heat and the extra shifts that were required to cover your colleague’s summer vacations, now it’s your turn to enjoy a well-earned break by attending a national or state meeting of your profession. Pre-planning for the Meeting Season positions you to learn more, make more contacts and get more enjoyment during your time away from home.

Organize

Prior to travel, spend your google time discovering venues that you will enjoy. For some, activities such as hiking, biking or walking is appealing, whereas others may prefer dining, shopping or shows. Every community is unique and history buffs, amateur archaeologists and bird-watchers may find something of interest if they look. Whatever your pleasure, research what is available in the community and make reservations for the things that enhance your travel experience.

Well before the flight, confirm your hotel and reserve transportation for arrival at and departure from the destination airport, review the meeting agenda and download the meeting app if there is one. During flight, spend your time reviewing information regarding the meeting and local community to ensure that you take full advantage of both.

Some attendees are sponsored by employers and must submit documents for reimbursement while others pay out of pocket and need documents to claim a tax deduction. Either way, pre-planning allows you to submit documents seamlessly. Here are some proven tips for organizing your travel:

Use your phone to organize information that you will want at hand while traveling. Upload flight information and boarding passes as well as the customer service phone number for the airline that you are using. Use the note pad app to store the address and phone number of the hotel where you will be staying…it simplifies the process when you get in a cab.
Use your computer to set up a folder specifically for the meeting in your documents section. The folder can have sub-folders for travel, lodging and daily expenses and personal expenditure. When you first book your flight and make hotel arrangements, put receipts in the folder. At the hotel check-out, request an email receipt and when it arrives, save it in your meeting folder. Excel has several pre-made templates for spreadsheets to collect travel expenses such as meals or Uber fare; download and use to simplify tracking reimbursable expenses.

Socialize

Your professional meeting offers the gratification of renewing acquaintances with former classmates and coworkers along with the networking opportunity to meet national leaders and those who are recognized in education, innovation or leadership. A meeting can also provide fertile ground for expanding your network of peers. Socialize at gatherings and extend a hand to the people who have names that you know, opening your vision to connect with new people who may add depth to your network.

Members of many professional organizations have created user groups on social media. Meet those whom you connect with online by posting a time and place for the group to meet in person and interact with one another.

Customize

Hello and a hand shake is a social start, but the real value of networking is being able to connect in the future. For starters, plan to exchange your contact information with those you meet by having business cards readily available. To avoid losing the stash of newly acquired cards, create a business card photo album on your phone to capture and store information that will enable you to initiate future contact. Once you’re back in your hotel room each day, take a picture of each business card you wish to keep and drop them in your card album. Add yourself as a contact on your phone and then quickly exchange information by sending your contact information directly to those you meet.

Optimize

Prior to the meeting assess your personal interests and educational needs, then peruse the agenda and make sure that you attend the sessions that are most beneficial to you. When two sessions that capture your interest are held concurrently, enlist a friend to attend one talk while you attend the other and then compare notes later. Look around and try to sit with new people who you have just added to your network.

Optimize the time you spend with vendors by first assessing your department’s greatest needs for equipment and seek out the vendors with the products that you need. The larger the meeting, the more eager vendors are to introduce new equipment and the latest updates to existing devices. Sign up for samples and demonstrations and if you make a must-have discovery, collect vendor contact information for follow-up after the meeting.

Summary

Whether your autumn plans include a national meeting, a state gathering or both, your return on investment will be enhanced with a little pre-planning. Beyond earning continuing education credit, a live meeting provides a wealth of opportunities to connect and grow professionally, and to have a great time doing it.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

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Pharm to Table: Direct Marketing Works

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

“Tell your doctor to order Clearfast two hours before your surgery,” implored the radio messenger. The audience listened raptly to claims that this potent preop drink, “… speeds recovery and promotes a better outcome for consumers…” than their less fortunate peers who suffer from the traditional 8-hour fast enforced by many anesthesia providers. The narrator continued by telling listeners that downing the drink 2 hours before surgery would be calming, provide a feeling of being hydrated and nourished, reduce postoperative infection and promote a comfortable recovery. I was shocked to hear a manufacturer bypass the collective wisdom of anesthesia providers and speak directly with future patients and encourage them to buy a product that would enhance recovery after surgery. After all, isn’t it our job to do preop teaching?

As evidenced by the number of medications being marketed via TV, radio and social media, direct marketing works. Pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars every year on direct marketing campaigns for one and only one reason; selling directly to the consumer works. As healthcare providers, we must learn from the business community and use direct marketing techniques to promote our individual practice as well as the status of our profession. Writing in Becker’s Hospital review, author Nick Ragone notes the importance of direct marketing and the use of technology to connect directly with future patients as well as the use of mobile devices to make access to care convenient, accessible and personalized.

Regardless of whether you are marketing your personal skills, your profession, or the organization where you currently work, Laura Dyrda (Becker’s ASC Review) offers suggestions for direct marketing your healthcare services.

Direct mailing Snail mail may feel “so yesterday” but we still have postal service. A colorful, thoughtfully formatted postcard will catch the eye and advertise your group. A short newsletter outlining the ways in which consumers benefit from your services will attract a percentage of those in need.
Attractive and interactive web site By necessity, direct marketing is a brief encounter with a potential client that may leave questions unanswered. Marketing should link people to a web site that is visually appealing and functional in every area, Including quick links to frequently asked questions and an interactive area for questions and answers.
Social media It is not enough to have an award-winning web site; a presence on social media is needed to augment your direct marketing. Link your web site to social media and increase the number of potential clients that you capture.
Write an article for a local rag or mag Newspapers have a health column and trade magazines are always seeking human interest stories. Put on your creative cap to assess the needs of your community and write an article to address local hot topics.
Send a monthly newsletter Newsletters allow you to present your information in greater detail. Always keep the newsletter relatively short and very interesting to build a cadre of readers who look forward the next installment. Newsletters can be delivered via regular mail or via email with a link to a blog page on a web site.
Conduct a local charity event Your group is placed in the spotlight and you can develop trust with the local community when you successfully sponsor an event to benefit a local charity. Pick your cause, design an event to promote the charity and do the work to make it a success. In my local area, CRNAs recently promoted our profession by sponsoring a blood drive. Last year the group did a children’s book drive to benefit the pediatric area of the hospital.
Talk to civic groups Local groups such as Rotary, Lions, or VFW have monthly meetings and are always seeking local experts to enlighten the group on a variety of subjects. Select a healthcare-related issue and give a talk to a local civic group. When the group or an individual in attendance needs the services you provide, they will seek you.
Support community events Many events in your local area can only happen with the assistance of people who volunteer their time to provide support. Local running events need teams of people to man the water stations. Health fairs need booths of eager healthcare workers to assist in health assessment. Career day at the local high school is dependent upon local experts entice students to take an interest in their line of work. All donations of time, energy or money help make it happen.
Hang signs in waiting rooms Working long hours behind closed doors limits visibility and the opportunity for others to truly appreciate the valuable services provided by skilled advanced practice professionals. During CRNA week, rather than hanging signs in the lounge, hang them in patient waiting areas. “Wanted” posters picturing the CRNA or a healthcare worker of the month and his/her outstanding contribution can be simultaneously consciousness-raising and amusing while marketing the profession.

Pharm to table marketing works. When it’s implemented judiciously and in the right spirit, you are rewarded with a positive return on the resources invested. In a connected and mobile society, patients are not geographically tied to a specific area or provider; they are free to shop for services and select the provider who best serves their needs. Direct marketing has taught patients to request preoperative hydration as a means of improving outcome and direct marketing has the potential to build a population of patients who request Nurse Anesthesia to accompany their drink.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Be an Awesome Boss

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

The distinction of being a great boss is a recognition that you cannot give to yourself; however, members of your team are constantly observing your behavior, judging you through their eyes and are the ones to bestow the honor when appropriate. Those whom you supervise may not be able to name your leadership style, but they know first hand how it affects them on a personal level. When you connect with your team in a way that conveys respect and promotes the development of each member, they take note and respond in kind. For example, the heartfelt accolades that my recent patient gave to her boss.

While waiting for an overbooked doctor to arrive and start a procedure, I passed the time talking with my stressed patient in hope that pleasant conversation would allay her anxiety. She told me about her work at a restaurant and then mentioned that she worked for the most fantastic boss that she could imagine; “She is so amazing that I would do anything that she asked.” “What makes her a great boss?” I asked. Grateful for the distraction and eager to reply, the patient enthusiastically answered with details. “She likes me as a person, wants me to do well, and she shows me a better way of doing things without criticizing me or complaining. She listens to me and wants me to be the best I can be.” Wow, under stress and on delay, my patient gave a great tribute to a person who is not only a boss but clearly changes the lives of people on her team.

The killer testimonial that my patient gave regarding her awesome boss mirrors the theme found in leadership/management books and journals. In The 5 levels of Leadership, Maxwell (2011) states that level 1 leadership is conveyed with a title that identifies the individual as the boss but carries no clout beyond the title. Level 2 leadership is dynamic and builds upon an essential connection between an engaged boss and willing workers. In level 2 leadership, workers trust the inspiring leader and, therefore, they want to perform at a high level. Maxwell reinforces the importance of one- on-one bonding between the leader and each team member by stating that at level two, “…people follow because they want to and not because they must.” Being connected by having a sincere concern for personal and professional growth of team members creates a bond that elevates trust and loyalty. My patient and her boss could be poster children for the maxim of Level 2 leadership; being mutually committed to one another works for them and it will produce a mindblowing transformation of your workplace when you follow their example.

Naturally outgoing people connect easily but where do people with a more reserved personality start? The answer is simple; you start by making a commitment, learning simple techniques and then jumping in and gaining experience. Building a viable link between yourself and your team requires spending time each day interacting with people and, validating them by practiced listening. In an article, Did you know there are 5 levels of listening? author Derek Gaunt implores the reader to move beyond listening as a means to prepare a rebuttal to the other person; rather, train yourself to listen to understand both the meaning and the emotion behind what you hearing.

Make a commitment to do the following for 30 days and marvel at the response that you will receive from your team.

Have a positive presence. Make your team a priority and block space on your calendar to spend a minimum of 1 hour per day in casual interaction with your team. A cheerful attitude and a sincere desire to learn about the personal and professional goals of everyone sends the message that you care about more than simply getting the job done. Investing time in your awesome team delivers a persuasive message that each person is valued not only for their work but also for who they are as individuals. As you gain a greater understanding about what motivates each team member, you are able to develop a valuable plan for professional development that will help each person meet his goals.
Learn to listen. In a hectic workplace it is easy to have your mind on other issues while listening to people and only get the gist rather than the full message that they are trying to deliver. It is also common to feel as if you must defend the status quo and prepare a rebuttal while the other person is talking. Effective listening requires that you leave your defensive position and focus on the other person, listen carefully, and actively seek more information. Rather than digging in your heels, prepare a follow-on question that will encourage the person to disclose more details and increase your depth of understanding what they are saying; “Tell me more about…”, “What next?”, “What is your desired outcome?”, “If you were in charge, what would you do?” are all responses that show your interest and encourage the person to continue talking.

Like my patient’s boss, you can inspire productivity while transforming the lives of those you supervise by connecting, listening and empowering. Transforming your leadership style and earning the “amazing boss” recognition described by my patient is neither a daunting task nor a natural talent. It is a behavior that can be learned. The process involves using the tested theory of spending time with your team and actively listening to their thoughts to learn what makes them tick. Set Level 2 Leadership as a goal and start by committing to a 30-day journey to an empowered and collaborative workplace.

Maxwell, J.C. (2011). The 5 levels of leadership. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group. ISBN
978-1-59995-365-6

Gaunt, D. (2018) https://blog.blackswanltd.com/the-edge/did-you-know-there-are-4-levels-of-listening

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Uncertainty; Survive and Thrive

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

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“life is uncertain, eat dessert first”

Jim, the auto salesman, is dependent upon commission and never knows from month to month just how much money he will take home; Jim lives his life with worry about whether or not bills will be paid. Fred, an OR nurse, works in a hospital where the number of surgical cases is dwindling, and he constantly worries about the dreaded lay-off. Amanda, a Nurse Anesthetist, has just heard an unverified rumor that her group is in the process of being taken over by a larger anesthesia management company; Amanda fears that her pay and benefits will be reduced or that her job will be eliminated. Francis is a parent and watches anxiously as her daughter leaves on her first date.

Living in world in which uncertainty is the norm causes many people to be distressed as evidenced by behavior that clearly driven by fear and anxiety. In contrast to the safety and security that accompany stability, an aura of unpredictability arises from a situation in which the facts have yet to emerge. Fear of the unknown results in subjective speculation that may leave some people feeling weak and vulnerable. For those who worry about becoming victims, the mind quickly imagines doom and gloom scenarios that always end poorly; however, for others, uncertainty is linked to change offering an opportunity to alter of the status quo and thrive in the process.

Those who prosper and grow during times of uncertainty have learned to implement design thinking when faced with ambiguous situations. Writing in Interaction Design foundation, authors Dam and Saing describe design thinking as. “…an iterative process in which we seek to understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems in an attempt to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our initial level of understanding.” To implement design thinking, the individual must first investigate to uncover facts that are available rather than jumping to conclusions based on partial or faulty information, and then remain positive while visualizing a variety of potential outcomes.

Abandoning the natural tendency to link fear with uncertainty transforming to the development of a mindset that produces a better outcome is not difficult; however, it does require conscious effort. In order to thrive while others are struggling to survive uncertainty, use the following habits to design a plan that works for you.

Control your Amygdala

The first step in flourishing during uncertain times is to quiet the emotional brain. The amygdala is the area of the brain linked with fight, flight, or freeze and kicks in quickly during times of stress. Once the amygdala is activated, stress hormones are released, and the emotional centers of your brain scream so loudly that the thinking brain is silenced (the amygdala hijack). Be aware when you are stressed and rather than succumbing to a knee jerk, emotive response, challenge your thinking brain by assuming that the facts are not yet known and seek more information

Name your feelings

When apprehension produces anxiety, take a moment to explore your feelings and how they are connected to your stress. Name the emotion you are feeling – fear, anger, genuine concern – then ask yourself if the facts that are known justify your emotional response. Determine other emotions that could be warranted if the initial information is not completely true and don’t forget to consider positive emotions such as joy, satisfaction or fulfillment. By considering other emotions, you are also acknowledging that other outcomes may arise from the uncertainty.

Choose your response

After you’ve gathered information, acknowledged how you feel and identified a variety of outcomes that could emerge from the uncertainty at hand, use the facts, your personal goals and the available resources to develop a response that will promote your best interest. When the outcome involves a group, make an effort to quiet the emotions of those around you and enlist them as allies in your plan to create the best possible outcome under existing circumstances.

Develop a contingency plan

Despite your best effort, some situations really are as bad or worse than the rumors and it’s time for plan B. which may involve moving on. Developing a contingency plan has two advantages; it gives you a sense of being in control and it provides an alternative outcome. Often, implementing a contingency plan and seeking employment elsewhere allows you to thrive in ways that were never possible in your current position. Uncertainty can be a mixed blessing and force your hand in making a necessary decision.

Uncertainty is a certainty in one’s life both on and off the job. We can never predict changes that will be thrown our way. However, we can develop personal skills and design our own plan that will enable us to not only to survive, but to thrive. Whether you are selling cars, putting patients to sleep or staying awake til your daughter gets home from her first date, take control and turn ambiguity to advantage.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Join a group of your healthcare colleagues in the on-line leadership journal club at 7:30 Central time the second Tuesday of each month. Click here for more information.

Rejuvenate your team

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

My bicycle and I have been together for over a decade and many American and European miles have rolled under the wheels. This professional grade aluminum specialized workhorse is my source of daily transportation to and from work as well as my weekend recreation partner and we know each other very well. Over the past few months, the back wheel developed a wobble and the shifter lost its crispness; and finally, it would not shift into two of the gears. Our relationship was becoming strained and my specialized Wunderkind needed to be rejuvenated. A trip to the bike shop restored the function of my bicycle by replacing the shifter cables, giving it a good C&L (clean and lubricate) and mounting a newly trued back wheel, without the wobble. Two resources – time and effort – infused life into the bike and now it works like new.

Many leaders have a long-standing personal relationship with their team similar to the one I have with my bike; however, like my bike the team may be losing its crispness and failing to function as it once did. Investing a little time and effort to rejuvenate your team will restore your relationship, bring the wheels back into alignment, and improve the productivity of the group.

Writing in Psychology Today, author Robert Taibbi identifies three reasons that cause relationships to go stale over time; avoidance of conflict, work-centered relationships and work behavior that is based on routine. The combination of the three factors creates a safe, secure and boring place to work where expectations are met however creativity and self-motivation are not rewarded. Over time, workers resort to robotic performance of familiar tasks and lose the desire to excel; like my bike, the crispness is gone.

Shanking up the status quo and infusing energy into your team by re-defining your relationship with them starts with you. As the leader, you create the environment and establish the energy level of the workplace. Start your team renewal project by entering the workplace every day with pep in your step and a smile on your face and watch your team respond in kind by picking up the pace. Once you have established a higher energy level, the stage is set for a team tune-up. Continuing with his Psychology today article, Robert offers several suggestions for adding a spark to a relationship that is losing its luster. Although the article is about marriage relationships, the concepts that he presents can be used to re-ignite your relationship everybody around you, including your team.

Talk about the obvious

A new leader joins a team, makes observations, and asks, “Why do we do it that way?” In a few short months, the same leader looks at the same workflow and says, “That’s just the way we do it.” The first step toward rejuvenation of your team involves looking at the current level of performance and once again asking, “why do we do it that way?” Open a dialogue with your team and openly share your observations about areas where your team has become complacent. In an upbeat and positive manner, solicit feedback about the team’s reaction to your observations and welcome each person discuss areas where they feel the team could be performing better. Focus on team strengths and build a consensus regarding actions that the team will take in the future to address the areas where the status quo is not creating peak performance.

Find common interests

Being members of the same team creates a common interest however it does not inspire and motivate individuals to develop friendships or to increase collaboration in the workplace. Encourage team members to find common interests beyond the job and develop friendships that transcend the 7-3 work shift. Every member of your team, including you, are unique people and have personal stories to tell. Plan social time into your work day and value the time team members spend in the break room learning about special interests of their team mates. Plan a quarterly social hour and include a few events every year that include families and friends of the workers on your team. As team members take a personal interest in one another, collaboration and creativity increase producing a win/win for both the employer and the employee.

Create a vision

Teams are the happiest and most productive when they are working toward a common goal and sense that they are making progress. Take the time to create a vision and share it with your group. Alter your workflow to enable the achievement of the goal and then be liberal with compliments and thank you’s to show appreciation. A new vision shakes up the status quo and upsets the monotony of the daily work schedule. Working toward a new vision is much more stimulating and rewarding than just showing up and working.

Make relationships a priority

The Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey documents the importance of relationships in the workplace as evidenced by questions 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11 all of which explore workers connection to their boss as well as their co-workers. Leaders of the most highly engaged teams of workers have learned the importance of building relationships and exude the attitude that there are no unimportant jobs or people in the organization. Get to know your team members one on one and learn things about them that make them tick on a personal level and inspire them to achieve greater goals. The time you invest in relationships will pay huge dividends as your team experiences rejuvenation.

My bicycle was performing poorly which strained our relationship and detracted from the pleasure of my morning commute to work. Time, effort and some money corrected the problem and restored our relationship. If your team is not firing on all cylinders or not working at peak performance, it doesn’t mean that they need to be traded in for a new model; you don’t sell a car because it needs new tires and a battery, nor do you throw away a bicycle because cables are frayed. Make a commitment to rejuvenate your relationship with the team and guide them to emerge stronger than ever. Identify areas for improvement, challenge your team to leverage common interests and transform your workplace into a welcoming environment where people feel as if they are valued.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Fixer-Upper Leadership

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

In the popular HGTV reality TV show Fixer upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines work with buyers to select a run-down and under-valued home and then using vision combined with hard work, turn it into a showplace. The Gaines walk the buyers through three potential homes, all in need of repair. Typically, the buyers are openly disappointed with the current state of the property whereas Chip and Jo look at the same mess focusing on the potential beauty that it could become. The remodeling experts ask the buyers about features that are most important to them and listen carefully to preferences that are stated during the walk-through. The show progresses with the buyers selecting a property, establishing a budget, reiterate the items that are most important to them, and then turning the project over to the experts for remodeling. Midway through the project, Jo meets with the buyers, updates them on the progress and ensures that everybody agrees with the final design. The show ends with the amazed buyers walking through the newly remodeled home in disbelief that it could be the same property that they selected weeks earlier.

In the reality of the work world, some teams are run-down, underproductive and in need of a leader who will transform the current workplace into an employment showplace. Like doing a fixer-upper on a home, transforming a low-achieving workplace into an environment where people want to spend the day involves listening, developing a shared vision, leveraging resources and motivating team members to work hard to implement change. Be a fixer upper leader and create a workplace where employees are stimulated, motivated and want to spend their day.

Establish your goal

Your team must share your vision as well as your commitment to make things better. Encourage your team to share your vision by openly discussing the status quo, including the things that currently drain team spirit from the group. Ask them to describe their ideal workplace and the behavioral changes needed to move the ball in that direction. As in the TV show, listen attentively to reveal the most important needs and make a list of behavior changes needed to improve the morale of the group. Next, tune in to the group’s order of preference. After identifying 1-3 items for immediate focus, develop a plan and hold team members accountable for its implementation.

Identify your resources

Once the Gaineses have a solid vision for repairing the property, they quickly assess the resources at hand and make plans to obtain additional supplies that are needed. Likewise, take the lead in the remodeling of your team and how they interact with one another. Ensure that it has the resources needed to make the desired changes. You may need to modify work schedules, implement a streamlined method for communication or even place an absolute ban on gossip in order to get the job done. Do everything within your control to activate the priorities identified by your team.

Demo day

Chip’s favorite day on any project is demo day. Everything that is not necessary for structural integrity is ripped out and carted off to make room for reconfiguring the house and to allow for a make-over. To make room for your new way of conducting business, old thoughts and habits will have to be “ripped out and carted off.” During demo, be prepared to rid the construction site of behavior and of things that prevent the group from achieving their collective goal. Ultimately, the leadership goal is to guide your team to the promised land while keeping it intact.

Rebuild

Once the old thoughts and habits have been removed, the vacant space is fertile ground for new and fresh ways to conduct business. Keep your hands on the wheel and make sure that the void you created draws in feelings of collaboration and commitment. Remind team members frequently about their consensus of creating a preferred workplace and encourage only positive thoughts and creative energy to exist among teammates while on the job. Implement a spirit of accountability in which shared responsibility creates positive outcome.

Give frequent updates

Keep your team members in the game by meeting with them frequently and openly sharing the overall progress. Discuss both the areas in which the team is doing well and areas that lack progress. Routinely review the original goals, tweak the plan, and motivate individuals by sharing your anticipation of success. Toward the end of the HGTV show, excitement grows as the project nears completion. The children deliver food in preparation of Joanna’s all-nighter to ensure that the property is perfect for the grand showing the next day. Likewise, as your preferred workplace becomes a reality, be inclusive and harness the excitement of team members by having them participate in the planning of a celebration in honor of the changes that have been made.

Celebrate success

HGTV Fixer Upper ends each show with a segment where the finished project is presented to the buyer. The new residents of the house high-five in near disbelief as they walk through a structure that only vaguely resembles the structure they selected to recreate. As part of your leadership, celebrate with your team when attitudes and behaviors have changed and your workplace has been upgraded to become a magnet for fully engaged workers. Carve out time for a team meeting complete with treats and high-fives for those on your team who most aggressively pushed colleagues to a new and better place.

By challenging your team to fixer upper restoration, you no longer need to lead a team that’s at at the low end of productivity. Choose a reconstruction plan and get consensus, develop a strategy that’s inclusive and hold one another accountable for implementation. You too can restore, repurpose and lead a team that delivers the best possible service to clients and the organization.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

8 apps for High Tech Leaders

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

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Today’s hip leaders require instant access to information and real-time communication with the team members and chain of command. Churning the high-tech world to move even faster, young workers have thrown the communication books from the shelves while no one on the team has even heard of mimeographed memos. Quick-learning youth may have the advantage over older workers who have survived the techno transition, but workers of every generation have come to rely on technology and the advantages that it offers.

Tech is the way we conduct our business and live our lives; to do otherwise denies reality. You cannot survive as a leader without google and email; however, g and e are not enough to propel you and your team to all-star status. Creative software developers have fashioned hundreds of app-based programs to support management, enhance communication and promote collaborative teamwork. You can shine a light on your leadership and your team by using mobile device-based applications to conduct daily business. The learning curve is short and the return on investment is high.

Communication

Email and texting offer real-time exchange of information and are ingrained into our interactions with one another. Using email and texting as communication tools enables geographic freedom, removing the requirement to assemble a group to receive announcements. You can streamline the process of group communication by using apps specifically designed to organize user groups, instantly delivering messages to the right people in an encrypted format that ensures privacy and meets HIPAA standards.

The TigerConnect app is a cloud-based clinical communication and collaboration tool…that is HIPPA compliant. Enabling real time messaging among members of user groups, the app is expressly designed to be used in healthcare settings. The developer claims that the use of TigerConnect leads to shorter hospital stays, increased patient satisfaction, reduced readmission rates and improved team collaboration. You be the judge.

Whatsapp allows you to form user groups and share messages, documents and videos and to conduct group chats all in a format that bypasses SMS fees. Using this app, you can connect with up to 256 people at once.

Efficiency

Day to day management of your team involves more than sending messages to disseminate information, and savvy leaders use technology to grease the process of dealing with daily chores. Fortunately, cyber space has an abundance of programs to help you organize, remember and track vital information.

Google drive is available to every computer user with a google account. You can store documents on google drive and make them available to your team. By posting policies, procedures and work schedules on google drive, your team will have 24/7 access to anything you wish to share with them.

Inventory tracker is a handy app for those who have the job of ordering supplies and maintaining inventory levels. You may be the one putting in the supply order or you may have delegated the task to a team member, either way, treat yourself and your team by using this app.

2do is a task organizer designed for mobile devices. Just like the rest of us, you may still forget some task that “made the list.” The 2do app is a safety net that allows you to use your phone to create a list of tasks, indicate the day that they are to be completed and set up reminders.

Clear todos is also a task organizer. This app permits the creation of separate categories with each list having its own set of tasks. Reminders can also be programmed on this app to jog your memory.

Team identity

Team identity provides your group with a sense of belonging to something important and a feeling of inclusion. The internet provides a platform to unite your crew and a worldwide stage to showcase the talented people that you supervise.

Team websites are common, inexpensive and easy to create yourself. Companies abound offering URLs, platforms and tutoring that enable people with basic computer skills to design and launch a website in one evening. Click here for a link to a list of the top 10 website programs.

Youtube videos are another way to display your team in a positive way. After opening an account with youtube, you will be able to submit video clips and then post the link on your team web site. Instantly, members of your team have a visible presence in cyber-space and a platform to share their experiences with the public.

Our spinning, techno world offers possibilities that were not even imagined several decades ago. Capitalize on the opportunities offered at this digital smorgasbord by selecting the apps that best serve the needs of team members. Go all-in by implementing the technology that is expected by all of your workers, the young and the not-so-young, because no one is looking back.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at figuring out how to meet the expectations of both your team and your employer, it’s useful to work with a leadership coach who has experienced challenges similar to yours. Feel free to contact me today to learn about the specifics of techniques to for developing a preferred workplace. Email me at tom@prosynex.com or click here to book your free introductory meeting.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Surviving Mistakes

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

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All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.

~Winston Churchill

Mistakes, we all make them. I have made them, so have you and so has everybody else. Paul, the barista at Starbucks, makes an offensive tasting non-fat chai latte, dumps it down the drain, starts over and voila, problem solved. Laurel, a candidate for congress, makes an offensive comment about immigrants, the media takes over and voila, her campaign spirals down the drain and drowns. Minor mistake are no big deal, easily corrected, but major mistakes have launched world wars. Most mistakes fall between the two extremes. Leaders at all levels are faced with making daily decisions based on the available information as well as their personal bias related to the issue. When the choice is spot on, high fives ensue, and the team celebrates success. But if the option misses the mark, damage will result and damage control by the leader must begin.

Making an error in judgment doesn’t have to be a career breaker as evidenced by the ability of high profile people to recover from bad decisions. The Ford Motor company launched a new line of cars and quickly the Edsel became the biggest flop in automotive history. Later, Ford went on to launch the highly successful Mustang. In 2012, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings perceived the trend for an increased demand for access to streaming videos and launched a plan to split the company into DVD and streaming divisions, each requiring membership and separate fees. The public quickly rejected the new structure, balked at joining and caused the CEO to walk back the decision and remain with a single membership to include both DVD and streaming access to entertainment.

Although your goofs and gaffes may not get worldwide media attention, they can affect those around you both at work and at home, and as with high-profile leaders, if you can learn from your mistakes, you can recover.

Own it

Looking good to your team and the chain of command is important and making a mistake can undermine your credibility as a leader; therefore, it is natural for you want the blame to fall elsewhere. Despite your desire to be blameless, others, review exactly what was said and done so they know who made the error, and if it’s your lapse, own it. Denying your responsibility will further erode the respect of those familiar with the situation. Put yourself back on the path to success by candidly recognizing your mistake and accepting responsibility. As most politicians have discovered, projecting an attitude of, “I did it but it really wasn’t my fault,” does not garner respect or support from those around you. “I made a mistake and it was my fault,” is a much better starting point when trying to recover from a bad decision.

Apologize

After owning it, the next step on the road to correcting the error is a sincere apology to those affected by your decision. Choose your words wisely and focus on apologizing for your action rather than the way others reacted to the blunder. Admit what was done was wrong and acknowledge the unintended consequences of the action, including any negative effect it had on the team. People who apologize because others were offended instead of admitting personal fault, aren’t really accepting blame and will quickly lose both respect and support from those affected.

Correct the damage

Very few decisions are absolute and final. In spite of the damage that has been done, with time, patience, and a good plan most damage can be repaired. There are times when we kick ourselves and wish for a do-over because, in retrospect, a better decision was obvious. In cases where the better decision was clear, walk it back, repair the damage and proceed with the correct choice. In other cases where the answer is less obvious, involve the team in a group-think process to produce a better solution than your original choice. If penalties are required, pay them and then move on/forward.

Learn from the experience

The harm caused by a bad decision creates an opportunity for personal growth that will position you as an expert who can help others who face similar challenges. Damage control looks back on a situation and tries to fix something that has already taken place. Instead, seek a type II solution that not only addresses your problem but also keeps others from making the same error. Think of preemptive measures to update or change the current system and prevent a recurrence. Again, involve the team in an open discussion, “What did we learn?” and, “How can we prevent this from happening again?” Involving others in producing a permanent solution shows good faith in your desire to correct your judgment error and to learn from it.

Rebuild trust

Trust is foundational to a positive working relationship with your team. You take the first step in re-building a trusting relationship by owning, apologizing and correcting the error. The final, and by far the hardest part, is convincing your team or institution that you’re sincere and solid, all is well.

DON’T compound the problem by making more mistakes.
DON’T revisit the circumstances or the behavior that caused the mistake except as a reminder of what not to do or say.
DON’T dwell on guilt and don’t allow yourself to feel shame or to be shamed. Get over it.
DO use honesty and transparency when correcting the problem.
DO encourage others to participate when selecting a new course of action.

Summary

Our world is composed of over seven billion people, each with independent thoughts and goals. What may seem logical or obvious to you and support your personal point of view may be perceived very differently by others. Leaders, followers and people in general all make mistakes in virtually every aspect of daily life and a few of those seven billion may occasionally take offense. When it happens, and it will, face it head-on, focus on immediate resolution and continue a lifelong commitment to building trust. And in your moments of reflection, always remember: Your blooper is your problem; others’ reaction to it is theirs.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to be aware of and control his/her own emotions, to sense to the emotions of others and to handle interpersonal relationships in a manner that preserves the integrity of both parties. Writing about emotional intelligence in Forbes.com, author Christine Comaford states that emotional intelligence accounts for 58% of your team’s performance regardless of the industry in which you work. Clearly, the most effective leaders control their own emotions while boosting the self-esteem of those they supervise. Conversely, leaders who lack emotional intelligence quickly undermine collaboration and demoralize individuals on the team.

A busy Gastroenterology center commonly schedules 12-18 cases per room per day and assigns patients an arrival time based on starting a new case every 20 minutes; productivity and efficiency are top priorities. Today the outpatient endoscopy center has an irate patient in the waiting area; MaryJane arrived at the designated time and has been waiting 2 hours for her procedure to begin. She demands to talk with George, the clinic manager and doesn’t hold back when unloading her anger about the excessive waiting time. When the scheduled cases are completed, the stressed clinic manager assembles his workers to pass on the patient complaint and puts the blame on them for the delay stating, “If you were competent and knew your job, this would never happen.” He went on to threaten the team with disciplinary action if things did not improve. Having no control over the speed at which the physicians can complete a case, the chastised team members felt demoralized.

Leaders who lack emotional intelligence may alienate either an entire team or selected individuals through thoughtless comments. In a similar event at the same center, a technician set up for the next scheduled case, however the patient brought into the room was out of sequence and was scheduled for a procedure that required special equipment. The doctor entered the room at the same time as the patient, found the wrong equipment in place and became irate demanding that the technician be replaced by, “someone who knows what he is doing.” The rejected technician left the room feeling completely devastated and defeated.

Your reaction to stress matters and affects the performance of your team. Emotionally intelligent leaders can challenge a team to correct a problem and have the group walk away feeling empowered and committed to resolving the issue. If the leader lacks emotional intelligence, teams feel demoralized and defeated when faced with similar challenges. Here are some tips for infusing emotional intelligence into your leadership style:

Tune into yourself

As the gatekeeper of your emotions, be aware of the moment the gate starts to open and react quickly. If something is not quite right and causes a little twinge of anxiety, trust that something is driving your gut feeling and don’t dismiss the emotion that you perceive.

What to do: Take a moment to identify your sentiment and put a label on it; “I’m feeling nervous,” “I’m feeling defensive,” “I’m sensing that I’m being unfairly blamed,” or “my GERD is acting up.” Putting a label on what you feel requires you to shift from an emotional response to one that is intellectual and diminishes the likelihood of a knee-jerk reaction that will add fuel to a smoldering fire.

Slow your reaction

The emotional area of the brain, called the amygdala, kicks in when you are stressed and triggers a fight, flight or freeze reaction. Unfortunately, when the emotional brain takes charge, the thinking brain shuts down and you may respond in ways that you later regret.

What to do: Take control by pausing when you first perceive that your emotions are being challenged; take a deep breath, count to ten and ask yourself, “What is my desired outcome?” or “What do I want?” Continue the intellectual activity by clarifying facts asking questions to gain insight into the other person’s point of view. This process quickly quiets your emotions by stimulating problem solving areas of your brain and saves you the embarrassment of saying or doing something that will require an apology.

Assess and leverage your resources

Leaders of collaborative teams never need to face a problem alone. When challenges emerge, take a moment to assess your resources and utilize those that will help you resolve the problem. Two of your most powerful yet frequently overlooked assets are your team and your positive attitude.

What to do: Approach a stressful situation with confidence and avoid dictating a quick fix or assigning blame until facts are known. Explain your desired outcome to your team and solicit their ideas for resolution. Use your emotional intelligence to be inclusive and harness the creative power of your team rather than shutting them down.

Focus on the desired outcome

Focus on the desired outcome in a positive and proactive manner that looks beyond the immediate problem at hand. A type I solution fixes your immediate problem whereas a type II solution ensures that the problem will not recur for you are anybody else on the team. In the case of the GI center, the goal was more than appeasing today’s irate patient; the type II solution involved realistic scheduling that reflected the reality of the patient flow.

What to do: Create a group-think environment, assume that your team shares your goal and use emotional intelligence to validate and implement their creative ideas. Those who work on the front line have personal knowledge of problems as well as solutions. Tap into your team’s fountain of knowledge

Take control of your emotions and gain a sensitivity for the feelings of those around you. This does not mean that you should ignore problems for fear of hurting feelings; instead, address every problem in a forthright manner that preserves the emotional integrity of the person you are correcting. George could have brought the team together to discuss the patient flow problem, gain a better understanding of causes and create a solution that offered a feasible chance for success. Had he talked to the team, George would have learned that the average time per case was 32 minutes and scheduling a new case every 20 minutes was a receipt for failure. The first step toward staying on the timeline was to develop a realistic schedule that allotted enough time for each case. Rather than working harder or more efficiently, the solution rested in creating a schedule that reflected reality. Similarly, had the doctor in the second example been sensitive to the fact that the technician had set up correctly for the scheduled patient, he would not have launched into a personal attack on a competent worker.

Emotionally intelligent leaders know and control their own feelings while tuning into and uplifting those around them. Elevate the productivity of your team by being sensitive the emotions that drive behavior.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Manage Workplace Stress

Embrace useful stress; eliminate the rest

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

***“We all have to be willing to deal with a certain amount of discomfort in order to see* *what we’re truly capable of.”***

~David Taylor, Proctor & Gamble CEO

Stress is inherent in both our professional and personal lives. Some types of stress are motivating and empowering whereas others are destructive and incapacitating. Both the type of stress that you face and the way in which you respond are the determinants of the outcome. Literature from the American Psychological Association describes the three most common categories of stress and offers insight into stress management. Gaining awareness of the type of stress that you face and formulating a plan to address it will put you on solid ground for reducing anxiety in your life.

Acute stress

James is 12 years old and is all-in for little league baseball. His hitting has improved, and he has mastered the skills needed for him to be successful playing second base; the coach sees him as a player with strong skills and a good sense for the game. Today, the usual catcher is out with an injury and the coach selects James to move to a new position, one that he has never played before. James feels the pressure.

Susan is an experienced Nurse Anesthetist and is a go-to person when her peers have questions about managing difficult cases. Today, there is an urgent add-on open heart case and because of her strong skills, Susan is assigned to step in and provide the anesthetic. Susan has not been in the heart room since her student days 6 years ago and she feels anxious.

Both Susan and James are experiencing acute stress (AC). As described by the APA, AC is the most common type, it is tied to demands that are imminent or in the immediate future, and it occurs frequently. Often, situations that create acute stress pop up unexpectedly and catch you off guard, knocking you out of your normal routine and comfort zone.

Solution

Retrain your brain. Move away from the fear of failure and focus on the opportunity that you are being given to develop new skills. Enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that others respect your skills and selected you to meet the challenge…be glad, not mad.
Focus on personal gain. Anticipate that stressful situations will emerge frequently and welcome them as opportunities for growth rather than threats to your status quo. Visualize a successful outcome look forward to the skills and self-confidence that you will develop from the experience.
Ensure that support is in place. To reduce your personal anxiety, clarify the resources, material and personnel, that will be in place to ensure your success.

Episodic Stress

Adam is the manager of the busy admissions area of a mid-sized community hospital. He awakens half-rested every morning and quickly shifts into high gear, gets his boys ready for day care, scrambles to deliver them and then arrives at work on time. Adam knows the importance of the admissions process and feels personally responsible for what happens in his office as well as for the flow of patients through the hospital. When asked, he says yes to every request and lives his life sprinting from task to task; any unexpected challenge pushes him over the edge.

The APA describes Adam’s situation as episodic stress (ES) characterized by living a life of chaos and crisis in a rushed environment in which, if anything can go wrong, it will. He is highly likely to become irritable and short-tempered, neither of which enhances the productivity of the team.

Solution

Track your stressors. Those who experience ES typically have type-A personalities and live in such a constant state of anxiety that they lose track of the source. Keep a journal of your causes of stress and gain insight into chronic sources. When patterns emerge, use them to anticipate your personal vulnerability and position yourself to proactively fend off the distraction before it occurs.
Set boundaries. Victims of episodic stress often say “yes” even if “no” is more appropriate. Think ahead and plan a response for requests of your time that transcend reason or your capability. Acknowledging the request, state that you are too busy to accommodate and then refer the requestor to a colleague who may be able to help.
Allow time for recovery. You can’t be everything to everybody all the time. To sustain your fast-paced and often over-committed lifestyle, you must embed personal recovery time into your daily schedule and it must be as important as the other things on your list. Set aside time to read, shoot some hoops, meditate or go for a jog. During your recovery time, push out all work-related thoughts and embrace the joi d’ vivre.

Chronic Stress

Betsy is a nurse in a community hospital in the small town where she lives and it provides her only professional opportunity without commuting 50 minutes to a larger city. She dreads going to work because of the disorganized and often disorderly way in which her unit is managed. Her sarcastic supervisor borders on being a bully and does not offer positive feedback. Betsy’s daughter is acting like a knows-more-than-mom teenager, and as the established as the insurance expert in the community, her husband does not have the luxury of moving to another location. Betsy is trapped in a life that is not fulfilling and she suffers from chronic stress.

Chronic stress (CS)occurs when a person does not see a way out of an intolerable situation. Over time, the person stops expecting to resolve the situation, becomes disengaged, and accepts living with a feeling of hopelessness.

Solution

Change what you can. Betsy can’t change her location or her boss; however, she can assess her skills and find new ways to utilize them. She is a nurse and has locked herself into nursing. By finding a new application for her organizational and interpersonal skills used in nursing, Betsy may be able to find other non-nursing work in the community that will leverage her personal strengths.
Develop new habits. When the status quo is no longer working, identify new behavior patterns that will produce better results. Repeating the new behavior frequently will quickly convert the behavior into a new habit. Betsy can change the way she responds to her daughter’s sarcasm and eliminate or reduce the level of tension created by the teen-aged moments at home.
Create a support network. People who suffer from chronic stress feel as if they are in it alone. Develop new friendships by participating in new activities that will give you something to look forward to such as starting a book club or volunteering to walk dogs at the local shelter. Taking charge is empowering.

Stress is ingrained in the fabric of the world in which we live; however, there are ways to effectively identify and manage how it affects us personally. In some situations, stress should be welcomed as an opportunity for personal growth. Other forms of stress are obstructive or destructive and can be controlled or eliminated by developing awareness and implementing solutions.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Up your game, Leader Reader 1, Authentic lessons in leadership by Thomas Davis now available on Amazom

Neural Pathway to Success

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

James finishes a busy day at work, gets in the car and heads home. While he’s driving, his mind is filled with a myriad of thoughts ranging from a recap of his workday to getting his 9-year-old to soccer practice on time. He pulls in to the driveway and realizes that he really doesn’t remember the drive home. His mind has been on auto-pilot and only his practiced habits got him home safely. What would have happened if the usual route had been closed for construction? His old habits would be in the ditch and his thinking mind would have needed to kick in quickly to figure out a new route for getting him home safely.

Jennifer is the head nurse of a busy 12-bed ICU. In addition to her clinical duties, she has two hours of office time built into her schedule dedicated to administrative obligations. Jennifer heads to her office and reflexively checks her email. Within seconds, she is distracted by an interesting message that stimulates her to do a quick google search…which leads to a second link; just that quickly, the two hours of office time have evaporated with nearly nothing to show for her time.

Driven by neural pathways that you have created in your brain, habits are a part of everyone’s daily life and can produce positive or negative results. Neural pathways are a series of networks of neurons in the brain that connect the different cerebral areas and become engrained when you repeat activities; the more you do it, the more your brain wants to do it. Activities such as a healthy diet, daily exercise, or collaborating with team members have a positive outcome and are healthy habits; however, habits such as Jennifer’s wasting office time while she is distracted by google can be career killers. Replacing unhealthy habits with innovative activities creates new neural pathways that will evolve into good habits and create a positive approach to boosting both your personal and professional life. Here are some tips for creating new neural pathways that will augment your personal journey to achievement.

Replace rather than remove

Most people recognize their counter-productive habits and would like to expunge them. Thoughts like, “I need to,” or “I wish I could stop,” acknowledge that a problem exists but “need” and “wish” do not offer a solution. Wishing that you could stop an activity keeps it fresh in your mind and, paradoxically, prods you to continue the habit. Instead of wishing it away, picture your life without the bad habit; then, identify specific activities to replace the behavior. Working to acquire a new activity is more motivating than ruing the negative effects of your current behavior. Jennifer could create a new habit by first visualizing several essential tasks she could accomplish, then limiting email to the last 15 min of her two-hour time block in order to complete the important tasks first.

Remind yourself of the goal

Look beyond your current behavior and focus on what you are trying to achieve. What is your goal and why is it important to you? Post reminders to keep you on track and visualize yourself successfully acquiring the new behavior. Imagine the feeling of satisfaction that you will experience when you develop the new habit and link the emotion to your goal.

Respond to every opportunity

The literature produced by the Neuroscience community varies regarding the number of times a new activity must be repeated in order for it to become a habit. Some researchers identify the magic number to be 60-80 repeats whereas others recommend repeating the activity frequently for 3-4 weeks. All scientists agree, however, that repeating the desired activity creates new neural pathway and, as new pathways are used, the old ones become less important, eventually disappearing altogether. For example, those who have recently quit smoking still have the activity in the back of their mind, whereas those who quit a decade ago, can barely remember that they were once smokers, or admit to it. Creating opportunities to use the new behavior reinforces the desired activity and increases the probability that it will become a habit.

Anticipate distractions

Once you have started modifying your behavior, temptations will emerge regularly. If you’ve committed to eating a healthy diet, someone is sure to show up with a baker’s dozen. Try to anticipate situations that may arise to create more hurdles to clear. Those who have problems completing projects, should turn off social media while working. If you run into road construction after work, have a second route in mind to keep your car out of the ditch!

Remain positive

Moving toward a new work habit can be motivating. Start and end each day by 1) bringing your goal to the front of your mind, 2) reviewing the behavior required to achieve it, and, 3) visualizing opportunities to repeat the necessary activity until it becomes a habit. By being persistent and keeping a positive attitude, you will achieve your goal.

Habits are vital, and we would have difficulty conducting our lives without them. Identify your current habits that are roadblocks to your success and then commit to replacing them by selecting behavior that is positive and productive; then repeat it until a new neural pathway is engrained in your brain and the activity becomes a habit. Whether you are planning an alternate route home or a more focused schedule for completing your daily work, neural pathways will take you to your destination.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Psychological Wellness at Work

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col, (ret)

A psychologically healthy workplace focuses importance on employee well-being, both mental and physical. The organizations that are most successful in providing psychological health for workers do so by making employees feel valued and the companies are rewarded with a highly engaged and motivated team as evidenced by increased productivity and client satisfaction. A study published in 2012 by the American Psychological Association found the following when comparing employers that value employees versus those that don’t:

Workers who feel valued are more likely to give their best effort. (93% versus 33%)
Workers who do not feel valued are more likely to seek new employment elsewhere. (50% versus 21%)
Workers who feel valued are more likely to say good things about the employer. (85% versus 19%)

It is not empowering, nor does it provide a sense of self-esteem to know that you can easily be replaced and it won’t make a difference to your team. In contrast, a worker’s self-worth is enhanced when he/she senses being an essential part of the team. As identified in the APA study, motivation, engagement and productivity are tied to a worker’s sense of being valued by the organization. Letting employees know that they are valued by both you and the organization stimulates each individual worker to put full effort into every project. Here are ways to create a psychologically healthy workplace where workers feel as if they are important members of the organization.

Recognize and showcase talent

Tie assignments to strengths and let people know why you chose them for the task. Avoid routinely dumping tasks on those who you feel most capable because it will generate a feeling of being used. Instead, discuss the objective and let the person know that he/she was chosen because you recognize particular strengths that could be showcased on the project. For example, tell the person, “Last week you did an excellent job on… and your talent is perfect for this job.” Or “you seem to have an interest in… and I think this job would provide an opportunity to further develop your skills in that area.” Making it personal while recognizing individual strengths conveys a sense of worth for the worker.

Share positive feedback from all sources

It’s great to get praise from the boss; however, it is equally important for workers to know that clients and colleagues also appreciate their work. Go beyond giving awards and recognition at a team meeting; tell how the work had a positive impact for clients or colleagues. Client surveys often generate positive comments about individual team members. Posting kudos for all to see sends the message that the work done by the individual is appreciated beyond the workplace.

Offer challenging work

Routine work keeps the wheels turning and is important for achieving the mission of the organization; however, it may not be stimulating. Mix challenging assignments with routine work to keep it stimulating and to promote professional growth. Identify ways to improve workflow and challenge a worker to develop and implement a plan to achieve it. Encourage creative thinking, provide resources and check in on a pre-planned timeline. Workers who feel ownership will put full effort into a project.

Listen to your employees

A common theme expressed by workers in low engagement environments is the perception that they are not heard; many employees say that they were never asked for their opinions. Asking for opinions, listening to understand and then following up by putting ideas into action sends the message that team members are valued. Rather than using group meetings to read announcements, introduce a topic and then spend the time listening to the comments and concerns arising from those doing the grass roots work.

Frequent two-way feedback

The annual performance review looks in the rear-view mirror rather than looking over the horizon and motivating workers to move ahead. Instead, giving frequent feedback (bi-weekly at a minimum) keeps lines of communication open, projects on track and gives tangible evidence that you recognize and value work that is currently being done. Showing real time interest in things that are important to the members of our team conveys that you each person as an individual.

Affirming the strengths of every member of the team in a manner creates a sense that he/she is a valuable member of the group produces psychological security and will pay dividends for the organization. Workers who feel secure in their role and appreciated by both their employer and their colleagues have higher morale and are more engaged in the jobs they perform. The organization reaps the benefit of improved client/customer satisfaction scores…a win/win for all.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Negotiate like a Pro

Negotiation is a process by which two parties resolve a conflict or come to an agreement on a plan of action. Headlines feature stories of negotiations between nations and between corporations; however, headlines rarely mention the negotiations that each of us do daily. On the job, we negotiate everything from work schedules to the price we pay for the supplies that we use. At home, we negotiate the household budget, the location of our next vacation and curfew hours for teenagers. Everything is negotiable. Regardless of your status, here are some tips for effective negotiation.

Think big

All too often we sell ourselves short by framing our position based on what we think that the other party will accept. Afraid to ask for too much, we fail to ask for what we really want. Before you enter the negotiation process, take time to clarify your desired outcome within your own mind. You may not get everything, but you won’t even come close if you don’t know your objective.

Have and welcome options

After clarifying your objectives, it is common to formulate a quick and easy pathway to achieve it. Expand your chance for success by having several options that add flexibility and open the door to other avenues for achieving your objective. As you negotiate, open your mind to options that may be proposed by your opponent. Remember, your objective is to achieve your goal and if a mutual plan gets you there, embrace reasonable suggestions from the other side.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Know your opponent, their resources and their needs. Know the history of your relationship with the opponent as well as the way he/she prefers to conduct business. In the recent negotiation with North Korea, the US team was aware that Kim Jong Un is drawn to high tech devices and loves movies. The US team presented their position in the form of a movie trailer, loaded it on an iPad and gave it to the North Korean President for his viewing. The opponent was eagerly drawn to this unique method for presenting the US expectations, eagerly viewed the movie clip and was more accepting the US position.

Listen

There are several levels of listening. Effective negotiators listen to understand the opponent’s position and to perceive the emotions that drive their decisions. In contrast, ineffective negotiators listen in order to prepare a rebuttal. Acute listening also reveals what is or is not possible based on current resources and allows you to modify your position as the opponent’s needs are clarified.

Use “no” effectively

A plethora of advice has been written promoting the theme of “getting to yes.” Your goal may be to have the deal close in your favor; however, coveting a “yes” response may weaken your position and set you up for failure. Receiving a “no” response does not close the door. It re-frames the context for moving forward. You are in a better position when the opponent gives an honest negative than you are when you receive a false positive. Remember, you also have the option of responding with “no” and sometimes walking from a bad deal positions you to re-negotiate a good deal.

Follow through and deliver as promised

Never offer something that you can’t deliver and if you win the negotiation, follow through quickly. Winning and dependably delivering the goods builds your reputation not only in this negotiation group, but also in your community. Conversely, failure to deliver on a promise will kill any chances for landing the next deal.

Negotiation is a part of everyday life at home, at work, and in the world at large, yet many competent and capable people dread the thought of going after what they want. Whether negotiating the price of a new car, the holiday work schedule or a curfew time for a teenager, be a successful negotiator and embrace every opportunity to create your desired outcome. By clarifying your position and preparing for the meeting, you will gain self-confidence that will become evident both in your words and your body language. Enter every meeting believing that you are more competent and capable than your opponent. You may be no smarter or powerful than the other person, but your preparation and clarity of purpose supports an image of being an authority on the issue being negotiated and supports your credibility. Position yourself for success both at home and at work by using the tips above to negotiate like a pro.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Teaming with Trust

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

Preferred workplaces are interesting, welcoming, stimulating venues where employees enjoy spending their time along with a feeling of personal satisfaction as they head out at the end of the day. Trust is an essential element that must be present for a preferred workplace to exist; however, in many workplaces trust is low, and instead of enjoying their work, employees spend each day feeling anxious and wondering when, where and why the next assault will take place. Rather than focusing on team goals, worried employees revert to a defensive position and focus on avoiding making mistakes. Both morale and productivity suffer in a low-trust environment.

Writing in his personal blog, The Workplace Therapist, Brandon Smith offers a list of characteristics of a low-trust environment, including the following:

Food is routinely stolen from the break room.
You worry about what others say about you when you turn you back.
No one praises each other, ever.
No one helps if someone is struggling. It’s “everyone for his / herself” combat at work.
You are encouraged to compete and beat your co-workers at all costs.
Your boss plays favorites.

Changing the culture of your team requires effective communication, commitment and consistency; with effective leadership, it can be done. Leaders can build a trusting environment by making expectations known and creating boundaries for the behavior of team members. Increase trust and move toward becoming a preferred workplace by enacting these recommendations.

Share information Absolute honestly is essential in building trust because no one trusts a liar. Disseminate information openly and transparently to let those around you know that you have nothing to hide, nor do you have hidden agendas. Have frequent team meetings on which you share information freely, solicit feedback, and listen attentively. Ask your team to describe their views of a trusting environment; take notes and make some suggested changes.

Promote professional development People who know that you have a benevolent interest in their personal development will trust your intentions and will reciprocate by behaving in a manner that earns your trust. Elevating the skills of every member on your team establishes a spirit of collaboration and reduces dog eat dog competition that is found on low trust teams. As you focus on mentoring and developing those you supervise, they will take an interest in helping one another with a “pay it forward” attitude.

Give praise Recognizing and thanking those around you is a quick and effortless way to build trust. Not only will workers feel valued, praising them reduces the fear that you will take credit for their work. Never let a day pass without recognizing and thanking at least one person on your team for a job well done.

Stop gossip Gossip is a trust killer…always. When someone tells you something negative about someone else, you can be assured that they will also talk about you behind your back. Do not participate in or listen to gossip…stop it in it’s tracks. For example, one day in the lunch room where I work a person joined our table and quickly started to say negative things about another person on the team who was not present to defend himself. Rather than participating or allowing the gossip to continue, a second person at the table replied, “I’m sure he would be disappointed to know that you feel that way.” Quickly and effortlessly, she brought the gossip to a halt and the conversation moved to another topic.

Take the first step toward establishing a preferred workplace by building a secure environment where pats on the back replace the knives that were previously placed there. Meet with your team and openly discuss the desired behavior needed to increase trust and then lead by example. By communicating with clarity while promoting the skills and interest of every person on your team, morale and productivity will increase and you will gain a reputation for being a highly desired and enjoyable place to work.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Right player, Right position; Build a successful team

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col, (ret)

On January 17,2017, Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady reached a milestone and reinforced his elite status as a team leader when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the 20^th time. Magazines such as SI, Fortune and Forbes regularly feature the super-stars of business on their covers, filling their pages with success stories from the corporate world. What do the elite super-stars of sports have in common with successful corporate CEO’s? Both have received public accolades for combining their natural talent with their ability to effectively lead a team.

The need for teamwork on the sports field is obvious. Every quarterback in the NFL has the credentials necessary to do the job; they know the strategy of the game and have the physical talents to deliver the desired results. Yet, many fail which indicates that success involves more than the quarterback’s arm. The line must block, receivers must run the right routes and the team must work in sync to achieve victory.

Teamwork is equally essential in the business community where success involves more than the CEO’s vision. Victory in the business world requires a supporting team with each person executing his/her role in a confident and professional manner. Assigning the right person to the right role is the first step to the victory dance. Expecting a strategic thinker to balance the corporate books will be equally disappointing as asking a lineman to run the route of a wide receiver. Know your players and their strengths and then put them into the right position to showcase their skills.

Here are three essential leadership roles to play when you develop and implement an action plan for your team.

Innovator The innovator is the creative thinker who constantly sees a better way to do just about anything. Tell this person what you would like to accomplish and he/she will quickly identify several ways to complete the task. The keen insight of the innovator considers both short and long-term implications and formulates a plan to maximize success while minimizing unintended consequences. The innovator sets the course and provides the spark of energy necessary to get the project rolling. An innovator on the team introduces possibilities however, a team with only innovators becomes a think tank producing concepts but no results.

Enabler The enabler is the essential person on the team who has a network of contacts and knows where to obtain the resources necessary to transform a vision into a reality. Whether the project needs supplies or support, the enabler knows where to turn. Essential resources include not only things, but people and the enabler is a master at fostering collaborative teamwork. In short, the enabler buys into the vision, obtains the resources and motivates others to make it happen.

Implementer The implementer takes pride in actually doing the hands-on work required to give life to a project. This hard-working team member can understand the goal, capitalize on the resources provided by the enabler and do the labor necessary to achieve results. On some teams, the implementer is also referred to as a go-to person, someone who always seems to be able to do just about anything. When an implementer is charged with completing a task and given the resources to do it, the sky is the limit.

Just as sports teams need skilled players at every position, the most successful business leaders build teams where each position has a skilled player. A baseball team doesn’t recruit a generic baseball player; it recruits for a specific position, i.e. pitcher, catcher or infielder. Likewise, insightful leaders recruit innovators, enablers and implementers and then make sure that every project has people from each category on the team. Your ultimate success is dependent upon leveraging your natural abilities by creating a team that will bring reality to your vision.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Managing Change

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

“The only constant is change.” “If you’re not on the change bus, you will end up under it.” “Let’s not get trapped in the past.” The clichés are copious, but when you move from glib rhetoric to reality, altering the status quo can be intimidating to those who have mastered their current jobs. Any threat to the comfort zone can make knees knock and tempers flare. Changing to keep ahead of the competition is inevitable and it’s one of the the keys to company survival and, ultimately, job security. Insightful leaders will facilitate necessary change by welcoming fresh ideas and using their administrative positions to guide their teams smoothly through the transition process.

Changes that occur in the workplace frequently have two important components that provide opportunities for leaders to showcase their skills. First, the technical aspects must be established in terms of written policy and procedure while assuring that necessary resources are in place. Developing new policy involves gathering insight from all stakeholders and anticipating unintended consequences related to the modification. Second, and equally important, the human factors related to implementing the transformation must be considered in order to ensure buy-in from the group. Anxiety and resistance to change are two common reactions that must be acknowledged and addressed before the team can move forward. Whereas technical aspects are often developed by committees, it is the job of leaders at all levels of the organization to address the (human factors) necessary for successful implementation.

Guiding a team to a future state begins with clarifying the desired outcome. Schedule a time to talk with your supervisor and others in leadership positions to ensure that everybody visualizes the future state from the same perspective and is moving toward the same goal. Next, develop a plan for transition to the new workflow that is in alignment with the culture of your organization. Linking the proposed modifications to the mission, vision and values of the organization sends the message that the new plan is not designed to be a nuisance, but rather a necessary modification for long-term success. Holding out for a perfect plan can stifle progress. Create a good plan and be willing to modify it as additional information emerges. Establish markers to indicate progress and create a timeline for implementation of the plan. Know your plan well enough to discuss it openly without notes.

Communication isn’t just the responsibility of leadership. Communication must be two-way and ongoing. Workers at the grassroots level are most affected by the change and know the implications as well as ways to facilitate implementation better than anyone else. More importantly, encouraging feedback from all levels validates the workers and capitalizes on their unique perspective. Based on the flow of information from the bottom up, modifications to the plan can be made to address glitches and unexpected consequences.

After the plan is developed and communicated, the actual rollout will be influenced by your attitude as well as the attitude of key people on your staff. Every group has opinion leaders – those who co-workers seek out when they have questions or concerns. Identifying and bringing go-to people on board before rollout will increase the probability for success.

As a leader, change is an opportunity to keep your organization on the cutting edge of the industry, and, in the process, create job security for the people you lead. Keeping a positive attitude while bringing workers together who have a shared purpose becomes an opportunity for meaningful team-building. The organization’s current status quo is not a destination; it is a leg in the journey to an ever-evolving future state. You will remove apprehension and gain the support of your team by planning, communicating and implementing change in a confident and inclusive manner.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Leveraging Boomers

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

According to the Pew Research Center, Gen X and Millennials combined make up around 34 percent of the workforce. Many Gen X workers, born 1965-1984, have already earned leadership positions and the super-stars in the advanced guard of millennials, born 1981-1987 aren’t far behind. At the other end of the workforce age spectrum are the baby boomers, born 1946-1964. Even though the elder boomers are retiring in droves however, many boomers now in their 50’s and 60’s continue to play a key role in the workplace of today. As younger workers take charge, it is common for entry level millennial leaders to supervise baby boomers. To a neophyte, it may be daunting to supervise workers who are the same age as their parents; However, the maturity that boomers add to your team creates an opportunity for you to leverage their experience. Enhance your position and by capitalizing on the many positive things that elder workers bring to your team.

Dependability Children of the late 40’s and early 50’s were raised by parents who worked their entire career for one employer and retired after forty-plus years at the same job. Their parents were survivors of the Great Depression who taught their children to value work ethic. Boomers hate to let you down and will do everything within their power to accommodate work schedules and complete projects.

Leverage their commitment by developing work schedules compatible with their advanced age and including them when maturity will enhance the outcome of a special project.

Loyalty Older workers who are still in the workforce have a loyalty to the employer and if you are their supervisor, they are loyal to you. They may have seniority on your team, however, those working for you do not want your job. They do want to be part of a highly productive team and that means they will support your every effort in achieving the mission, vision and values of the organization.

Leverage their loyalty by putting them in charge of projects where a steady hand is needed to guide a group of younger workers through new challenges. Smaller projects can be completely turned over to boomers with a high likelihood that they will be completed correctly. You will be amazed at the effort they invest into bringing the project to completion.

Experience Baby boomers often have 20-40 years of history working in their career fields. Writing in Forbes.com, author Craig Malloy notes, “Boomers need to feel their experience in the workforce counts for something in the organization. These employees are, in part, motivated by mentoring team members, who may just be starting off on their career paths.”

Leverage the wealth of knowledge that the boomers possess by soliciting their opinions. Develop learning partnerships between elder and younger workers.

Interpersonal skills Boomers were born into homes wired for land-line telephones and television sets that received only 3 channels. They communicated by talking to one another as opposed to email and texting. Those born before 1964 have flourished due to their ability to effectively communicate face to face with others.

Leverage their verbal skills by allowing them to mentor you when developing strategies to present your position to the team or to those in your chain of command. In addition, boomers went to school at a time when learning correct grammar and punctuation was required for graduation. They are amazing editors for the written material that you intend to send up the chain of command.

Networking People who have been in the workforce for 30-50 years have a vast network of professional and personal acquaintances. It is likely that they know someone who has experience in just about anything that you want to accomplish.

Leverage the connections of your most experienced workers by asking them for references and connecting you with sources.

Stability Boomers have been there and done that. It is difficult to ruffle their feathers and their depth of experience can bring a sense of calm to the chaotic modern workplace. Over the years, these hardy workers have survived crisis after crisis and have learned that when the dust settles, a viable answer usually emerges.

Leverage their real-life experience by allowing them to tutor you when you perceive an impending crisis.

Adaptability Older workers may be perceived as being set in their ways, however, this older generation has lived a life of adaptability. They were born before computers or space travel and our current world is a totally different planet than the one on which they were born. Yet, as their workplace has evolved from paper to digital, they are still on the job.

Leverage their adaptability by including them in technology updates; After all, clearly, they aren’t too old to learn.

Rebels Boomers were born in homes listening to 40’s big band, grew up with rock and roll and now enjoy modern music. They were also born in a segregated America and were the driving force for social justice and civil liberty. Boomers were rebels who saw the status quo as something that could be improved and jumped right in to make the changes. Maturity has not altered the rebel spirit that makes them want to shake up the status quo and build a better world.

Leverage their rebel spirit by establishing a team goal to build a preferred workplace and include boomers as leaders in the movement.

Generation X and Millennials who are being promoted to leadership positions do not need to be intimidated by the age or experience of older workers on the team. Take advantage of the diversity of thought and experience that older workers bring to the team and ensure your own success by learning from them. Once you realize that older workers want you to be successful and are more interested in visiting their grandchildren than stealing your job, you are free to open lines of communication and build on the wealth of experience that they possess.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

Core Skills for Leadership

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col,(ret)

Follow @procrnatom on twitter

The road that a person must travel to become a fully certified/credentialed member of a profession is often long and demanding. In addition to gaining a body of knowledge, critical skills and competencies must be mastered in order to gain entry into the career field and successfully establish yourself as a qualified member of the professional community. Effective leaders in a profession must also master essential leadership skills and competencies, and, as with professional proficiency, skillful leadership expertise can be learned.

Skillful leaders have a vision. Develop the ability to formulate a picture for your workplace of the future by acknowledging where you’re at related to where you want to be. Look for areas where minor changes can produce large results moving you toward the workplace you envision. For example, in my own experience, my vision has always been to create a preferred workplace, so I am constantly seeking ways to promote collaboration and mutual respect within the team to achieve our desired future work environment.

Skillful leaders use communication to motivate. Communication is the transfer of ideas and highly effective leaders take this skill one step farther. They share information in such a way that the listener receives information AND is inspired to achieve the goal. Using good humor, warmth and civility to create a sense of imperative as you communicate, helps establish a can-do attitude within your team

Skillful leaders commit. Meaningful change takes time and having the capacity for all-in commitment is both convincing and contagious. Anything less than a commitment to achieving the vision, regardless of the amount of time it takes to get there, will be viewed by your team as a passing fad. An all-in focus on achieving your vision for the team will inspire them to commit along with you.

Skillful leaders resolve conflict. When humans interact, occasional conflict is inevitable. The best leaders aren’t the ones living in a conflict-free zone. They’re the ones who quickly and confidently address issues and achieve democratic resolution. When faced with a disagreement, assemble all the parties, listen to all sides and discuss behavior/agendas in terms of how the vision and greater goal of the group are affected. The best solutions involve compromise.

Skillful leaders acknowledge and reward success. Whether the project is big or small, determine milestones and give recognition to those whose work was important in achieving them. Plan rewards for the team as a whole as well as for individuals and take the time to celebrate. Public recognition of success is motivating and makes your team eager to take on the next project.

leaders display personal integrity. You can’t achieve your goal alone and the quickest way to kill support from your team is to compromise your integrity. Honesty, transparency and fairness every day in every interaction establishes trust. Integrity is both a value and a skill and is absolutely foundational to leadership.

Administrative authority is more than a title. It requires core competencies, and, as in any profession, requires life-long learning. The best leaders learn from every daily interaction, constantly honing their skills at establishing a vision, communicating a plan, motivating the team and celebrating success. The workplace that you create for your team of tomorrow starts with the leadership skills you employ today.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist.

Build a preferred workplace. Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar. Click here for information.

“Change is the only constant in life.”

– Herculitis, Greek philosopher (535 BC – 475 BC)

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Embrace useful stress; eliminate the rest

“We all have to be willing to deal with a certain amount of discomfort in order to see what we’re truly capable of.”

Acute stress

Episodic Stress

Chronic Stress

Up your game, Leader Reader 1, Authentic lessons in leadership by Thomas Davis now available on Amazom

***“We all have to be willing to deal with a certain amount of discomfort in order to see* *what we’re truly capable of.”***