Five Tips to Promote Stability in a Time of Chaos

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA, FAAN

Research by the Gallup corporation has consistently found that what followers value most in their leaders is trust, stability, compassion, and hope. All are important but many leaders are struggling with how to create stability for staff in a time of great change. If there was ever a time when stability was important, it’s right now. It is hard to do work when you feel a lack of psychological safety.

As one nurse leader recently told me, The fear is palpable on the faces of my staff – their eyes plead with me to reassure them – not again – tell me that it won’t be like it was last time during this next surge. Like many leaders, she is constantly thinking about what she can do to maintain a basic level of security without certainty because there are no guarantees about that. The following are five things leaders can do today to promote stability:

Don’t be a manufacturer of chaos – there are leaders who thrive in chaos. Don’t be one of them. Often these leaders are masking insecurity. If everything is in a state of swirl, it is harder to be held accountable. They create chaos by failing to attend to what matters most during a crisis which includes caring for their staff, being transparent in their communication, and focusing on quality and safe patient care. They have great ideas, no follow-through and staff never know what is real and what is not. In these situations – it is the leader who is the drama king or queen.
Be transparent in your communication – IHI researchers recently recommended that leaders should be clear with staff that there is no clear playbook in COVID-19 “No one has ever gone through before what we are dealing with now – we need to get through this as a team”. This means that the evidence keeps changing and so do policies and practices. We work from the best information that we have today.
Be stable in your own behavior and routines – there is much that is not in a leader’s control today but how you show up, what you say, and how you behave is in your circle of influence. If the leader stays balanced and carries out their routines such as leader rounding, the staff will feel safer.
Be much more Yoda and a lot less Superman – many nurses are experiencing issues in their personal lives that are extremely challenging and beyond the help of the leader or even the organization. Recognize there will be things that you can’t fix – make peace with that and just plan to be a good listener.
Don’t make any promises that you can’t directly control – you may be asked by staff about the financial health of the organization and what could happen in the future to their job, salary, and benefits. Staff wants a level of certainty around these issues that you can’t promise so don’t. Reiterate that everyone is doing their best but there are some unknown, unknowns.

At this point in time, nurse leaders need to find the right balance of providing stability in the moment while giving followers hope and inspiration for the future. This is not easy and you are heroes for doing this work.

Don’t let nurse leaders in your organization go without development in 2020. Virtual programs include Nurse Leader Coaching, Coaching Staff to Promote Resilience and Leading Teams in Turbulent Times, or schedule your customized Nuts and Bolts of Nursing Leadership Virtual Workshop taught by experts for either new or experienced leaders. Nuts and Bolts Flyer

Read Rose Sherman’s book available now – The Nurse Leader Coach: Become the Boss No One Wants to Leave