By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
The topic of recognition is coming up more frequently today as I talk with nurse leaders. They see it as a double-edged sword. While most understand the importance of giving recognition, they now find many staff who want recognition for doing the bare minimum. One manager explained his dilemma in a recent coaching session:
“So we now have a growing number of staff who grew up in environments where everyone received a trophy and was given accolades for being present. Now, as adults, these nurses expect constant recognition and positive feedback for meeting the requirements of their role. I have had many conversations with our staff about what and beyond looks like because few seem to know. I recently talked with a nurse about why she was not advancing on the clinical ladder – she was talking about her excellent attendance record, and I was speaking about her lack of contributions to our professional governance activities. There was a definite disconnect.”
As leaders, we know that staff feels devalued when we fail to say thank you or recognize outstanding work. Nurses want to be valued for their contributions to the team’s work. Leadership experts Kouzes and Posner have called this Encouraging the Heart. It is one of the five exemplary practices of the world’s best leaders.
Leaders who encourage the heart bring others to life by recognizing their unique contributions. We all want to know that what we do matters and that our leaders will notice good work and be encouraging. Saying thank you may sound obvious, but it is often overlooked. You almost can’t do it enough.
And yet, to be authentic, the recognition also needs to be meaningful and call out contributions. So, the nurse manager in the situation above is not wrong in his concern or in setting a bar for what great work looks like. As we discussed the complexity of his situation (which other managers are also experiencing), the need to set clearer expectations about practice was established as very important.
When you give recognition to staff, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I look for opportunities to celebrate achievements and be specific about what we celebrate?
- Do I give staff regular feedback about their work, focusing on what they need to start, stop, or continue doing in their practice?
- When staff volunteer to work overtime or float to another unit – do I recognize those efforts as going above and beyond?
- How often do I say thank you to staff, and am I clear what I am thanking them for?
- Do I look to create a community spirit and ask staff to nominate other staff for great teamwork efforts?
- When I have straight-talk conversations with staff about what warrants recognition and what does not – do I remain optimistic about their ability to meet higher expectations?
- Do I use feedback to encourage progress toward a goal?
In her book Dare to Lead, Brene Brown discusses the need to be clear when giving feedback and to view unclear or unwarranted recognition as unkind. Nurse Managers tell me that they want to create professional environments of excellence. To do this, they need to set the bar for what excellence looks like and celebrate staff who are meeting it.
© emergingrnleader.com 2024
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