Building Social Capital on Healthcare Teams

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

In a recently popular TED talk titled Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work, Margaret Hefferman a well known business thought leader talked about the importance of social capital in organizations. She defines social capital as the reliance and interdependency that happens on teams when trust is built. It is social capital that allows teams to work through conflict, weather turbulent times and ultimately achieve more collectively. This is not easy to do in today’s environment where so many people aim to be individual superstars. It takes a leader who values the importance of social capital to strategically help teams to build it through the construction of stronger social networks.

Steps to Building Social Capital

1. Create Opportunities for Staff to Better Know One Another

Repeat exposure to others can help to build trust. It might surprise you how little nursing team members know about one another in some environments. Nurse leaders can help build community by creating opportunities for staff to learn more about one another and what is important to them in their work. Huddles and staff meetings can be great opportunities to have staff tell something about themselves, what is important to them and share their uniqueness. Leaders should also take the time themselves to learn about the lives of their staff, the names of their children and special days such as birthdays. In today’s environment, many staff live alone and may not have close family or friends. For these staff, work is an important connection.

2. Promote Inclusiveness on the Team

To build strong teams, everyone must feel like a valued member. As Margaret Hefferman notes in her TED talk – we need fewer superchickens on our teams and more team players. Inclusiveness means acknowledging everyone who contributes to the team including interdisciplinary team members, housekeeping and engineering.

3. Encourage an Environment of Trust

Social capital is built in an environment of trust. Conflict on teams is natural and should not be discouraged by it is important that it is managed respectfully. Nurse leaders can help foster this trust by refusing to engage in gossip, speculation or criticism of others when they are not present. Leaders set the tone for the culture by insisting that all parties are present for the discussion and no conclusions are drawn until the full story is heard.

4. Look for Opportunities to Celebrate and Gather as a Community

Celebrating special events, birthdays and staff achievements is an important part of establishing community. Most nurse leaders would readily agree that the importance of sharing meals cannot be underestimated in establishing staff camaraderie. Participation in community events such as heart walks or a united way drive can be a great way to build team camaraderie and social capital.

There is strong evidence that teams with strong social capital outperform those teams with less. Historically, the way rewards have been managed in organizations pits staff against one another. Reducing rivalry and replacing it with social capital has the potential to result in better outcomes. By making your workplace and team membership more enjoyable, you may be able to boost employee morale and improve your staff satisfaction. A sense of team togetherness is energizing to staff, reduces absenteeism and improves patient care.