By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN I hate conflict, a manager recently told me. Her goal is to make her unit a conflict-free zone. This is a worthy goal but probably not doable I warned her. We know from the work of Patrick Lencioni that the inability to effectively deal with conflict is one of five dysfunctions seen in teams who don't work well together. When teams … [Read more...]
Staff Happiness
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN What do you do when a staff member comes into your office and tells you that they are not happy? I was recently asked this question by a young manager who was struggling with the burden of wanting everyone to be happy. She is not unusual. Many nurses who move into leadership have a natural tendency to be people pleasers and enjoy … [Read more...]
When The Bully Is Your Charge Nurse
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN What do I do when the bully on my unit is an experienced charge nurse? This question came from a new manager. The charge nurse in question had been on the unit "forever." She had a great relationship with the previous manager who described her as the nurse "who keeps everything together under even the most stressful of situations … [Read more...]
Becoming Less Defensive
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN A new nurse manager asked my advice on how she could become less defensive. She noticed that every time her director offered a suggestion about how something could have been done differently, she found herself reacting to what she was perceived as criticism. On one level, she knew her reaction was irrational but she was also … [Read more...]
When Senior Leadership Teams are Dysfunctional
By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN What happens when it is the senior leadership team that is dysfunctional? I have often wondered about the impact that this could have in an organization. My question was answered when I recently worked with a nonprofit agency with significant conflict among their senior leadership. As a team, they knew that they did not play well … [Read more...]