By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN
“Each crisis seems final because it is new.” George Eliot
I often ask nurses what qualities they look for in their leaders. Not surprisingly, nurses seek leaders who are trustworthy, ethical, fair, appreciative and approachable. Increasingly, nurses also tell me that they want to work for leaders who are hopeful about the future, and able to instill that optimism in their staff. This may be challenging for some leaders who feel overwhelmed and uncertain with all the changes that are happening with health reform. Yet, the ability to see past the chaos and remain hopeful about future possibilities is an important leadership quality today.
Why Hope Matters
In his book Bringing Meaning into Monday, Mark Sauter points out that to be fully engaged people require hope and a sense of purpose. Nursing staff don’t expect their leaders to have all the answers about the future but they want to know to know about the possibility of positive things that change could bring. In a recent blog a World with no Hospitals , I wrote about predictions that we may potentially have up 25% fewer hospital beds by 2020 according to health care economists. Some leaders have reacted to these predictions by focusing on what will be lost if this happens. It is true that the majority of nurses today (62.2% according to the National Nursing Sample 2008) work in acute care hospital settings. If acute care beds decrease, there may be fewer nursing jobs in those settings in the future.
But the new future does not mean that patients will not need care – the future possibilities may be in other settings. Conveying this to staff creates hope and a unifying vision. We often forget that our staff spend most of their time at work therefore whatever happens at work influences all aspects of their lives. If the work environment is one of hope and possibilities, our staff will carry this mindset into other parts of their lives.
Conveying Hopefulness
It is interesting that if leaders themselves believe that things will get better and their behavior reflects this – they will feel more hopeful. Some strategies to instill hope in staff include the following:
1. Help them to set goals that will empower them – in a changing environment, we know that building your skill set is extremely important. Staff should be encouraged to return to school for a BSN or Master’s degree. Now is also the time to cross-train to other areas to build your competency. Hope is alive when you have faith in a plan for your life and see possibilities for change while making progress toward your goals.
2. Educate staff about changes that are occurring – knowledge is power. When staff understands the “why” of change – they are likely to feel more optimistic about the outcomes.
3. Establish a no-whining environment – pessimism and hopelessness are contagious. Build an environment where optimism is promoted and you “flip” negatives into positives.
4. Have an attitude of gratitude and retain a sense a humor – there is joy in celebrating the important events in life and achievements of staff. Encourage your staff to be grateful for what they have. Cultivating a healthy sense of humor and perspective instills hope.
5. Focus on the patient – keeping staff patient-centered will create a shared sense of purpose. Watching patients improve and get better as a result of care that you give is important to staff. It also helps staff feel hopeful simply because they are taking action. Taking action with the purpose of helping others nearly always leads to more hope for everybody involved. It will make their work more vibrant, meaningful and productive.
We all know leaders who have hope when others don’t. Be one of those nurse leaders who instills hope in their staff. Trust that things will work out. It may not be painless, it may not be easy but things will be fine and work out in positive ways that we may not anticipate in advance.
Read to Lead
Sauter, M. (2009). Bringing Meaning into Monday: A Sustainable Approach to Bottom Line Success. Create Space Publishing.
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