By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
New leaders often wonder why building a trusting relationship in their new roles takes so long. Trust is a bedrock of leadership. As Warren Buffet has noted, trust is like the air we breathe- no one notices when it is present. When it is absent – everyone notices.” Building trust is a slow and delicate process, and it’s essentially an art few have mastered.
Recent Gallup polling indicates that trust in organizational leaders is historically low, with only 21% of employees indicating that they trust their leaders. Employees in many industries, such as technology, watch leaders chaotically respond to market forces, sometimes laying staff off with little or no notice.
I think it is a mistake that healthcare is immune from these trends. Our industry is a hot mess, and many historical strategies are not working. A recent Deloitte survey revealed that fewer than half (45%) of frontline clinicians trust their organization’s leadership to do what’s right for its patients. Even fewer, 23%, trust their leadership to do what’s right for workers. These two types of trust—to do right by patients and to do right by workers—are highly correlated and associated with significantly lower clinician burnout. This lack of trust is the elephant in the room (severe staffing shortages in all parts of healthcare), and it is challenging to move forward without rebuilding it.
Recently, a nurse leader who took a new position told me that she was following a leader who was not trusted by the staff. She said “when I sat down and did one-on-ones with staff, I was shocked at how guarded they were. I even said to them – you seem to be reluctant to talk. They told me they had no trust in any of the leaders in our facility. There was a lack of transparency about the unit’s challenges, and the staff was judged as being negative if they brought up problems.”
She asked for suggestions. She seemed relieved when several colleagues admitted they were confronting similar issues. Below are some of the strategies we talked about to build trust with her staff:
- Admit you are new and don’t have all the answers – you need the help and support of staff.
- Present clearly to staff what you control and can’t control as their leader.
- Listen carefully to the concerns of staff.
- Tell staff about your leadership journey and help them to know you better.
- Close the loop quickly on challenges that are brought to you.
- Coach staff to make decisions and empower them to solve problems.
- Address any immediate anxiety that staff might have about what you will do as a leader.
- Find out about the goals and aspirations of your staff.
- Be transparent in your communication and be open to feedback.
- Acknowledge quickly any missteps you might make in your transition.
- Solve the minor problems that make the work harder.
- Seek every opportunity to recognize and thank the staff for all they do.
Nursing leadership is challenging right now, especially for those new to their roles. Open communication and transparency will help build trust, but it takes time—sometimes longer than you would like. This leader’s progress is likely to be incremental, but if she implements what we talked about, she will see a shift in the unit culture.
© emergingrnleader.com 2024
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