By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
What have you changed your mind about in the last two years (the workforce, nursing, and healthcare environment)? It is a question that I usually ask during coaching workshops. The experience with COVID has led to many nurse leaders changing their minds about leadership practices and beliefs that they may have deeply embraced for years. For years, ideas we’ve held that we believed we’d never budge on are suddenly seen in a different light, and we realize we can’t hold on to them if we are to move forward. It’s called growing as a leader, and it’s a good thing.
The question gets leaders to reflect on leadership opinions or ideas about which they have changed their thinking. The point is that leaders should always work to have a growth mindset. Dr. Carol Dweck, a researcher, and professor at Stanford University, has been a pioneer in studying how transformative a growth mindset can be for individuals and overall well-being.
A mindset, according to Dweck, is a self-perception or “self-theory” that people hold about themselves or their environment. Mindsets can either be growth-oriented or fixed. Using a growth mindset, leaders believe that they do need to continually evolve in their thinking as their environment changes. In contrast, when a leader has a fixed mindset, they may cling to old sacred cows and the “good old days.” They are less willing to adopt new changes or open themselves to different perspectives because they could be threatening.
Some beliefs nurse leaders have changed their minds about since 2020 include:
- I have changed my mind about nurses leaving their leaders – now I realize the reasons for leaving are complex, and I don’t take it personally.
- I have changed my mind about taking time off. I never used much vacation for years, but then I got sick – I had worked myself to death.
- I have changed my mind about mental health – I used to believe staff needed to deal with their issues, but now I openly talk about trauma to destigmatize it.
- I have changed my mind about the patient always being right – the last year has shown me that patients and families can be very disrespectful to nurses.
- I have changed my mind about speaking out on social issues such as George Floyd and RaDonda Vaught – my younger staff want to be able to talk about these troubling situations.
- I have changed my mind about stress and burnout. I used to think that staff who were burned out just needed to toughen up. Now I realize how damaging stress is.
- I have changed my mind about accomodating the needs of staff. I used to have a firm rule that once the schedule is posted – that is it. Now I realize I won’t have a team if I don’t accommodate more requests, so I probably have moved in the opposite direction.
- I changed my mind about organizational loyalty – there is none and I have come to grips with that and am at peace that I will not get it.
- I have changed my mind about hiring staff who are totally committed to being with me for years – now I am happy if I can retain a nurse for a year.
- I have changed my mind about how much I really have control over – not as much as I once believed.
- I have changed my mind about the new graduate transition on my unit – I am much more hands-on with onboarding than I have ever been before.
- I have changed my mind about nurses coming to us simply because we are a name-brand medical center – now we have to recruit like everyone else.
- I have changed my mind about travel nurses – they are and will continue to be part of our core staffing so I lead them as I would the rest of my staff.
- I have changed my mind about talking about money – new nurses want specific answers about pay and I now have calculated the value of every benefit.
- I have changed my mind about unit transfer policies – now, I try to accommodate requests as quickly as possible to retain the nurse.
- I have changed my mind about childcare challenges – I used to think it was the nurse’s problem but now I realize it is my problem as well.
- I have changed my mind about trust – it is not automatic and many nurses don’t trust their leaders.
- I have changed my mind about scheduling – if all we do is 12-hour tours, we may end up with no staff.
- I have changed my mind about converting staff to part-time – I now try to keep everyone working for as much as possible.
- I have changed my mind about my role – I am a coach and that is the way I need to lead.
I would urge you to take the time to jot down at least three things that you have changed your mind about in the last two years. Leadership is a journey in which there are many opportunities to question what you have always believed.
Read to Lead
Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Penguin Publishers.
© emergingrnleader.com 2022
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