By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
A frequent question that CNOs ask me when we arrange nurse leader development workshops is whether they should participate. Many want to give their managers the ability to share their ideas freely, but worry that they may not do so if the CNOs are present.
My response is always the same – I want you there, and they need you there. Here is what I have learned in doing hundreds of workshops with nurse managers over the past five years:
- There are very few problems that individual hospitals or even health systems have that are unique to them. Almost every challenge that nurse leaders bring up in sessions is universal, and I can normalize that for them, which is part of the value of an outside facilitator. I always tell nurse managers that they are not alone (and not crazy) in much of what they are experiencing.
- Nurse managers today will readily share their problems, whether or not their Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) is present in the room. Development sessions are not intended to manage impressions, but rather to develop strategies for dealing with problems.
- Nurse managers are respectful of the challenges of the CNO role. Today, as hospitals merge into larger systems, many issues can’t be addressed at the local level without system approval. Therefore, it is essential to distinguish between the local circle of influence and the circle of concern.
- Nurse managers appreciate having their CNOs participate in breakout discussions with them, as it helps build relationships.
- CNOs struggle with many of the same leadership challenges that their managers face, so they often leave these sessions with new strategies to consider.
- Nurse managers are often the first leaders to see new emerging challenges at the point of care. It is a rare session where a CNO does not learn something new that impacts care. For example, in a recent session, the emerging use of metaglasses by staff was discussed, which was not covered in the hospital’s personal device policy.
- Having both the CNO (or multiple CNOs with system events) and nurse managers, as well as other leaders, present helps build team camaraderie and enhance relationships.
Having all levels of nursing leadership present at nurse manager development programs has led to discussion of important questions such as:
How do we rebuild trust in nursing leadership after a prolonged strike?
What aspects of nursing care could we stop doing because it doesn’t add value?
What meetings could we eliminate or reduce for nurse leaders to open up more time for leader rounding and coaching?
How do we maintain consistency as a leadership team in our expectations around professional accountability?
How can we reduce the amount and length of emails in our organization?
What boundaries between work and life should we set to improve the well-being of our nurse leaders?
Should we incorporate new performance expectations about teamwork in our evaluations?
How can we challenge our IT department to provide better support to our nursing staff?
Is there anything we can do to reduce the skyrocketing levels of FMLA use and mitigate its impact on staffing?
The purpose of CNO attendance at nurse manager development is not necessarily to acquire new skills, although this may occur. It is more about gaining insight into the ever-evolving challenges that face nurse managers as they lead nursing staff.
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