Why Nurse Leader Engagement Matters

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC

A nurse leader recently told me how nurse engagement in her units had plummeted. She needed to put together an action plan, but she was wise enough to see the link between what was happening with her units and her behavior. She shared the following story:

I feel so overwhelmed that I sometimes shut down and disengage from my work. I thought no one noticed, but they did because my engagement scores took a nose dive. My health system is experiencing financial challenges. Six months ago, I assumed responsibility for a second unit when another manager left his position. The change is now permanent, and I am managing two units. I feel like I am drowning.  I feel like I can’t ask for help and see myself disengaging from work as a defense mechanism.

This nurse manager is not alone in her workload challenges. She is wise enough to see the link between her behavior and her staff’s engagement. The engagement of staff starts with the nurse leader. If you are not engaged in your work, it will be impossible to engage staff. Gallup research indicates that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement and that US managers are only slightly more engaged in their work than their staff.  This is essential data for nurse leaders because your engagement profoundly affects the engagement of your staff.

You need to walk the talk of engagement. Gallup findings indicate that the managers who are successful in engaging staff share certain traits:

• They enjoy learning about the strengths of their team members.
• They take the time to learn what motivates individual staff members.
• They match talent to tasks when possible.
• They trust their staff to do their best.
• They don’t micromanage and get out of the way of staff.

In talking with this manager, it became clear that the boundaries between work and home were becoming more blurred. Her marriage was suffering, and so was her work. She needed to stop suffering in silence and ask for support. There are probably things in her role that she needs to stop doing because she no longer has the time. Her action plan to improve staff engagement must start with changes she needs to make in her leadership. Like the messages we often hear on airplanes, we must put our oxygen masks on first. Engagement in work requires positive energy and optimism.

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