What Happened?
The implementation was not as smooth as I thought it would be. Techs and clerks were still unsure of which spots were to be used as no-shows. I felt as though my policy was a failure and everything was going wrong. However, we all make mistakes, what counts is that we learn from them.
I asked my team to provide me with feedback and we would bring them up in the next meeting. At the next meeting, I acknowledged the difficulties the techs had to face and apologized for some of the mistakes that were made. In addition, I asked my team what worked well for them. What didn’t? I listened to their feedback and we as a group decided that some no-show spots were not feasible to scan an inpatient it and hence we revised the no-show policy. So after 3 revisions we got the no show policy just right and so far it has been working great.
Lessons Learned
- I learned that listening to my team and understanding their needs and concerns is the best way to build relationships. I felt that by being open to my team’s suggestion, I had a warm approach, yet at the same time I was firm that the no-show policy is something that our department will be moving forward with.
- Change efforts can only occur when you have everyone on board and the team takes ownership of the issue. As a leader my job was to bring everyone on the table and help guide them in the right direction.
- Like in the Charlotte Beers’ case, when Charlotte said in any change movement “ 1/3rd are supporters, 1/3rd are resistors and 1/3rd are apathetic. I realized that the resistors can become your biggest assets and strengths, if you work with them. Sometimes by framing the issue in the correct manner, people can have a change of heart.
- From the reading “becoming the boss” it states that building committees or group-based forums is an effective way to allow teams to problem solve. As the new leader, my developing the committee I gave my team the opportunity and space to discuss ideas in the open. Such group activities help to instill a team spirit where there is no ‘I’ but rather a “We”. This approach showed that I had no favorites and reduced the effort of me going to everyone individually to convince them of a change effort.
- The article “ultimate leadership task” tip #8 states that you have to learn to be flexible, be committed to life long learning and be open to continuously improving yourself. The no-show policy was a challenge when we first implemented it. The process put all of us including me out of our comfort zone but it also ended up building our team dynamics and relationships. We were willing to learn from our mistakes and improve.
This was my first major change project that I implemented. Looking back, the process helped me become a better listener, better communicator and a better leader. I learned a lot about my team, their personalities, needs and wants. I feel grateful to be part of such a great team!
Personally, I don’t think I would or could have come up with anything different. Ali, I think you tackled this problem as well as anybody could have. I think acknowledging your limitations shows great leadership. You are not afraid to step back and say, “yes, I made a mistake” but you never gave up either. You looked at your staff and said: so how can we move forward? What should we all do? You collaborated with the team and you all come up with a policy. Involving your team gives them a sense of ownership to the revised policy. You get significant buy-in when everybody owns it. They don’t want to feel like they failed. I think you addressed leadership quite well in your lessons learned and I really don’t think I have anything to add for other leadership aspects. I think you were very humble to acknowledge your mistakes but I don’t think they were really mistakes–just part of the learning curve of being a leader and managing people.
Lessons Learned
1. I think sometimes when we begin our new positions we are idealistic and perhaps are a bit naive when attempting to problem solve and implement change. We are all guilty of this. I did this in my first year of nursing. I was the college representative and thought that advocating for the floor nurses by compiling a list of “issues” and presenting it at a meeting was a great way to engage management. It wasn’t and it backfired. The manager said that this blindsided my nursing leader. That being said, I learned a lot in that one hour meeting. My mistake stays with me and helps me guide future actions when attempting to implement change. This is the time we should scan the environment. If I can say such a thing, I will bring in internal analysis from strategic management: assessing your strengths and weaknesses and creating a strategy.
2. Collaboration is the key and engaging the resisters is a very big key. Change is not a one man army. Like one of the quotes in the class, lead from behind and in times of threat, step forward and protect your people. Asking “how are we going to do this” and “lets work together” always works. Instead of being the maestro, your a member of the audience.
3. Being humble and admitting to yourself and to others that you made a misjudgement is completely okay. We are only human. The key is that we learn from this and perhaps the next challenge is a bit smoother. This humbleness also can develop credibility with your staff. Staff will know that you are no ogre but that you are still willing to take chances and that you are still committed to the goal. Staff will also know that you won’t push it if it’s futile. Nothing is worse that watching someone beat a dead horse. Or rather, no one appreciates a leader saying: well this is the way it is, just do it.
Great job on the analysis of your case – there are some really good examples to follow and emulate in here!
1) Leader to lead the change: I think the emphasis you place on the creation of a new system really makes sense, and as a leader I think it is really important to live this (and certainly something my case could learn from!). I think that coming from below to lead your team can be really challenging, but it also gives you a unique perspective to really understand the issue, both the details and emotions of the problem.
2) Building Coalitions: Absolutely key in leading a change effort – the team needs to be supportive of the change. Although not really mentioned in your story, are there any outside parties that need to be considered in coalition building? Inpatient nurses, administrators, or other clinical/administrative groups?
3) Communicating and continuously improving: Very true how you can plan as much as you want, but until the change occurs, you will not know exactly how it will play out. I really like your framing of the issue of “How can I improve this?”
Self leadership:
I think this is a good demonstration of self leadership, especially considering your newness as a leader and the pressures you were under! In your comment, “Is it better to be loved or feared”, I think of what another leader said to me; “I don’t want to be loved or feared – I want to be respected”. Interesting position, taking emotions like love and fear out of the equation. I think you are wise to avoid the solo route – I’ve seen that fail a lot more than it has succeeded. The inclusion of resistors is great, as you already have ‘devil’s advocate’ at the table to instead help structure the change and own it.
Lessons Learned:
1) There is a lot to learn from the successes of this case. Namely the importance of creating a new system, building coalitions, and the unpredictable nature of change. The entire set up was nearly perfect and yet…
2) Change is not always as imagined. I think you really had every element for success in play, and yet inevitably, it wasn’t perfect. I think this is a very important and sobering lesson, which leads to…
3) Iteration, Iteration, Iteration. In your case you recognized that this maybe wasn’t goin as well as hoped, but rather than walk away in frustration, you persevered and tried another iteration to make it better. And another. This was fantastic to see, because as new leaders (and leaders in general) there is a lot of pressure to get it right the first time, which is impossible! Think of class work – you hand it in, get a mark, and it’s done. In the real world you have to stick with it until all the kinks are out and not leave it at 80%. I think this was a great lesson in your case!