How to Manage with a Magic Wand

INTRODUCTION My passion for years has been to help new female managers, especially Nurse Managers, Supervisors, and Directors to develop and lead harmonious as well as productive teams. When I was dubbed “the manager with the magic wand, you can get them to do anything”, I realized one basic challenge was dealing with the misbelief there actually was a “them”. However, I was not what I call a “natural born” nursing leader. I began my journey much like Chris in the story. I was a caring and dedicated nurse who had been a grass roots leader on an evening shift, before venturing into the politics of daytime managing in a hospital. I loved working with my small PM staff. We all got along well, with a shared mission to give the best patient care possible. However, when I transitioned to the day shift, I felt like I had traveled to another planet. I was not prepared for the politics, and for having to change my mindset, much like the pie baker in Michael Gerber’s “E-myth Revisited” from being mainly a technically expert person into one who had to get the work done through other people. Managing at a middle manager level also had unique challenges. For example, the politics could be brutal on all three shifts I lead, and each had diverse personalities, and unique priorities. I was also a member of a peer group with the Director of Nursing as my immediate supervisor and found a disempowered and an almost apathetic attitude permeated that team. In addition I was a member of the full management team of the hospital, where I found I had little impact, and felt almost like a child being told what to do by a parent (our CEO). Due to my early negative introduction into middle management, I developed what I call my “RESPECT TEAMS” process. Rather than high control and punishment as motivators and viewing staff as merely blocks on a schedule, I created a more humanistic theory. RESPECT TEAMS you will probably guess is an anagram of the first letters of each chapter which represent the twelve steps of the process that helped me transform into the “manager with a magic wand”. The steps guide leaders to create collaborative rather than competitive teams taking into consideration staff differences of personality styles, communication modes and age groups, along with their individual needs and fears. They also help leaders develop more sophisticated self assessment and life balance skills so they can become less stressed and more satisfied in their careers as well.   STEPS TO BECOMING THE MANAGER WITH THE MAGIC WAND: Chapter One: Remember Listening is Key Chapter Two: Expect Differences of Interpretation Chapter Three: Suspect Trouble When Changes Seem “Too Smooth” Chapter Four: Prepare Staff for Major Changes Chapter Five: Employ Individual Approaches with Different Personality Styles Chapter Six: Create a Safe Environment—No Bullies Allowed Chapter Seven: Treat Each Team Member as Valuable Chapter Eight: Trouble Shoot Continually Chapter Nine: Enjoy the Process Chapter Ten: Achieve a “Team Spirit” (Cooperation not Competition) Chapter Eleven: Mentor, Mentor, Mentor Chapter Twelve: Summary of Leadership Success Secrets When Chris the fictitious novice Nurse Manager traveled her bumpy path, she had a “salty old guide”, Marie the evening Nursing Supervisor gently mentoring her along the way in the story. Bet you can guess that Marie is actually me. I wish there had been a Marie for me, however, many years ago when I began my nursing leadership journey as that fledgling Nurse Manager. Unfortunately, my role models actually admonished me for caring about the staff’s needs, or for that matter the team’s humanity. I remember being told that I should simply regard staff as “blocks on a schedule, and nothing more.” I want the true life based information in this book to help save new nursing and other female leaders from experiencing the pain I endured years ago, and which caused me to resign from my first leadership position after only eight months. Unfortunately, even today in many organizations there may still be few or even no positive coach/mentors who truly understand a humanistic approach to leadership. Luckily, when I became a Nursing Supervisor somewhat later in my career, I met an exceptional Supervisor who worked at a similar hospital, who agreed to mentor me for my first year. She showed me how to take a fluid team and grow it into a productive and more harmonious one than the stable teams that worked during the week. In my role as weekend Nursing Supervisor/Off Shift Administrator, I was able to meld both full time Charge Nurses who worked every other weekend and part-time Charge Nurses (and staff) together to create a dynamic team. We ran full programs in a psychiatric hospital utilizing only nursing staff (no Activity Therapy, Social Workers, etc) and had a lower rate of sick call offs than during the week, demonstrating great staff satisfaction as well. I felt compelled to share my success with other people. It seemed so simple that I wondered why more managers especially in the nursing field had not embraced the concepts I used to develop into the “manager with a magic wand”. However, I then realized that most nurses and women in general have not taken classes in management/leadership, and when you learn from others who have learned from their predecessors, the same beliefs often get passed down. Those misbeliefs foster a misconception that high control with penalties for not doing things “right” is the way to lead. However, a more democratic, high respect, low control and high staff input way of leading actually gets much better cooperation. This style also decreases conflict and work stress and motivates staff members to do their best work. In the story, Marie helped Chris navigate her first year and supported her in becoming a dynamically successful nurse leader, much as my mentor helped me. She encouraged Chris to both team and self assess at deeper levels, helped Chris believe in herself, remember to nurture herself, and become more empowered and satisfied in her role. If you or someone you care about is presently a “Chris” without a “Marie” to mentor you, it has been my purpose for years to help you succeed. You can get the free report: “How to Beat Bully Behavior” at: NurseCareerSuccess.com. If you would like to continue fine tuning your leadership skills, you can also request “Five Steps to Nurse Career Success” as well as ongoing success tips at my website, and can follow me on Twitter at: nursecareersucc. You can reach me personally for questions at: nursecareersuccess@rtconnect.net