Healing the Hearts of Healthcare: Leadership

In this podcast, Arleen focuses on the impact leaders have on their workforce when they prioritize and create individual development plans and gain consistency with leadership competencies. Arleen shares the requirements of the candidates of the United States Navy Seal elite special force training to ensure candidates are fully prepared to navigate highly stressful combat situations with confidence. Arleen reminds leaders that the healthcare workforce is expected to navigate in complex, dangerous, unpredictable and highly stressful situations every day, yet leaders are not typically offered the training to support the workforce effectively.  

Arleen shares a leadership trap known as the “The Peter Principle,” a leadership model based on observations and the potential of people to be promoted to their level of incompetence. This model, developed in 1969 by Lawrence Peter and Raymond Hull highlights the importance of leadership and competency development. When leaders focus on their professional development and improve their leadership competencies, they position themselves for success.

Arleen shares a resource available through The University of Pennsylvania called the Brief Strengths Test, from the work of Chris Peterson at University of Michigan. Taking the test can help leaders prioritize areas for focused development. Arleen encourages leaders to take a lesson from nature in evaluating the design and function of ants and how their characteristics of working together to support the colony equates to the development of leadership competencies. Arleen ends the podcast reminding leaders that you can make a difference by closing professional leadership development gaps and gaining consistency in every situation. Leaders who focus attention on improving their leadership competencies are in the best position to navigate the challenges of supporting healthcare workers every day and to help them to heal their hearts from day-to-day experiences. 

In this podcast, Arleen shares through storytelling how a graduate registered nurse’s experience during a recent interview caused him to flee. Arleen reminds leaders about the power of first impressions. Every leader needs to evaluate your internal processes related to recruitment, interviews, orientation, onboarding and retention to manage the challenging workforce. Arleen highlights research by Gallup, Inc. regarding the percentage of employees who strongly agree that their onboarding experiences prepares them for success. Arleen also shares research by the Society of Human Resources regarding the financial implications of replacing employees who choose not to stay. But you can learn through practice new leadership strategies that are guaranteed to improve retention.  

Arleen highlights the importance of looking inward and taking a value-based leadership approach to leadership. She shares that leadership is about gaining consistency, taking ownership and being accountable to yourself when you make mistakes. When leaders work on developing their leadership skills, they are in the best position to form strong connections with team members to support helping them to heal their hearts from all their experiences. Arleen shares some common traps leaders fall into with interviewing potential candidates. Arleen reminds leaders to focus on competency-based questions designed to give you a sense of the support a person needs to be successful. Arleen shares the importance of using a person-centered care approach to leading team members and making adjustments when more support is needed.

Arleen highlights several concepts from the book On Fire At Work by Eric Chester and what leaders must consider when educating, supporting and coaching your team members. When leaders ignite their passion, they are in the best position to prevent healthcare workers from experiencing burnout.

In this podcast, Scott Ellner, DO, MPH, MHCM, FACS joins Arleen as a guest podcast host to discuss why leaders must embrace a humanistic approach in leading a post-pandemic healthcare workforce. Scott reminds us leadership is not simply directing people but recognizing their individuality and prioritizing their mental health and well-being. When we miss the opportunities to show compassion or interest in their well-being, it can have a direct influence on the way they provide care. Scott reminds leaders of the importance in caring for team members by creating a nurturing environment, one that helps them navigate challenges effectively.  

Scott shares why every leader must advocate and promote a “Just Culture” where team members experience psychological safety to share reflections when errors occur. In a post-Covid-19 workplace, Scott shares his passion for promoting workplace safety and the role leaders play in creating the conditions for every healthcare setting. 

Scott reminds us how our words matter and when we lead with positive intent, ask questions in curiosity, and correct system failures our team members feel supported.  Scott challenges leaders to use expressions of gratitude regularly and to lead from your core values in every interaction. Finally, sharing his greatest hope for the future; for every healthcare professional to find joy, meaning, pride and passion for the work they do in caring for others. 

We invite you to learn more about Scott’s passion for leadership and advocating to improve healthcare by connecting with him on LinkedIn.

In this podcast, Arleen discusses how and why leaders need to develop leadership skills in order to turn the tide with team performance. In our workforce there are many team members who are unhappy, burned out, exhausted and even lack compassion. Arleen offers leaders reflections from the book Instant Turnaround! Getting People Excited About Coming to Work and Working Hard by Harry Paul and Ross Reck, Ph.D.

Arleen shares from the book how forming relationships and making connections with your team members is the best way to tap into your team members’ discretionary effort. Arleen shares those effective and not so effective ways to connect with your team members in order to tap into their discretionary effort. Arleen shares from the book, the “Four B’s” leaders need to keep top of mind in order to motivate team members through trust. Arleen reminds leaders to sustain this level of support, it also requires a commitment from senior leaders to sustain discretionary effort.  

Arleen also shares leadership reflections from the book The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey and how as leaders we must focus on specific behaviors to promote a culture of trust between you and your team members. Arleen reminds leaders that forming trustful relationships with team members is essential in leading people who provide compassionate care and take care of people every day. Once you form trustful relationships, you can inspire and motivate team members to achieve their personal and professional best.

In this podcast, Arleen shares the work of John Bickart, Ph.D., author of 20 Opportunities to Transform Yourself While Teaching. To be an exemplary leader you must search inward and ensure you provide a supportive environment where your team members can thrive. Arleen shares an exercise from John’s book that challenges leaders to move from their head to their heart. Step one in making change is to look inward and believe that it can be better. 

Arleen reminds leaders that they will experience many challenges in leading teams, but you can learn new ways to connect to your team by tapping first into your heart and showing compassion and empathy. Shifting from a “transactional” viewpoint and developing your leadership skills to “relational” and connecting with team members who are unique people who need a leader to see their potential. Arleen shares the importance of building in natural pauses before responding and learning to respond rather than react. Once you learn these simple strategies, you can lead healthcare workers forward to all the future possibilities. 

You can access John’s book on Amazon and related tools/resources at https://www.bickart.org/

In this podcast, Arleen discusses why it is critical that leaders spot and treat compassion fatigue. This single action is an act of compassion, noticing when a healthcare worker is reaching the early phases of exhaustion and burnout. Healthcare workers are wired to provide compassionate care, but in the course of providing care an exchange of energy can occur that depletes them. If left untreated, compassion fatigue can set in, leading to apathy. This is the place where compassion dies and patients are left feeling helpless.  

Arleen shares reflections from the book Awakening Compassion at Work by Jane E. Dutton and Monica C. Worline. Arleen shares from the book that many people generally feel disrespected, not listened to and devalued. The 4-step process in the book as to how to awaken compassion at work is exactly what you need to spot it and to treat it.  When we form genuine connections, act interested, are aware of their struggles only then can we offer support. Arleen shares how to notice even the subtle changes in personality and behaviors and learn ways to re-awaken compassion. These actions, by leaders, create a safe, supportive space where we ensure self-care is integrated into daily practice, so that healing can occur.

Arleen reminds leaders that you have a duty and responsibility to develop your leadership skills and competency. Arleen shares in this leadership podcast the importance of mastering presence with every single team member every day. Healing the hearts of your team members starts with slowing down your pace and noticing team members when they experience challenges and ensuring you are present. Arleen reminds us that presence includes your ability to be a leader who inspires and motivates your team members to achieve their personal best is 100% within your control. 

Every day you have the opportunity to bring laughter, joy, happiness, praise and recognition of our team members. Your business involves caring. If you want team members to provide compassionate care, you must care for them. You can be an influential leader by practicing your coaching skills and providing feedback from a place of love instead of judgment. Leaders must look for the good and push aside our propensity as humans to allow bias to enter into your head and/or heart.

Arleen shares examples from the book Rewiring Happiness by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. In Rick’s book he teaches ways you can create new neural pathways to replace our innate negativity biases with positive emotions and responses instead. You can learn how to retrain your brain to be responsive instead of reactive. It simply takes practice and you will be happier and see less conflict with your team members. Arleen shares a simple exercise from the book Journal to the Self by Kathleen Adams where you list out the things you want to see in yourself vs. those things you want to stop doing. This simple exercise will help you to commit to making small changes that will help you achieve consistency in your leadership style and presence.

Supplemental reference:  Management by Objectives by Peter Drucker (garbage can on the factory floor reference).  

Healthcare workers are wired to care for people — it's in their DNA. As a leader, YOU have a duty and responsibility to care for the caregivers. This podcast invites you to a call to action!

Every single day, your team members are exposed to pain and suffering firsthand. They need leaders to remind them of the importance of self-care, to learn strategies to heal their own hearts so they can continue to do the great work they do.

Don't forget the field of healthcare is tough and requires leaders to be inspirational, passionate and to offer support so their teams can achieve their highest potential. You desperately want your team members to provide compassionate, empathetic care. Patients and family members want the same. Achieving that starts with YOU leading the way.

Join me every Tuesday and learn how to inspire, motivate, and heal your team — so that they can continue to heal others.