Reference no: EM133152832

Scenario 

For several years at Mountains Community Hospital, a small rural community hospital, has had trouble attracting someone to lead their quality improvement department. As a result, a nurse, Ms. Williams, had served as "acting" department director for almost two years. In fact, most people had stopped using the term "acting", believing she was now the permanent director.

You were just hired, however, to lead the department. Ms. Williams will be remaining in the unit as the associate director. Although this change was clearly a demotion from the prior situation, the CEO was allowing Ms. Williams to keep the raise she was given when she took on the acting department director position. During your first week in your position, Ms. Williams said little about the change; in fact, she was not very communicative at all, even a little unfriendly and curt. At the end of the week, you asked her to come speak to you. You say, "Obviously, this is a challenging situation for both of us. I'd appreciate it if you could talk with me about this."

Ms. Williams says, "I can see why the hospital prefers someone with your training to lead quality improvement. But, I led this department for two years; my evaluations were great. We even were recognized by JCAHO last year. I know I was only given the title of "acting" department director, but I was never given any reason to believe that this job was not going to be permanent."

JUST looking for feedback or how you would respond to questions 1 and 2 with the answers that I have already provided:

1. How can the two of you build a compelling vision for your unit?

To begin the process of building a compelling vision for our unit, we must first build a quality relationship with Ms. Williams. She holds great influence within the unit and it is vital that all others find that she is in support of our position and the vision we would like to create. After establishing a good report with her, it is important to hold team meetings with the entire department to get to know the team lead and to get an understanding of everyone's opinions. It is more than likely that if Ms. Williams is unsupportive, then the rest of the unit will likely hold their own suspicions as with all changes in leadership generally occur. Getting to know one another and understanding the needs or feelings of our team should be placed as the first priority in building a vision. Learning from Ms. Williams prior to her promotion and after her demotion will provide a gauge for issues that occurred in the past and what corrections she made that worked well. She can provide the history, timeline, and small details of vision changes over the course of her employment and provide insight on where she would like the company to go. It must be made clear that it will be a team effort between the two of us to provide a mutually beneficial arrangement for the benefit of our unit, department, and organization.

2. How will you get this relationship headed in the direction of loyalty and trust where both of you feel like you are developing your skills and feel energized in your work?

As the new leader of your unit, it is important to establish a line of openness, trust, and mutual respect. We should have a sit-down conversation or a long letter to explain my gratitude for her service, my understanding of her feelings, and that I only want what is best for everyone. She should be made to feel like she is a priority in this unit, my development, and that she is not unnoticed in all of the work she has done. Explaining that it was not my decision to retract your title but that upper management recognized my performance, skills, and qualifications from a long history of success in other organizations. I would like to make it clear to her that I will rely on her for major decisions, that her input will be heavily considered, and that any credits of success and helpfulness will be given where due. I will include her in the decision-making process as much as possible and make it ever so clear to our unit that Ms. Williams is playing a large role in the decisions made. My goals are to create a relationship with Ms. Williams where both of our skills and experiences are utilized and that my abilities and personality as a great leader make an impression on her. Trust is something that is earned over time through actions and subtle words. It is my plan to win over Ms. Williams through the sincerity of my leadership skills to make her feel like she is appreciated, making a difference, and that most importantly she is being heard. In the end, it is my goal to make it clear to her that my success is the result of her guidance and my capabilities as a leader.