[Sharon]

Think of a time you had an intentional leadership conversation

[Samantha]

Learning Activity

1. Create a list of the barriers to implementing Team Huddles in your workplace- TIME is often seen as a barrier. Staff have multiple competing priorities and sometime even a few minutes to give to a huddle may seem impossible. Another barrier is if staff do NOT FEEL SAFE TO SHARE their suggestions/ideas/feedback at the huddle. Additionally INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP skills can also be a barrier, perhaps the nurse who is to lead the huddle is new or very inexperienced in their leadership skills and is struggling on how to pull the huddle together.

2. For each barrier, what is one strategy that may help to overcome the barrier? TIME-staff need to be shown that even spending a few minutes in the huddle can lead to suggestions for change which can then be implemented , which can actually be a time saver in the future. NOT SAFE TO SHARE- creating a space and encouraging staff to contribute to the huddles replies on the leadership of the nurses to demonstrate openness and a willingness to hear everyone’s contributions. INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP-to overcome this barrier, nurses must look for opportunity to grow their leadership skills, not be afraid to try to lead and be open to feedback to improve themselves.

[Kirandip]

Hi Samantha. I agree with you that time is definitely a considerable hurdle to being able to implement team huddles in a workplace. I had a previous job where team huddles were every day at 10 am, and on an ideal day, this worked out great. However, there were many times that the nurses could not attend because 10 am was usually also the only time we would have to speak to families, process MD orders, complete post-falls assessment protocols, etc so our participation was hit or miss. But like you mentioned, really prioritizing even a couple minutes of participation in team huddles can make a huge difference in overall work productivity, feelings of teamwork, and morale at the workplace.

[Megan]

Hi Samantha,

I couldn’t agree more with the “having time” portion. I know when having a confrontational meeting with supervisors, I always felt pushed off and unheard. Needing time for staff to feel comfortable with their superiors is important as they need to feel when conflict arises, they have a safe space to go and vent and help reflect on conflict resolution.

[Kirandip]

1. During a previous role I worked in, our nursing manager had resigned and the care team was transitioning during the manager’s 2 week notice period to their eventual departure. This was during covid, and the company had notified us that though they would work to find a replacement nurse manager as quickly as they could, there could be a period where we would have to function as a care team without a reporting manager. In order to navigate this, the nurse manager held a mandatory meeting with all care team members (nurses and PSWs) and together we discussed how tasks normally completed by the nurse manager would be delegated between the care team. For example, the nurse with the most amount of experience in creating, revising and approving care plans was tasked with ensuring all resident care plans were kept up to date. The care manager used each care team members strength to decide which task they would be delegated. I thought this was a great way to assign tasks and make the transition easier. Having an open discussion where we could all ask questions and clarify our roles together was also a positive outcome of this forum of discussion as well, ensuring transparency and inclusion.

2. At a previous job I had in a retirement home, every day at 10am there would be team huddle meetings called the “10 at 10”. These were 10 minute meetings between any employees working that day (led by which over department manager was available)- where we would meet in a designated private area and discuss updates, daily happenings in the home, recognize outstanding work by a fellow team members, wish employees’ a happy birthday etc. They worked very well because first the timing-10 am was great because it was after all morning care, and morning medications were completed, and before the shower schedule started, so all care team members could attend. They were private- only team members were allowed in the meetings, with doors closed, so there were limited distractions and undivided attention was given to each speaker. They were also consistent, positive, and inclusive. I thought these meetings were overall a wonderful way to keep up great communication or improve communication between team members.

[Megan]

1. Create a list of the barriers to implementing Team Huddles in your workplace- a list of barriers during a team huddle that I’ve experienced was hostility, uneducated staff, uneducated manager, lack of timing, and lack of compassion. The huddles should be informative for staff, if the staff have questions, the managers should be reporting to the staff with answers afterwards, not saying they will find out, but don’t follow through. I also found managers, when presenting information would come with no knowledge and be in a rush, but also become angry or upset with staff when they begin to ask questions.

2. For each barrier, what is one strategy that may help to overcome the barrier? Patients. Have patients with the staff, they also work long hours and days and need someone to be able to bring forward questions, concerns, and just be able to have someone with some empathy to be able to address issues to. Knowledge and Education- someone to be have answers and understand the concerns brought forward, but also someone to follow up and through with the concerns. Be compassionate, people have bad days and aren’t always on their “A” game. Give them an open door and reassure them that they can come and address problems or even vent without judgement.

[Author]

Posts