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Web site spotlight: Create collaboration and harmony on your unit

Nurse Leader Weekly, August 18, 2008

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All nurse managers want harmony on their unit, but achieving it is the challenge. Staff members of different ages, work experiences, and personalities often clash under the pressures and demands of nursing. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to form a collaborative, effective team with your diverse staff members.

Collaborative work relationships happen when the foundation and expectations are set for them. With your guidance, you can unite your differing staff members into a strong team. The following teambuilding tips can help get you started:

Relationships take cultivation. High-stress, fast-paced healthcare settings make it hard for relationships to bloom, so nurse managers need to know how to nurture them. Consider giving a couple of staff members an extended lunch period to let them eat together and get to know each other. Send different people each month and try not to send nurses who are already buddies. An extra 30 minutes away from the unit is valuable time nurses can use communicating and gaining an understanding of each other. These relationships will reflect in staff collaboration back on the unit.

Pictures foster trust. Trust is a critical part of teambuilding. Try decorating a bulletin board and encouraging staff to post photos of themselves and their families. The pictures will spark conversations, allowing nurses to get to know each other faster and on a more personal level than they would passing each other in the hallways. Because many nurses enjoy talking about their family, this method can also improve morale.

Editor's note: This excerpt was adapted from the article, "Leadership Development: Teambuilding tips for nurse managers" featured in The Reading Room on HCPro's new online resource center, www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com. Get a free trial membership that will give you 30 days to test drive all the exciting features on the Web site.

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