Nursing

Inside the program: Focus on a shared governance empowerment process

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, June 9, 2009

Shared governance councils select a chair from among the membership to provide leadership for the council. For the staff councils, that chair will be selected from among the staff. The research council chair may be management or staff, and the management council selects its own chair. These chairs must be empowered to manage or lead the councils with the responsibility, authority, equity, ownership, and accountability to make decisions and to act on those decisions.

Empowering the chair means the chair of each council will be given certain basic powers secured by the role. It is recommended that the chair do the following:

  • Be elected by peers
  • Control the agenda
  • Assign group tasks/functions
  • Move the group to decision-making when discussion indicates a need
  • Remove non-performing members from the group if necessary


Source: Adapted from HCPro's book Shared Governance: A Practical Approach to Reshaping Professional Nursing Practice.

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