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By Courtney Clark
Have you ever had to share an office with a total Negative Nellie pessimist? Someone who always sees the worst in any situation? A coworker with a constantly negative attitude can lead to a toxic culture and a lack of productivity. When one person at work is always complaining about something, that negative mindset can spread through the whole office. Rolling in the door at work on Monday morning can be tough enough! But it’s even tougher when you know you’ll be greeted by a colleague with a poor attitude. Here’s what to say to protect yourself from your pessimistic colleague, and keep their bad attitude from ruining your workplace Complaint #1 “Woe is Me. Everything in My Life Is Horrible.” Your Action Plan: This type of complaint usually comes from someone craving connection and compassion. They want a listening ear, and often get mad when you recommend actions they can take to change their situation. What’s extra-frustrating is that many of their complaints aren’t even work-related, and they waste your time wanting to gripe about their miseries without wanting any solutions. In this situation, make it clear that you care (which hopefully will head off a major meltdown), but don’t engage any more than that, or you may find yourself trapped in a conversation loop. Try saying: “I understand you are frustrated, but I’m out of ideas to help you make the situation better. I can’t help you solve this problem, and I have to focus on my work right now.” Complaint #2 “Why Do We Need To Change? This is How We’ve Always Done It.” Your Action Plan: Employees, especially those who have been there awhile, can be reluctant to face change. One of the most effective ways to make change less uncomfortable is to connect people to the purpose of the change. Start by pointing out to your colleague how the change is going to have a direct payoff for them. If the pessimist employee is a long-timer, you could appeal to their pride by saying “you probably know better than anyone…” about the issue at hand. Try saying “the changes being proposed are going to help us reach the vision we’ve always had for this organization. You probably know better than anyone that we were founded with a goal of accomplishing X, Y, and Z. This leap is going to feel big, but it’s going to allow us the long-term stability we’ve been wanting, which I know is important to you.” Complaint #3 “That Won’t Work. This is All Wrong.” Your Action Plan: Some colleagues just have a complaint about everything. Constant criticism can derail a staff meeting and demoralize the team. But if handled correctly, your pessimistic colleague’s complaints may just be an asset. Research shows that workplace conflict can actually lead to better solutions. If you have a regular complainer on your team, try to channel their complaining into something helpful by giving them the job of foreseeing future complications on projects and ideas. If they feel like their complaints are being heard and taken seriously, they may be more likely to keep their critiques for the times when they’re asked. But if not, try saying “I hear your concerns about solution X. It’s time to move on from brainstorming possible hurdles, and start talking about how we implement solutions to those problems. What are your suggestions for working through the potential problems?” You may not be able to change your pessimist coworker’s attitude. But you can minimize the impact it has on you and everyone else. With a few strategic comments, you can minimize the negative impact of the office pessimist, and create a more positive atmosphere for everyone. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success!
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By Tim Hague Sr.
Perseverance can sound easy—just don’t quit. Well, not so much. There are times when we do need to quit things, thoughts, or even people who are no longer working for us. We need to push out or just let go of what’s burdening our lives. These aren’t rash, random actions, but rather careful considerations. What can I still do, what do I truly need to do, what must remain in my life, what can be let go? All with the goal of weeding out the unnecessary and bringing a sense of calm to our lives. An important part of achieving such simplicity is the ability to cease striving. As Tim Jr. and I learned in leg three of The Amazing Race Canada, striving is a destructive mindset. It can mean a panicked, irrational response to circumstances, a “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” approach with no thought of the consequences. That may make for great movies, but in real life it’s seldom a good course. To adopt a “cease striving” attitude doesn’t mean that we no longer set goals or have a burning desire to succeed. It comes down to controlling those things that we can control. It’s focused, deliberate action that takes into account the reality of our personal abilities. Parkinson’s is profoundly adept at pointing out my limits, and I dare say that this can be a good thing: I can assess what I can and can’t do and concentrate on the former. Have you ever wished someone would just tell you which way to turn or what decision to make? How many times have I wished I could still run home to Mom and Dad and have them guide me? Well, in a sense that’s exactly what I have with Parkinson’s. I may not always like what I hear, but the instructions are clear. Then I have the freedom to choose how I move forward. There is freedom of choice, there is control; it just doesn’t always look the way I thought it would. I’ve always been a little fascinated by those who seem fixated on youth, who strive not to age—those who maybe receive one facelift too many or one tummy tuck too far. Why don’t they simply accept life for what it is? We all age; we just don’t have to get old! But then I’m reminded of my early response to Parkinson’s: I was adamant that it wouldn’t put limits on my life. No disease was going to tell me what I could or couldn’t do. I was in charge! Well, as they say, good luck with that. It’s not an easy thing for me to do, but it’s ultimately more satisfying to cease striving, accept my reality with Parkinson’s, and live my best. And not only is it more satisfying but I end up accomplishing a lot, too. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Amy Dee
You don’t have to be great to start: You have to start to be great. The Covid19 shelter- in-place order creates opportunities to develop new skills. Don’t allow inexperience to stop you. Start. Both embarrassing and hilarious errors occurred while I learned to speak Norwegian. After a few weeks of Norwegian lessons, I expressed my affection to my father-in-law by saying, “Jeg elsker deg.” Turning bright red, Knut quickly left the room. His reaction confused me until I discovered that “elsker” refers to a romantic/sexual love. Obviously, unless you are on the Jerry Springer show, this is not ok to say to your father-in-law. After many lessons and lots of practice, I become comfortable enough to chat away in Norwegian. You don’t have to be great to start: You have to start to be great. Believe me, sewing isn’t my thing. Discouragement hit me in middle school when my home-economics short pattern ended up looking like a beach bag with legs. Despite this initial failure, the coronavirus inspired me to make masks, so I bought a cheap sewing machine. My first seam looked like a two-year-old’s plate of spaghetti. After six hours of instructional YouTube videos and a creative blend of bad words, I managed to thread the machine. The first mask looked like a doll diaper with strings. My second mask fit Tia, our toy poodle. The third mask covered my entire face and neck, so it may become a pillowcase. After several more epic fails, and despite crooked seams that resemble my bite before braces, I created masks that work. The shelter-in-place order allows you to hone brand new skills such as writing, pole dancing, or bread baking. No matter what you choose, START, because… You don’t have to be great to start: you have to start to be great. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
“Gosh Dad, is everything bad? Are we going to be okay?” These were the questions my son, Patrick, asked last week as we watched the evening news. The entire coverage was on COVID-19. For weeks now, story after story features the infection spread, the death totals, the carnage caused and the projected devastation looming. Although it’s impossible to underestimate how tragic this pandemic is, a little context in understanding our media is also important. Harvard Business Review reported that more than 94% of stories shared by the media are negative – that’s a stunningly high 19 of every 20 stories. And that stat is from 2017 – when markets were at all-time highs, unemployment at historic lows, and the notion of a global pandemic unimaginable for most of us. Because what we choose to focus on expands within our consciousness, it’s highly likely that reading all those negative articles, watching your cable news and becoming a stay-at-home, self-taught epidemiology expert will trigger growing depression for today and hopelessness for tomorrow. My friends, the negative bias promoted by media and echoed in social media feeds is far from an accurate barometer of the world in which we reside. The media highlights exponential virus spread, growing death totals and expanding joblessness. They focus all of their attention – and ours – on the missteps of local leaders and the mishandling by national politicians. They stoke the embers of fear and despair. There are few stories celebrating the global rise in recovered cases, the expanding capabilities around testing and treating, the dramatic increases in the production of masks and respirators, or the generosity of sovereign countries and less devastated states deploying their resources to hotbed areas. They overlook the countless stories of first responders, health care professionals, custodians, grocery store workers, truck drivers and ordinary heroes showing up daily to keep our nations advancing forward. And there’s rarely a mention of the prodigious effort undertaken by our amazing teachers to radically reorganize lesson plans to guide their students (and their overwhelmed parents!) through the crisis. Even during simpler times, the need to notice the good was too often overlooked by so many searching for the bad. To counteract the negativity being broadcast in 1986, the legendary Mr. Fred Rogers wrote an op-ed. Included were these words: I was spared from any great disasters when I was little, but there was plenty of news of them in newspapers and on the radio, and there were graphic images of them in newsreels. For me, as for all children, the world could have come to seem a scary place to live. But I felt secure with my parents, and they let me know that we were safely together whenever I showed concern about accounts of alarming events in the world. There was something else my mother did that I’ve always remembered: “Always look for the helpers,” she’d tell me. “There’s always someone who is trying to help.” I did, and I came to see that the world is full of doctors and nurses, police and firemen, volunteers, neighbors and friends who are ready to jump in to help when things go wrong. In the midst of a global pandemic, perhaps we should consider not only tracking all the figures around mortality and contagion, but also the recovery rate and the vast majority of individuals are choosing to surrender their personal needs and desires while practicing social distancing in order to benefit others. We know that whatever we choose to water, grows. We realize that whatever we pay attention to and focus on gets bigger. And we choose today to attend to what we want, not to what we fear or despise. We can choose to not only can flatten the curve but create a movement that reminds the world: In spite of today’s adversity, there are helpers showing up, there’s reason for hope and there remains certainty that the best is yet to come. This is your day. Live Inspired. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Laurie Guest
Building business is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it. Consider four behaviors that build business, all based on one of my favorite things: boardgames. Each is simple to understand, but may not always be easy to deliver. Read up and do your best! When I was a young girl I asked my mom if I could be in a Monopoly tournament. I won in the first round and can officially own the title of local champion. What a thrill it was! As an adult I realized that the behaviors in the game of Monopoly are the same behaviors that can help you build your business. Know what people land on. Because I know that players land on orange properties the most, I work to grab those first. It’s the same with your customers. Do you know what makes them come to your place of business? Do you know what really brings them back to see you repeatedly? You may think it’s the chocolate chip cookie you offer them while they wait, but it might be the fact that the first person they encounter always knows their name and treats them kindly. Is it possible that you don’t even know why people choose you? Is it more of a guess on your part? Then it’s time to do some research so you can discover your stats using facts not feelings. Build early and build often. The sooner that you can afford to build houses and put them on your Monopoly property, the more likely it is that you’re going to win. There are so many ways for us to spend our resource dollars in business, but I believe the behavior that will build your business is to focus on the staff needs before filling your own pockets. That may be hard for business owners to hear, but in the two decades that I’ve been working with clients, I find one thing to be universally true: successful businesses have reinvested in their biggest resource, the staff. When I say reinvest, I don’t mean provide raises and benefits. I mean investing time, education, training, personal development opportunities, and relationships at work. We all know how costly it is to replace staff. Learn to build early and build often by building up your people. It is critical. Play by the rules.I think almost everyone has at least one house rule when they play Monopoly. These are tweaks to the original instructions that when used enough become a part of the player’s belief that the rule is real. For example, are you one of those families that puts a little money in the middle, and then when you land on free parking, you get the money in the middle? That’s not a real rule. Once you agree to play by the rules outside of the original game, then the manner in which you win changes. The same is true in business. If you have policies on how things are supposed to be done and they exist for a good reason, then honor them from the top down. If the front-line person enforces a policy and the customer asks to speak to a manager, it’s imperative that the next level of authority stand strong in the same stance as often as possible. Otherwise, the customer knows they have found a path to a different answer. Don’t forget why you got the out gameboard. I love to play games, and any time I can convince friends to get out a deck of cards or open the lid to a boardgame, I am giddy with anticipation of fun. One thing I can say without hesitation is I am a good loser. Even though I have a competitive spirit, I never let that get the best of me by feeling angry or frustrated when I lose. I truly just want everyone to enjoy the experience! I’d like to suggest that we remind ourselves of this in business too. Why did we get into this field in the first place? What’s fun about the people who are sharing this experience with you daily? What can you let go that brings anger or frustration? What actions can you take to make your time together as fun as it can be given your circumstances? There you have it. Four ways to build your business with a gameplay mindset. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
No one likes to fail. Life, however, is filled with unexpected setbacks. Let’s face it: Failure is irritating and often inescapable, but it can also help us become our very best. Here’s what J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, says about failure: “Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.” What really matters is how you choose to respond to failure. Are you going to place blame, make excuses, and give up? Or are you going to react positively, regain your determination, and rise up? You can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control your attitude — and the way you think controls your life. Here are a several ideas that’ll help you bounce back from failure and be even better than ever. See failure as a way to fine-tune Failure provides life’s greatest lessons. That can be even more beneficial than the wisdom you gain with success. Choose to see setbacks and challenges as powerful learning opportunities to do more and be more. Every time you experience failure, it can help you develop a new approach that moves you closer to getting the results you want. Failing gives you an opportunity to fine-tune your strategy and tweak your tactics, and that will help you improve future performance. A temporary setback can provide the motivation needed to dig deep, discover new talents, abilities, and grit! Look at failure from this perspective: It’s not a loss, but a launching pad to your next awesome opportunity. Develop grit to realize your potential Can you remember a time when you felt like giving up but chose to gut it out instead? Psychologist Angela Duckworth calls this grit and says grit is the inner strength needed to achieve your long-term goals. In fact, her research found that grit is more important than talent or intelligence in predicting success. So how do we maximize our grit? The good news is that you can increase it. You can begin to do this the same way you improve as an athlete: through determination and a never-quit mindset. Think of your grit as a muscle that needs exercise to grow and develop. When we consistently push ourselves to reach higher, our capacity to persevere increases. Dr. Duckworth calls this deliberate practice. That means sticking with it when you feel like it, and sticking with it when you don’t. So, the next time you successfully navigate a challenging situation through your own grit, look at it from this perspective: You are a grittier and different person now. You have gained mental toughness and hard-won wisdom. You didn’t bounce back to where you were in the past. Instead, you bounced forward, closer to where you want to be in the future. Remember the why When you have a setback, remember why you want to accomplish your goal. Reflecting on the why strengthens your resolve and eases the discomfort of failure. During my coaching sessions, I tell my clients to make their dreams so compelling they can crush any obstacles that get in the way. It is easier to uncover and maintain grit when you are pursuing something that you are passionate about. An emotional attachment is more important than an intellectual one. Setting goals for something to which you are only intellectually committed can be difficult to follow through on. Researchers have found, however, that when you identify your purpose in life, your commitment will be emotional rather than intellectual. It follows that when you are excited about doing something, your motivation is stronger, and you achieve better results. If your why is not clear, finding the inspiration to bounce back from failure can be challenging. When you are crystal clear about your why, it gives you focus and direction. Without this clarity, you have less invested in the outcome. This lack of commitment makes it more difficult to find the courage to bounce back. The enemy of success is not failure; it’s giving upGranted, failure can hurt, but don’t use that as an excuse to quit. When you look at the lives of successful people, what do they all have in common? They refused to give up no matter how many times they failed! You have two choices when you fail: to give up or try again. The setbacks you face are the foundation on which to build your success. Failure does not mean you’re a failure; it means you didn’t succeed this time. When you throw in the towel, you’re saying failure is final, but think again! This could be the first step in discovering your greatness. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
What drives me crazy about politics is that we usually only hear about the views on one side or another. Even though there are gray areas to almost every issue, many people refuse to see an alternative view. And unfortunately, if we’re not careful, we can go through life with limited perspectives just like that. The other day, I was splitting a log that measured about three feet in diameter. I had hit the darn thing about twenty times but hadn’t even cracked it. As a last resort, I turned the log over and saw that there was a huge natural crack spanning almost the entire width of the bottom side of the log. So, I set my sights on that crack. I swung hard and hit it. I swung again and missed. I swung a third time and hit the crack dead center. The log split open and fell apart. It was a very satisfying feeling for a person like me who, by the way, does not resemble Paul Bunyan in the least. I scanned the area to see if anyone had witnessed the feat and who might be as impressed by it as I was. But alas, I was alone in the field. Of course, after cracking open the log, one might say I was “out standing” in my field. The point of relaying my struggles with the log is this: Once I chose to see my problem from another perspective, I found a solution. This is not the first time I’ve been surprised by a new insight. You’d think that by now, I would be more open to considering other options. But I suppose I suffer from a common affliction—my default response is to see things the way I’ve always seen them. When I worked as a director of quality improvement, I referred to this as “solving the same problem over and over.” Another area where I see this tendency is when I work on a crossword puzzle. You see, I don’t have a very large vocabulary. In fact, if you’ve read my articles on a regular basis, you probably noticed that I use the same words over and over but just organize them in different ways. I guess I have never been that magniloquent. See how I did that? Anyway, when I attempt to solve a crossword puzzle, I often misunderstand the clue. For instance, I once had this clue: “Strips in a club.” I assumed the answer had something to do with a woman named Gypsy or Blaze. But the answer was actually “bacon.” It was referring to the “strips” in a club sandwich. I had confused a noun with a verb. But the minute I adjusted my perspective, it was obvious…and a tad bit embarrassing (my apologies to Gypsy and/or Blaze who may have been offended by my initial assumption). To me, unlocking new perspectives is one of the most valuable skills in life. When we get so attached to our familiar world view, we miss the many possibilities that might lie just outside our narrow vision. One of my favorite speakers is DeWitt Jones. He is a former National Geographic photographer who speaks on the topic of seeing things from a new perspective. He uses photography to make this point. As a professional who was always trying to get that perfect shot, he shows his audiences how he frequently thinks he has achieved it only to find that if he changes his location, alters his position, or waits for the light to change, he gets an even better photograph. His visual metaphor is one we can learn from. Have you ever gone into a building and pulled on a door that says, “Push”? Or have you ever gotten off on the wrong floor in a hotel because the normal behavior is to step off the elevator when the door opens? Or has someone ever told you to have a good trip and you automatically say, “You too,” even though they were not going on a trip? These are all examples of habitual thinking that lead to habitual doing. And when we act on habits, we’re no longer paying attention. Wouldn’t be cool if we could go into every situation imagining the possibilities rather than expecting the same old same old? In order to accomplish this, we must recognize our habitual tendencies and look for new realities. When we open our eyes to the possibilities in front of us, we’re no longer on autopilot and thus have more options. The simple procedure for doing this is to see with new eyes. For instance, when we look at a tree, we often see a tree. But if you truly look at a tree, you will see hundreds of colors, shapes, textures, and movements. All of the parts that make up the tree are intricately interwoven into a new experience that we simply label as a tree—but is actually so much more. The same applies to everything we do. If we pause to truly listen to our colleagues, we might gain a new perspective on their perspective. When we look at our reactions to stressful situations, we might see that our thinking is automatic and not necessarily helpful in reducing the stress. And if we get up every morning anticipating the chance that we might experience something new, the day opens up to us. When we truly see, our world opens up. So, when you come to a door, pay attention to whether it says to push or pull. When the elevator door opens, stop and check the floor before bounding off. And before swinging your axe at the log, just turn it over to see if there is an easier way. By doing so, the path becomes more interesting and full of possibilities. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Kristin Baird
When it comes to improving the patient experience, don’t forget volunteers. Healthcare organizations benefit from millions of hours of volunteer time and energy every year, yet I rarely see stellar training on customer service. They are often the first faces that patients and family members see upon entering hospitals. They are the face of the organization and yet I am consistently stunned by how few have good customer service training and feedback systems. Hold Everyone to the Same Standard We were recently rolling out Power of One customer service training for a system with thousands of employees. As we discussed plans, I asked about volunteers, wondering if they would be included in the training. The answer was no. That soon changed when staff noticed the standard to which they were being held seemed to be different for volunteers. They realized that as long as a volunteer serves in a patient or customer-facing position, they should be held to the same service standards. Just like the employees of the organizations, volunteers need to know the standards and expectations for service excellence. And, like employees they benefit from feedback and coaching. A volunteer often makes the first impressions. Make sure they have the tools they need to be successful. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
In the timeless Disney movie, Bambi, Thumper gives great advice. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Wouldn’t the world and our work environments be better places if we all heeded the wisdom of that wise little rabbit? I tried to ignore the problem of lateral violence in the healthcare workplace because I was embarrassed and a bit ashamed that this behavior could be present in our benevolent caring profession. We’ve consistently ranked No. 1 in Gallup’s annual poll of Honesty and Ethical Standards in Professions for the past 15 years. How can we, then, be perpetrators of lateral violence? I was shocked and mortified to learn that 45% of nurses have been verbally harassed or bullied by other nurses, according to a 2017 survey by employment agency RNnetwork. Forty-one percent said they have been bullied by managers or administrators. Thirty-eight percent reported being verbally harassed by physicians. More than half of the nurses who reported work harassment indicated they were considering leaving the profession all together. Bullying and disruptive behaviors capture the attention of patients, providers, and visitors, which can extend to the community. Worse yet, it can impact patient outcomes. According to an article published in FierceHealthcare, a 2013 study in the UK reported that one in four doctors and surgeons and one in three nurses said bullying has caused them to behave in ways that are bad for patient care. Seventy-one percent of doctors and nurses linked incivility to medical errors, and 27% tied it to a patient’s death! So, what exactly is going on? And how do we stop it? The Workplace Bullying Institute says bullying is repeated, harmful mistreatment by one or more perpetrators who target their victims with conduct that is threatening, humiliating, abusive, isolating, and/or sabotaging. While some forms of bullying are overt, others are more subtle, such as:
Unfortunately, bullying can also be more overt. For example:
Although anyone can be a target of bullying, often they are the coworkers who are the most positive, kind, cooperative, well educated, well-liked by upper management, or skilled at their jobs. These people are even more prone to suffer greatly at the hands of bullies, sometimes feeling embarrassed and inadequate, resulting in symptoms that may include:
But there are ways to address bullying and create a better work environment for everyone. When targeted by a bully:
Call it what it is Acknowledge that you are being psychologically harassed. Speak up Politely and quietly call out the incident when it happens. State the problem and the possible consequences if it doesn’t change. For example, “If you continue to behave this way toward me or speak to me in this manner, I will have to speak with our manager and make a formal complaint.” If the behavior continues, follow through. I taught my kids the difference between being a Ralph Reporter and a Tommy Tattletale. For the sake of a healthy work environment for all, you have the responsibility to report this conduct. Without action, it’s unlikely the bully will change, and certainly not as quickly as needed. Document it Bullies rarely treat someone badly in front of supervisors. Without obsessing about it, document each incident. Record the date and time of each event and eyewitnesses, if any. If bullying is digital or written, make copies. (Before making a digital recording of the abuse, make sure you reside in a single-consent recording state, meaning it’s legal for you to record verbal exchanges without his or her knowledge.) Report it Once you document the bully’s behavior, take it to your immediate supervisor. If your supervisor is the bully, report them to their manager. When making your case, frame the issue on how it impacts care and productivity. Even though your emotional toll is legitimate, it’s best to emphasize how the bullying affects team morale, work performance, and patient care. Expect possible retaliation It’s likely the bully will hear about your report. Don’t be surprised if they get back at you in subtle ways, even if they’ve promised your manager they will make amends. Record these incidents too, should they occur. Practice selfcare Being the target of bullying is extremely stressful. Make your health a priority. Be vigilant about getting good nutrition, sleep and exercise. Practice the Stress Reduction tips and selfcare strategies in your SelfCare for HealthCare™ program. Remember to use your skills of deep breathing, positive thinking, laughter. Forgiveness will be a crucial tool, as well as connecting with your Higher Power. If you are not a victim of lateral violence, but you witness it, you can have an impact on improving your work environment.
Wise people have known for years that the secret for harmony in the workplace and everyplace is the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the Christian version. But did you know it is the “rule” in most faiths? “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Buddism “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man.” Judaism “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” Islam “Blessed is he who preferred his brother before himself.” Baba’i Faith Though simple, this message is radical and contrary to human nature. Human nature is to treat others the way they treat you. But doing so puts them in control. Theirbehavior determines your behavior. The Golden Rule puts you I control. Let’s control our own behaviors, communication, and workplace environments. Another strategy before speaking or acting is to apply the Rotary International’s Four-Way Test. Of the things we think, say or do, ask the following four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Nurses and all healthcare workers endure difficult working conditions, often going for prolonged periods without food, drink, or even bathroom breaks (in spite of my nagging!) Perhaps worse, they generally cannot step away for a breather when emotions run high or the atmosphere on the unit is tense. They must stay and keep working, to focus on patients who depend on them. But this is no excuse for unkind disrespectful behavior. We are all responsible for creating positive, healthy, joyful work environments. Nurses must be able to work as a team and to depend on each other. We are empowered to keep patients safe, provide high quality care, and deliver a positive patient experience. If bullying or incivility is a common occurrence in your workplace, these outcomes will be compromised. And we took pledges to heal our patients, ourselves and each other. Let’s do unto others as we would have them do unto us. And if we can’t say something nice, let’s not say…or do…anything at all. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! |
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