NURS 6221 Discussion 10: Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams
NURS 6221: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – Discussion 10
NURS 6221 Discussion: Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams
Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams – Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
—Henry Ford
A critical skill for all nurse managers is the ability to create, develop, and lead effective teams. When people are part of an effective and well-functioning team, they are more productive and have a stronger commitment to the organization. Nurse managers have a responsibility to create teams that fulfill functional needs within their units or departments. These can include leadership teams, ad hoc project teams, or primary work teams.
As a nurse manager, there is a variety of ways that you can enhance team functioning. The first step is developing the structural elements of the team and then designing the team with the appropriate membership. Just as you must critically examine each application during the employment process, so will you critically examine the skills and attributes of each employee before appointing him or her to a collective team.
In this week’s Discussion, you lay the groundwork for creating and developing a team for your unit, department, or health care setting. You also identify leadership strategies that you could employ to increase the team’s organizational effectiveness.
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To prepare FOR Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams
Review Chapter 5, “The Art of Effectively Facilitating Processes” from the course text, From Management to Leadership: Strategies for Transforming Health Care. Carefully examine the section, “Essential Elements of a Team” to identify the six steps of creating an effective team.
Consider a team you might create for your current organization or one with which you are familiar. For example, is there a project to be accomplished or a problem to be solved? Perhaps there is a need for a leadership team within your unit or department?
Identify the purpose or goal for your team. Then, reflect on the following questions:
What type of team would you create (leadership, ad hoc, or primary work team) to accomplish this purpose or goal? What are the benefits or disadvantages of creating this type of team?
What staff members would you want on this team? Why? How could their skill sets and positions make them effective team members?
Explore this week’s Learning Resources to identify leadership strategies you might employ before, during, and after the team-building phase. For example, what leadership strategies might influence synergy among team members while also increasing the effectiveness of the team?
Post a description of the team you would create, including the purpose or goal the team would serve, the team type, and the specific skills each member would contribute as well as their job positions. Describe at least two leadership strategies you could implement to help this team effectively achieve its purpose or goal.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:
Critically appraise a colleague’s team description. Provide an additional leadership strategy he or she could use to further improve the effectiveness of the team.
Find a colleague who would like to implement a team similar to one that has been implemented in your workplace. Share an insight into how your organization benefited from this type of team and the leadership strategies management employed to support the work of the team.
Required Readings FOR Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams
Manion, J. (2011). From management to leadership: Strategies for transforming health care (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 5, “The Art of Effectively Facilitating Processes” (pp. 179–242)
This chapter describes the many components that make up the facilitating process. Some of these elements include empowerment, authority, resolutions, and negotiation.
Chapter 6, “Getting Results” (pp. 243–282)
The main points of this chapter are the components that contribute to effective teamwork. The author lists the benefits and pitfalls of proactive behavior, group decision making, and problem solving.
Beeson, J. (2011). Build a strong team. Leadership Excellence, 28(2), 15.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Beeson’s article focuses on the importance of building a structured team. He provides five steps that leaders can implement in the workplace to create a strong team that benefits the whole workplace.
Calendrillo, T. (2009). Team building for a healthy work environment. Nursing Management, 40(12), 9–12.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, Calendrillo states that skilled communication is the foundation for strong team building in clinical settings. When skilled communication has been mastered and used, quality patient care and healthy work environments are among the many results.
Pentland, A. (2012). The new science of building great teams. Harvard Business Review, 90(4), 60–70.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article addresses how communication is a key to team efficiency. The author provides three communication dynamics that were used by the teams that were most communicative.
Required Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Team building. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.
This week’s presenter, Jo Manion, provides effective team-building strategies nurse managers can employ when initiating teams in units, departments, and organizations. She also reviews the three types of teams that are generally found in health care settings: leadership, ad hoc, and primary work teams.
Accessible player
The following document gives credit for Laureate-produced media in this course: Credits (PDF)
Optional Resources
Ramsay, S., Troth, A., & Branch, S. (2011). Work-place bullying: A group processes framework. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 84(4), 799–816.
NURS 6221: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – Assignment 10
Assignment: Creating a Welcoming Workplace for the Older Worker
The nursing workforce is aging rapidly. In fact, Baby Boomers constitute the largest group of nurses currently practicing. This aging workforce poses two significant ramifications for nurse managers. First, due to the volatility and uncertainty in the world and national economy, many Baby Boomers have shifted their retirement plans and are staying in the workforce. This is requiring creative responses on the part of employers. Conversely, as these highly experienced and knowledgeable nurses do begin to exit the active workforce, experts anticipate a “brain drain” that will affect all levels of health care environments.
In this week’s Assignment, you critically assess your current organization or one with which you are familiar to determine why older workers may stay in or leave their positions. In addition, you suggest strategies that could help to retain and further engage this specific population of nurses.
To prepare
Review the article, “From Veterans to Nexters: Managing the Multi-Generational Nursing Workforce.” Reflect upon the key ideas: the challenges and implications of managing a multi-generational workforce, common generational differences, interventions for increasing generational motivation, and strategies for retaining the older nurse.
Reflect on your current organization or one with which you are familiar and determine the demographic breakdown of employees based on age. Then, consider how this specific work environment might present difficulties for older workers and think about factors that might cause these employees to leave your setting.
Use this week’s Learning Resources, as well as your own scholarly research, to identify strategies that could engage and retain this population of nurses.
To complete
Submit a 3- to 5-page paper in which you do the following:
Identify the demographic breakdown of employees in the organization. If you are unable to access exact demographical data, provide your best estimate for each of the following age ranges: 20–30, 30–40, 40–50, 50–60, and 60–70, and 70+.
Describe at least two ways the work environment is conducive to older workers and at least two difficulties it might present. Support your response by citing authentic examples from the workplace and this week’s Learning Resources as applicable.
Propose at least four specific strategies you could implement to engage and retain older workers.
Minimum number of references required is 5.
Required Readings
Beheri, W. H. (2009). Diversity within nursing: Effects on nurse-nurse interaction, job satisfaction, and turnover. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 33(3), 216–226.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Beheri’s article examines the effects of diversity in nursing. The study found that nurses who are satisfied with their jobs and have a higher level of education are more likely to tap into the potential offered by cultural diversity.
Collins-McNeil, J., Sharpe, D., & Benbow, D. (2012). Performance potential. Aging workforce: Retaining valuable nurses. Nursing Management, 43(3), 50–51.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Due to the increasing connectivity between patient safety and government-sponsored financial incentives, it is important for nurse managers to understand the specific language used by finance. This article examines the importance of this topic.
Harton, B. B., Marshburn, D., Kuykendall, J., Poston, C., & Mears, D. A. (2012). Self-scheduling: Help or hindrance? Nursing Management, 43(1), 10–12.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article discusses the possibility of allowing nurses to create their own schedules to boost retention.
Outten, M. K. (2012). From veterans to nexters: Managing a multigenerational nursing workforce. Nursing Management, 43(4), 42–47.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this article addresses the need for effective management of a multigenerational workforce. Increased nurse turnover and interpersonal conflict are some of the consequences of overlooking this type of diversity.
Wisotzkey, S. (2011). Will they stay or will they go? Insight into nursing turnover. Nursing Management, 42(2), 15–17.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the author focuses on creating a work environment that will decrease the effects of nurse turnover. The author states that organizational commitment has the most direct effect on these turnover rates.
Optional Resources
Manion, J. (2009). Managing the multi-generational nursing workforce: Managerial and policy implications (White Paper). Retrieved from International Centre for Human Resources in Nursing website: http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/2377
Hatcher, B. J. (Ed.). (2006). Wisdom at work: The importance of the older and experienced nurse in the workplace (White Paper). Retrieved from National Academy on an Aging Society website: http://www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety/links/wisdomatwork.pdf
Chambers, P. D. (2010). Tap the unique strengths of the millennial generation. Nursing, 40(2), 48–51. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/nursing/Citation/2010/02000/Tap_the_unique_strengths_of_the_millennial.18