Team Meeting Conflict

Leaders, to be a successful communicator, must acquire the skills and tasks of an active listener. My position as a charge nurse has allowed me to learn the art of communication of which I find to be crucial especially when dealing with volatile situations that occur in the workplace between the staff, patients, and their loved one. One particular case I can recall involved a family member who disagreed with the staff handling of their loved one whom they requested another nurse. This was one of my busiest nights, and I had to intervene and resolved the issue before it escalated to another level. The family requested to speak to someone in administration and as a charge nurse, I was able to intervene and solved the issue before

Obvious communication, listening, and understanding the focus of the dispute are the factors for being effective. Nursing managers may often be involved in a conflict as an individual, an administrator, or a unit representative. A manager is expected to confront staff when a discord develops (Sullivan, 2018). It is also imperative a nurse manager abides by her professional responsibilities and executes practical conflict resolution techniques to diminish low morale and stress among her staff (McKibben, 2017). She must modify her conflict management skills to a likely situation (Saeed et al., 2014). In order for the nurse manager to handle the conflict, it is helpful to understand the people involved. Positive management promotes mutual respect, refines working relationship, and restores staff retention (McKibben,

According to Pidgeon (2017) conflict resolution is a competencies that all leaders must acquire to successfully lead a group of people. Specifically, “conflict resolution is defined as the ability to find amicable solutions to a conflict when it occurs between multiple parties” (Pidgeon, 2017, p. 340). As the assistant director and leader for ambulatory services, it is my responsibility to respond to the complaint made by a physician, who is also an important customer, about the clerk and director of nursing (DON).

Conflict has been an issue for man since the dawn of civilization. In today’s fast paced world conflict, especially in the workplace, is a frequent occurrence. When that workplace is a health care environment where lives are at stake, emotions run high and collaboration with many different disciplines is required conflict often becomes a prevalent part of everyday life. Conflicts in the workplace can lead to reduced morale, lowered productivity resulting in decreased patient care and can cause large scale confrontations (Whitworth 2008). In the field of nursing whether a conflict is with a peer, supervisor, physician, or a patient and their family, conflict management is a necessary skill.

The nurse as a leader looks to achieve a workable unity. (Gardner, 2007) In an interdisciplinary format this is vitally important. There will be many factors that will prevent group cohesion and mutual tolerance in any environment. In an emotionally charged setting this is especially true. The nurse can help to manage conflict and promote a positive environment. This can

Those involved in the health care system—nurses, physicians, patients, and others—play increasingly interdependent roles. Leaders who merely give directions and expect them to be followed will not succeed in this environment. What is needed is a style of leadership that involves working with others as full partners in a context of mutual respect and collaboration (A Pearson, H Laschinger, K Porritt, Z Jordan, D Tucker and L Long [International Journal of Evidence-Based health Care], 2007, p. 224).

An article “Emotional Intelligence: A Core Competency for Health Care Administrators” by Freshman and Rubino focus on the importance of health care leaders needing to develop their interpersonal skills.

This lesson comes from a 300-level undergraduate health care management course utilizing the the basic concepts of health care management including: foundations of effective management; ethics and legal issues; cultural diversity decision making; planning and organizing; motivation, teamwork and communication; delegation, hiring and managing employees, conflict leadership, time management; budgeting and program assessment. The assignment is the culmination of Bloom's Taxonomy higher-level learning methods. This assignment has students break down the necessary components of running an effective meeting with a health care focus.

It is expected that complications must be accounted for while building a strong relationship between healthcare managers and staff. Problems are expected to occur. This is the reason why proper planning is important to healthcare organizations. Healthcare leaders might be concerned with cultural differences that exist in their organization. The problem might be caused by a manager not being involved with the immediate department or working environment. Another reason might be inequality issues that boost poor morale, downgrade associations, and devalue legal rights for healthcare systems operations. Equity guarantees that quality care would be provided to all people from various cultural backgrounds (Croxton, 2011). Addressing problems through communication, such as a staff meeting or off duty activities to improve morale within the organization, can minimize problems.

An effective leader can create a working environment that satisfactorily supports the staff members so he or she can productively perform in his or hers’ assignments. The top three characteristics of an effective leader are the ability to communicate well, fairness to everyone on the team and are knowledgeable in his or hers’ field of practice. An effective leader must be able to communicate well with others to maintain and promote open communication among the team. When leaders deal with employee conflict, an effective leader is fair. These leaders motivate their nursing staff to work toward a greater good in creating a positive change (Dunham & Klafehn, 1990). An effective leader should be knowledgeable about his or her leadership role as well as those he or she is supervising.

Below are two examples of team who experienced conflict and worked through the problem. (The team and individual names have been changed.)

“Mimic the best brands on costumer satisfaction strategies” (Carmine Gallo 2016). Leaders must convey a vision and mission of the objective in order to get employees to contribute to a great cause, “healing human kind one patient at the time by alleviating suffering, promoting health, and delivering acts of kindness”(Feinberg 2016). Effective leaders project values and ethics among employees by leading by example on a daily basis. Successful health care leaders take action by helping others to accomplish their duties by going to their work areas and helping with their medical task in order to take care of the patients needs. Effective communication is an essential key component in effective and successful health care leadership. The medical practice must train all employees to communicate effective in writing and verbally so there is no misunderstandings between patient and health care provider. Lastly, a great health care leader must be able to inspire confidence with exceptional bedside manner that allows patients to feel comfortable and connect with their medical provider. A good provider tells a great story and invites patients to do the same instead of reading from a chart, “invite patients to speak” (Carmine Gallo

“If you actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” (John Quincy Adams, as cited in Forbes, 2014, p. 1). A leader is mentor, guiding others to their best. In this paper, I will reflect on my personal values and beliefs regarding leadership. Next, I will discuss a leader in my life that personally resonates with me. I will then discuss the attributes of my chosen leader and relate them to theory on leadership, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, group dynamics and peace and power concepts and identify the leadership style that my chosen leader embodies. Finally, I will discuss how my leadership philosophy and the newly acquired theory will impact my future career as a nurse.

As nurse manager Barbara is responsible for managing the staff, scheduling and budgeting for the unit. Her staff includes twenty-five registered nurses and eight patient care assistants (PCA’s). The unit is known for its culture of confrontation, blaming, and favoritism. The staff is dissatisfied, unmotivated, and not functioning as a team to deliver quality patient care. In Barbara’s first month she has lost two RN’s and due to a hiring freeze at EMU Barbara was not able to replace the positions. The unit is short staffed, stress levels are high and employee morale is low. Barbara meets individually with twenty or so staff members and comes to the conclusion that no one is happy and she has a lot of work to do. There are multiple groups that Barbara has identified issues with and she must come up with an action plan to manage the discrepancies. She has found issues in downward management which involves senior nurses, newer nurses, and patient care assistants, and in upward management including administrators and physicians,

Conflict is inescapable, having the ability to recognize, understand, and resolve conflicts are important in both personal and professional lives. Myatt (2012) states that conflict in the workplace is unavoidable; if left unresolved, workplace conflict may result in loss of productivity and the creation of barriers that can inhibit creativity, cooperation, and collaboration. It is vital to embrace conflict and address problems through effective conflict-resolution tactics because if not handled appropriately, conflict will escalate. “If not handled properly, conflict may significantly affect employee morale, increase turnover, and even result in litigation, ultimately affecting the overall well-being of