5 Ways Nurse Managers Can Boost Their Staff’s Morale
A positive workplace environment begins with leadership. The morale of your team is related to how you lead them. With Covid cases going up again and with the disease not going away anytime soon, it could be challenging to maintain a positive attitude with a patient overload. As a nurse supervisor, it is essential to recognize a confident relationship does not necessarily mean you will always see eye-to-eye all the time. Still, there will be mutual respect and a long-term sense of well-being.
Excellent morale doesn't mean everyone is having fun and goofing around all the time, but it is about the best mindset. Whether you manage a team of 5 or 500, the relationship you maintain with your employees will determine your organization's success. Their morale will be evident in how they treat their patients and interact with each other.
As a nurse manager, here are five ways to boost your staff's morale. Try some of these tips to boost the confidence of your team:
1. Keep an open door. Work can be hectic. Being available for your employees sustains a positive work environment. Whether it is an email, phone call, or in-person meeting, your team should feel that you are available to them. They will feel reassured knowing you are open to them.
2. Discover the essentials. Find out what is important to your team. Their opinions and ideas matter. From how they prefer to be recognized to how they want to communicate and everything in between. Their morale will be directly affected by how you react to what is necessary to them.
3. Lead by example. Mean what you say you're going to do. If you tell staff to show patients compassion, do so yourself. Follow up with your intentions. It feels terrible when management does not do anything they say, yet they require it from their organization. One of the quickest ways to lose esteem and lower morale is to "talk out of both sides of your mouth."
4. Avoid micromanaging. Vital Covid related precautions aside, allow room with your team to grow and even make mistakes. Let your team take direction and highlight their expertise. You picked a strong staff, have confidence in them to perform. High morale is connected to freedom within the workplace. Be assertive but not controlling.
5. Be authentic. Show them the real you. Don't hesitate to joke, professionally have fun, be creative, and even show your sympathetic side to the team. Small bursts of the "real you" will go far toward the positive vibe.
Leaders sometimes consider the line between professional and personal to be obscure. Still, if you maintain the relationship by enforcing the good you see in your team at work, you'll start to see the lines more precisely defined.
It would be best to consider their personal lives but recognize they will share what they want when they want. As a nurse supervisor, your purpose needs to be focused on a positive workplace where your team can perform and feel appreciated for their everyday work.
For more insight on increasing morale, reach out to the team at WSi Healthcare. Not only can they contribute sufficient staff to mitigate some of the workloads, as necessary, but they can also provide you with an understanding of how to lead your team more efficiently.