 Employee Empowerment: It’s All About Creating a Positive Environment Empowerment
is the process of thinking and behaving in autonomous ways. Healthcare
organizations should always aim to empower their employees, as empowered
healthcare professionals are more likely to take control and responsibility for
their own thoughts and actions. When it comes to employee
empowerment, avoid thinking of it as something that one individual does for
another. This is a mistake that many organizations make with the concept of
empowerment. Instead, organizations should think of empowerment as the process
of individuals enabling themselves to
take action and control of their work. Although healthcare
organizations can’t bestow empowerment, they can create a work environment that
enables employees to act in empowered ways. To create such an environment,
organizations and managers should do the following: Share the vision. No matter what their role,
healthcare professionals are part of something bigger than themselves and their
individual job. Help employees realize this by making sure they know and have
access to the organization's overall mission, vision, and strategic plans. Share
long and short term goals with your group. Give them what they need to think
for themselves.
Make certain that you give employees all of the information they need to make
thoughtful decisions. Then, when it comes time to make important decisions, trust
them to do the right thing. If you really want employees to feel empowered, you
must allow them to think for themselves. Employees may make choices that are
not exactly what you would decide—but as long as the outcome is positive,
there’s no need for you to intervene or criticize. Hand out authority, not just more work. Don't just delegate the drudge
work; delegate important tasks too. This can include important meetings, committee
positions that influence staff development and decision making, and the
projects that patients and customers notice. Employees will grow and develop
new skills, and your plate will be less full so you can concentrate on your own
contributions. Don't point fingers at people. When a problem occurs, ask what is
wrong with the work system that caused the people to fail, not what is wrong
with the people. People generally know the right answers if they have the
opportunity to produce them. When an employee brings you a problem, ask them,
"What do you think you should do to solve this problem?" You can (and
should) certainly help employees along in the problem-solving process. Just be
careful not to completely take over and tell them what to do. Make sure the basics are being met. When employees feel
under-compensated, under-noticed, under-praised, and under-appreciated, don’t
expect results from employee empowerment. Such basic needs must be met for employees to feel empowered. Bottom
line: Empowerment always remains in the hands of employees. However, you can
most definitely help them reach it by creating a positive, fun, and safe place
to work. “Other people’s
opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” —Les Brown How to Manage Anger Anger is
our body’s response to a problem. It’s like a siren, warning us of a threat to
our safety and happiness. Anger can actually be a good thing, as it can help us
alleviate or confront an issue. However, if an individual does not know how to
control his/her anger, it can cause a great deal of suffering— destroying
relationships, creating a hostile environment, and possibly contributing to
violence. Whether your anger has positive or negative results is ultimately up
to you. Deal with Anger the There are
three steps to dealing with anger so that it doesn’t get the best of us: 1. Recognize
2. Analyze 3. Take
Control “When anger rises,
think of the consequences.” —Confucius Looking for More Cooperation at the Workplace? How to Gain Influence Over Co-Workers & Employees Contrary to what many
people may think, gaining influence isn’t about controlling people. Rather,
it’s about understanding and listening to others so that they more easily
cooperate with you. You can influence others by doing the following: Spend less time trying
to make people understand what you want, and more time making them feel
understood. Listening
is the best way to make people feel understood, and at the same time, to find
common ground. You can show that you’re truly listening by acknowledging their
thoughts and feelings (this doesn’t mean that you always have to agree with
them). If you are concerned about the people you're trying to win over, they'll
know it. They'll communicate more freely, speaking their mind more openly and
listening more attentively. And they'll want to cooperate. Make it worth their
while. People
always want to know what’s in it for them. Show people how their needs, values,
and dreams mesh with yours. To do so, you have to discover and understand their
values and concerns. Then show them how cooperating with you can help them
achieve what they want. Remember that no one
really ever wins an argument. In business, the person you get into an argument with today
may be the person whose cooperation you need tomorrow. The more you try to
prove people wrong, the harder they will resist you. People may feel
overwhelmed and stop arguing with you, but that doesn't mean you've won them
over. Most of the time, when you win an argument, you lose an ally. Be aware of your surroundings. When people are feeling stressed
out, anxious, angry, resentful, or threatened, it’s probably not the best time
to ask for support. During such trying times, do what you can to reassure them
and to make them feel safe. Look for times when employees feel most capable and
confident, and make your best case then. Remember,
gaining influence isn’t about making people do what you want them to. It’s
about working with and understanding people in a way that benefits everyone.
Keep that in mind, and you’ll win the cooperation of your peers and employees. “There is nothing so
easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.” Ineffective Affirmations Affirmations
are positive statements that help us realize our true potential. However, the
following “affirmations” don’t quite hit the mark!
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