The leader as a Transformer Case Study

 The community ortho-neuro hospital is experiencing toxic incivility. Despite Jeannie’s actions to implement it, senior nurses, shift nurses, and physicians are defiant about collaborative leadership.

 Question 1

There as several stakeholders in the case. Stakeholders are individuals interested in an organization and who influence or may be influenced by an organization (Gautrey, 2013). Each stakeholder in the case is driving his/her interest, subjecting the organization to toxic incivility.   The stakeholders are;

a.Jeannie

 Jeannie Walker is a nurse manager at the ortho-neuro community hospital. She has a positive interest in the organization as she hopes to transform it from a toxic work enviroment into a healthy, supportive work environment. Jeannie is positive about her goals priority and even engages the nurses with a negative interest to try and understand their perspectives and solve the organizational challenges.

b.Senior nurses.

    These stakeholders have negative interests in the organization. Their intense power hinders the nurse manager from achieving a collaborative working environment. They encourage unfair division of tasks and enjoy many scheduling and breaks than other nurses. They make decisions on behalf of other staff because of their accorded power.

•  Union shop steward- Angelina

Angelina is made to believe that the collective bargaining contract was the best for the hospital and remains defiant toward collaborative management.

• Nurses

They exist in fear and are divided into cultural groups and social cliques. Day shift and night shift nurses have working conflicts that lower productivity, resulting in low satisfaction among patients.

• Patients

 These stakeholders are influenced negatively by the organization’s challenges as they are not attended properly.

 How to transform the unit from a toxic work environment to a healthy working environment

1.  I would encourage the staff to adopt a collaborative work environment. This would encourage the staff to work together and raise the quality indicators such as increasing patients satisfaction.
2.  Employ a visionary leader who would encourage all the staff to work together and improve the quality indicators.
3.  I would solve the interpersonal conflicts among the nurses and the physicians. I would encourage them to work together without threats, accusations, and retaliation.
4.  I would disintegrate the cultural groups and the social cliques among the nurses to encourage diversity and coordination of all nurses regardless of their social groups.

Question 2

1.   Jeannie Walker. She is the nurse manager who is entitled to influence the entire nursing unit at the ortho-neuro hospital. Jeannie uses her position to change the organization into a collaborative unit. Despite the challenges, she is determined to achieve a healthy and supportive working environment.
2.  Angelina. She serves as a union shop steward and is defiant about a collaborative governance structure. She insists that union governance was the best for the organization, thus inhibiting change.
3.  Senior nurses. They use their power to exploit other nurses. They make decisions on behalf of other nurses and staff.
4.  Physicians. They use their position to expose and raise complaints about the underperforming nurses.

 Question 3

1. Patient’s dissatisfaction. Due to low-quality indicators at the hospital unit, patients end up experiencing low-quality services leading to dissatisfaction
2.  Defiance towards change. Nurses and other hospital staff are against Jeannie’s change to transform the organization into a collaborative structure.
3. Interpersonal conflicts. Senior nurses, nurses working in shifts, and physicians are raising accusations and retaliations against each other due to a lack of equality in sharing tasks.
4.  Cultural disintegration. The nurses are divided into cultural groups and social cliques, hindering coordination of duties, integration, and communication.

 The issues are interrelated in that patient dissatisfaction has been caused by cultural disintegration in the hospital and interpersonal conflicts among the nurses and staff. They fail to work together and handle the patients’ assignments. Additionally, staffs defiance towards a collaborative work environment has led to a toxic work environment.

 Question 4

   If I were Jeannie, I would continue to push the goal of achieving a collaborative working environment. Being the nurse manager, I would initiate interaction sessions with the nurses. During these meetings, I would clearly state the change, pay attention, acknowledge their feedback, and explain how a collaborative working environment will benefit them besides the organization. I would also reward the staff who commit their time and effort to embrace the change.

Analyze the chosen case by taking the perspectives of the stakeholders.

1. Stakeholders consider the interests of all parties before making a decision ( integrative perspective). Before incorporating a collaborative working environment, Jeannie, the nurse manager, involved the nurses, physicians, and other staff and sought their feedback concerning a collaborative governance structure. Stakeholders should not only consider their interests but should involve all the affected parties.
2.  Jeannie was bound to the separation perspective of stakeholders. The separation perspective calls for all managers to act and implement changes targeting the organization’s interests (Eskerod, 2020). Despite Jeannie’s powerful position, she consulted other stakeholders(nurses).
3.  Communication is evident in the case. Stakeholders should engage in communication to agree with other involved parties. Jeannie engages in communication with nurses and the union shop steward.

How you as a leader will minimize toxic environments and reinforce healthy relationships in the organization.

 As a leader in my organization, I would minimize toxic environments, I would involve everyone on board, listen to everyone’s concerns and find a suitable solution as a group through numerous discussions and communication. Collaborative working will foster unity as everyone will feel involved, and the change to be implemented will be subjected to little or no defiance. I would also ensure that employees are free from bullying, mockery, and fear-fueled leadership. I will ensure that any staff caught bullying or exploiting other employees will be punished.

References

Eskerod, P. (2020). A Stakeholder Perspective: Origins and Core Concepts. Oxford Research Encyclopedia Of Business And Management. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.3

Gautrey, C. (2013). Seven Guiding Principles of Stakeholder Engagement | ATD. Main. Retrieved 22 April 2022, from https://www.td.org/insights/seven-guiding-principles-of-stakeholder-engagement.