Encouraging Team's Professional Development and Growth

I almost hit a deer driving to work at 3:57 am. I was about 7 months pregnant assistant patient care manager on an oncology floor. I look into his eyes. He was standing so comfortably right in the middle of the campus drive. I stopped the car and attempted to honk but changed my mind. It didn’t feel right. After all, I invaded his territory. I slowly moved my car to go around him, when he confidently and with so much grace jumped to the side of the road to disappear in the dark. I wonder if this is a good or bad sign for the shift. Nurses are highly superstitious.

I walked into the unit and touched the badge reader. “Good morning.” a female voice of a badge reader greeted me at 4:05 am. I knew it was not a good one by the continuous alarms, nurses pacing fast, call lights going off in multiple directions. The biggest sign was a crash cart missing from its place. Which is a definite sign of it being in use. “Damn deer.” I thought. I walked fast towards the crowd. The primary nurse asked me for a bolus, the resident was nervously looking through his notes, the charge nurse was pacing the hallways attempting to answer the call lights.

Couple hours later we all sat at the nurses’ station high on adrenaline. I pulled out the Professional Nursing Development Program handbook making pathetic attempts to seduce nightshift nurses to take some extra initiatives for professional growth. “I want to grow,” – said one of the nurses. “I want to grow in my personal life. I want to do something more than just work.”

For some, creating true joy at work does not tight into a career rank. It is connected to a work life balance. One of the core principles of a transformational leadership is to connect to the team, know their needs and wants and create resources to get them where they would like to be. Some take time to understand their passions in the career especially when a professional growth can equal compromised wellbeing of their family.

When we speak about professional development, it is uncompromisingly one the most important aspect of many jobs nowadays. The world is rapidly evolving, and our team need to stay up to speed. In my experience, creating a safe caring environment goes a long way. When we practice leadership with compassion, we create the caring space for an employee to flourish. Being patient with your team is essential. The team feels that their leaders have their best interest, when they are accepted, and valued for what they already contribute.

A true leader is intuitive. A true leader creates connection with an employee and understands their values and motivations. Regardless of what our society dictates, there is no career path that fits us all. It is a beautiful blessing to find a joyful fulfilling journey at your job. It takes time to find this magical “why” that motivates and inspires us. There is nothing wrong in saying “no” or “not right now” to some opportunities along the way. There is also so much excitement and wonder in the opportunities. Leaders need to sell the wonder to the employees who are resistant to change.

Leadership is rooted in authentic connections. In my experience, creating professional development plans with employees has been the best way to create an environment of trust and safety. This is exactly when you will be seen and appreciated as a leader. Taking the time to explore your team's' values, inspirations, and motivations is not easy and time consuming but totally worth it. These conversations increase engagement, job satisfaction, and retention The leader will have a perfect opportunity to create trust by making sure they follow through with their part of the plan.

The only thing more important than the initial conversation is the follow through. This is the perfect opportunity for the leader to create connection, trust, and safety for the team. Also, motivating the team to pursue the professional growth starts with the environment of excellence. The leader models the path by engaging in professional development opportunities.

Inspiration can come in many forms. Highlighting the success stories is a wonderful way to engage the employee. When they can see it, when they can touch it, they are more likely to engage with it. Practicing patience and acceptance. Some people are motivated by a kick and some are motivated by safety. To understand what to use is an intuitive power of a true leader.