It’s no secret I love a creative mind, especially in nursing. I am quite fortunate to work with some crazily creative people from other disciplines.

You know that moment when you share an idea you’ve had for a while with someone and you sort of hold your breath to see their reaction? Yeah, that happens a lot as a manager…except I’m typically the one people are being vulnerable with and sharing the ideas they’ve scribbled down and developed over months only to share it with me quickly, anticipating my reaction. It’s a special moment, one of forward movement or redirection.

I have no problem trying anything once if it benefits patients, the team, or the organization (hopefully all of the above). Let’s “pilot” it and see if it works! If so, fabulous! We can continue, refining as we go. If not, no worries; we’ll scrap it and try something else. You’d be surprised the kinds of ideas people come up with when they know they’ll be given a shot…incredibly great ideas! Patient-centered, cost-saving ideas. I am blown away by some of the brilliance around me that simply needed someone to say, “Hey, that is a great idea and completely worth a try!”

When someone brings an idea, they typically have a passion for it, so as a manager I know I likely won’t have to do a whole lot in regards to developing processes. Really all I need to do is be the cheerleader and maybe help move processes along or minimally direct others. It’s quite amazing. It’s also quite rare.

Why is that?!