Supervising and Evaluating the Work of Others



Supervising and Evaluating the Work of Others



Chapter Objectives



1. Discuss nurse leader responsibility regarding group management.


2. Review techniques for working with groups.


3. Review techniques for leading groups and meetings.


4. Differentiate between functional and dysfunctional groups.


5. Review the different methods used to evaluate staff performance.


6. Identify the difference between supervising and evaluating the work of others.


7. Review the importance of supervising and leading groups, task forces, and patient care conferences.



Definitions



















GROUPS AND TEAMS


Nurses work as part of a team on the unit where they are employed. This does not necessarily mean that they are all practicing team nursing, but they are part of a larger group that is responsible for the overall delivery of care on the unit. As a team member, it is important to know how to work within a team. It is also important to know how to manage teams and to evaluate the performance of others.


A group consists of individuals who interact and influence each other. Groups exist in organizations. Group members include (Sullivan & Decker, 2005, p. 157):



As can be seen from this definition of group, there are a number of groups that function within a nursing unit. Some of these groups will be:



The nurse and nurse manager are also part of a much larger group—the patient care (or nursing) department. As a member of this larger group, it is important to support the overall goals of the patient care department and be a functional valued member of this team. The characteristics of your team will depend on the characteristics of the group (Box 20-1). Teams are real groups in which individuals must work cooperatively with each other to achieve some overarching goal (Sullivan & Decker, 2005, p. 157).



Box 20-1   CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS


Norms


Group Size and Characteristics





ACTIVE LISTENING


The first rule for dealing with individuals as well as with teams is to be a good listener. As a good listener, you must listen actively. When a person listens actively, the person is completely focused and tuned in to the individual who is speaking. The active listener is nonjudgmental and comprehends the full conversation. See Box 20-2 for guidelines for active listening.



Box 20-2   GUIDELINES FOR ACTIVE LISTENING




1. Slow down your internal processes and seek data. Do not interrupt the speaker.


2. The more information you acquire through listening, the less interpretation you do (making up the missing pieces or motivations). The less information you have, the more interpretation you do.


3. Realize that the first words from the other person are not necessarily representative of inner thoughts and feelings. Be patient.


4. When listening, suspend your own beliefs and views and judgments, at least temporarily. Attempt to understand the perspective of the other person, particularly if it is different from yours.


5. Realize that any judgments or “labels” strongly influence the manner in which you listen to the other person.


6. Appreciate the difference between understanding other people’s perspective and agreeing with them. First strive to understand. Then you may agree or disagree.


7. Effective listening is based on an inner desire to learn about another’s unique experience of the world.


Modified from Olen, D. (1992). Communicating speaking and listening to end misunderstanding and promote friendship. Germantown, WI: JODA Communications.



CONDUCTING MEETINGS


Nurse managers are often asked to lead group or team meetings. Many of these meetings may be staff meetings for review of issues of importance to the unit, performance improvement teams, or patient care teams. Some guidelines for leading group meetings follow (Sullivan & Decker, 2005, p. 168):





These guidelines can be further adapted to delineate guidelines for leading teams, such as patient care teams:




EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE TEAMS


Parker (1990) states that a team is a group of people with a high degree of interdependence geared toward the achievement of a goal or a task. Not all teams function well, and there are times when even the most qualified team has a dysfunctional day. If a team has a “bad day,” it is important for the team member or leader to evaluate the reasons for the poor performance. If the reasons can be understood, it will be important to alter the way the team works to increase functionality, efficiency, and patient outcomes.


When a team functions effectively, a significant difference is evident in the entire work atmosphere the way in which discussions progress, the level of understanding of the team-specific goals and tasks, the willingness of members to listen, the manner in which disagreements are handled, the use of consensus, and the way in which feedback is given and received (Yoder-Wise, 2003, p. 343).


The original work done by McGregor (1960) shows significant differences between effective and ineffective teams (Table 20-1).



Table 20-1


ATTRIBUTES OF EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE TEAMS







































































Attribute Effective Team Ineffective Team
Working environment Informal, comfortable, relaxed Indifferent, bored; tense, stiff
Discussion Focused Frequently unfocused
Shared by almost everyone Dominated by a few
Objectives Well understood and accepted Unclear, or many personal agendas
Listening Respectful—encourages participation Judgmental—much interruption and “grandstanding”
Ability to handle conflict Comfortable with disagreement Uncomfortable with disagreement
Open discussion of conflicts Disagreement usually suppressed, or one group aggressively dominates
Decision-making Usually reached by consensus Often occurs prematurely
Formal voting kept to a minimum Formal voting occurs frequently
General agreement is necessary for action; dissenters are free to voice Simple majority is sufficient for action; minority is expected to go along with opinion
Criticism Frequent, frank, relatively comfortable, constructive Embarrassing and tension-producing; destructive
Directed toward removing obstacle Directed personally at others
Leadership Shared; shifts from time to time Autocratic; remains clearly with committee chairperson
Assignments Clearly stated Unclear
Accepted by all despite disagreements Resented by dissenting members
Feelings Freely expressed, open for discussion Hidden, considered “explosive” and inappropriate for discussion
Self-regulation Frequent and ongoing, focused on solutions Infrequent, or occurs outside meetings


image


Modified from McGregor, D. (1960). The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill.



TEAM ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE


Instructions: Use the scale below to indicate how each statement applies to your team. It is important to evaluate the statements honestly and without overthinking your answers.


3 = Usually


2 = Sometimes


1 = Rarely





____ 1. Teams are passionate and unguarded in their discussion of issues.


____ 2. Team members call out one another’s deficiencies or unproductive behaviors.


____ 3. Team members know what their peers are working on and how they contribute to the collective good of the team.


____ 4. Team members quickly and genuinely apologize to one another when they say or do something inappropriate or possibly damaging to the team.


____ 5. Team members willingly make sacrifices (such as budget, turf, head count) in their departments or areas of expertise for the good of the team.


____ 6. Team members openly admit their weaknesses and mistakes.


____ 7. Team meetings are compelling, not boring.


____ 8. Team members leave meetings confident that their peers are completely committed to the decisions that were agreed on, even if they were in initial disagreement.


____ 9. Morale is significantly affected by the failure to achieve team goals.


____ 10. During team meetings, the most important—and difficult—issues are put on the table to be resolved.


____ 11. Team members are deeply concerned about the prospect of letting down their peers.


____ 12. Team members know about one another’s personal lives and are comfortable discussing them.


____ 13. Team members end discussions with clear and specific resolutions and action plans.


____ 14. Team members challenge one another about their plans and approaches.


____ 15. Team members are slow to seek credit for their own contributions, but quick to point out those of others.



Scoring


Combine your scores for the preceding statements as indicated below:


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Dec 3, 2016 | Posted by in NURSING | Comments Off on Supervising and Evaluating the Work of Others

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