“I was so impressed with Mr. Posner’s Leadership Challenge that I based my entire project on his framework”

I can’t help thinking with the long weekend here that you are getting ready for the Dorothy Wylie Nursing & Health Leaders Institute. I thought you might like to hear what we have been up to. Last year I attended with my manager Pam Westover from the ICU at the Henderson Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences. Our project was to prepare the staff to move from our present hospital the Henderson to the new Juravinski Hospital. Last fall my poster board was the Inukshuk on a path.

I was so impressed with Mr. Posner’s Leadership Challenge that I based my entire project on his framework. I started with a logo, a slogan, Critical Care ….On The Path, with an Inukshuk, as the mascot (inspiring a vision). The Inukshuk was built with 6 stones to reflect our four corporate values and we will name the other two stones to reflect our unit values (modeling the way). Next, it led to a newsletter, “Our Journey” and a Journey Board as a communication tool. We are working on a “Passport”, an education tool to assist staff with their learning needs for the new area (challenge the process). We have had small focus groups and I have engaged some of the nurses working on their degrees to work on the hands on learning mock set-up room, for a project for school (enable others to act). We are getting all the disciplines engaged, it’s crazy, about 115 staff. On April 23, Pam and I were asked to speak at the Hamilton Health Sciences Leadership Forum on “Sharing Our Success”. We did a 10 minute slide presentation then showed a video clip that we filmed in our ICU and CCU, to 270 leaders, CEO, VP’s directors, managers. We got a standing ovation. When we came off the stage the CEO and the key note speaker, Don Alison from “Mark of a Leader” came to greet us and congratulate us on an “amazing presentation”. We were certainly overwhelmed with the response.

This week we launched the entire project with two staff luncheons, food, what’s ahead and T shirts for every staff member. The shirt has the logo on the front and the back says..Critical Care Rocks…(ROCK stands for our ROCK awards, Recognising Outstanding Care and Kindness (Encourage the Heart), Be Part Of The Journey (encourage the heart).

This week our CEO is coming to meet the staff as he was so impressed with our project. We move to the new hospital on August 1, but the project will continue as the McMaster adult ICU will move next April with their staff. Pam has been a great support to me as well.

This has been an amazing ride, I can’t thank the three of you enough for the knowledge and encouragement I took away from the 2009 Institute that I never knew I had. Over the last year I have grown so much from the experience, it has simply been amazing! If you are interested in hearing more about how we are doing, please let me know.

On this path, I have learned so much about the “Leadership Challenge”. Leadership really is…..

• Inspiring a shared vision when everything is clear as mud
• Modeling the way when everyone is going in the opposite direction
• Challenging the process when that mountain seems too high to climb
• Enabling others to act when you can’t find them…. and
• Encourage the heart when it has stopped beating

But within myself I have discovered….. “Follow your dreams…they will take you to new beginnings and adventures!”

Janet MacIntyre RN