Numerous session leaders and panelists throughout Day One of Periop Leader Week provided a range of real-life stories about what it takes to put patients first and how leadership can set the standard of care. Perhaps no other session tackled this quite as head on as “Build Your Bench: Strategies and Insights to Develop Your Perioperative Leadership Pipeline.” This women-led panel discussion brought decades of experience together across generations, discussing everything from overcoming imposter syndrome, to redefining leadership expectations, to recognizing and cultivating new talent.
Building pipelines for future leaders has become an integral part of leading their own departments, said Edna Gilliam, DNP, MBA, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, assistant vice president of perioperative services at Nemours Children’s Health. She said she spends time seeking out potential in people who ask a lot of questions and challenge the norms with new and innovative ideas.
Sharon Udy-Janczuk, EdD, MSN, RN, CNOR-PEDS, CPN, NE-BC, Perioperative Services, Clinical Nurse Educator, Transition to Practice, at Nemours said leadership often comes down to flexibility. As someone with many years of experience, she admitted she struggles with peoples’ desire for working from home, but credits younger staff with being able to establish boundaries in ways that once seemed unimaginable.
Leadership, they all agreed, sets the tone as to whether people will bring issues to the forefront when necessary. And leadership is about not being afraid of changing the way things are done if an idea leads to better outcomes.
The evolution we see now in how people work and how spaces are being used, explained Dekeisha Howard, MSN, RN, NE-BC, director of perioperative services at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, can attract new talent. There’s an understanding that younger people entering the perioperative field want to do meaningful work and be appreciated.
“Younger generations want to have a purpose,” said Dr. Udy-Janczuk. “They want to have an impact.”
It’s not always about the money or education either. Dykisha Potter, MPP, workforce operations partner at Nemours, believes that emotional intelligence goes a long way to becoming a leader, and that it’s important to mentor people who are trusted and get things done. People who think outside the box can bring a lot to the table as problem-solvers, she added.
The panelists didn’t steer away from tough questions, like whether it is okay to be vulnerable in leadership, the reality of mental health struggles and creating a safe space to fail. Many of these issues would have been taboo to discuss even a few years ago, they noted. But with more leaders coming forward with newer, fresher and, quite honestly, empathetic objectives about employee satisfaction, things seem to be changing.
A surgery center manager who attended the panel said she comes from the old-school way of thinking, but has come to appreciate the healthier approach to work-life balance that younger colleagues expect, especially when doctors text her late at night. She said there are challenges to embracing change, like trying to explain to an intern why they can’t be texting.
The session got people talking about the realities of challenging leadership moments, mental health awareness and quality of life.
