How do you make Monday matter?

Do you notice that your team reduces performance on Monday?  My call in’s are always higher on Monday.  The team seems less motivated and typically it is the lowest performance day of the week.  It seems like my team models other Monday haters across the country.  Here is an interesting link from Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2014/02/10/12-ways-to-beat-the-monday-blues/

Today, I have promised myself to create a better plan to model my Monday after Friday!  Create energy.  Inspire.  Focus on wins.  Give shout outs.  Spend time on the floor.  Help the team understand that you are one with them and in it to win it!

What are your strategies for battling a manic Monday?  I would love to hear what you do to increase energy, enthusiasm and performance.

Lynette

Have passion for what you do!

Passion changes worlds.  Take what you love and make it what you do.  That is how you will feel like you never worked a day in your life.

Wow, this week I saw this idea in action!  The Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce recently sponsored a visit from Barbara Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush was skyped in.  This was such a high energy passionate event.  The energy in the room was palpable and Barbara was an amazing speaker.

Barbara is the founder and CEO of Global Health Corps.  She had the belief that one person could make a difference improving health in depressed nations.  Although Barbara realizes that she has unique connections, the connections really only sparked the idea.  When she traveled to poor countries with her father, she wanted to help.  Barbara started the organization with ambitious college students.  http://ghcorps.org/program/

It really lit a fire in me.  What am I passionate about?  I want to help as many patients as possible!  I am in a unique role to touch so many lives and it is up to me to mentor, encourage and inspire my team to have the same vision.

What are you passionate about?  Can you find passion in your work or with those you work with?  I am looking forward to hearing from you 🙂

Lynette

Make Your Meetings Great!

I have always hated attending meetings.  Although I enjoy the comradery within the group, most of the time it seems that meetings are a lot of talking with little happenings.  I spend approximately one third of every day in meetings!

The last time I was running a meeting, I really looked at the blank stares and lack of engagement in the room.   I swore I would never run meetings that were not fun and informative.  How does this happen???

My company has come to the rescue with an in house coach.  He explains that running an effective, fun and engaging meeting is an art form.  Start with an agenda, stay on time and involve the attendees.  Ask a question that has to be answered.  Today the question is going to be:  What is the number one goal of this team?  I will make meetings interactive, interesting and informative.  Wish me luck!

Fast Company offers a few fast tips to liven up your meetings:  http://www.fastcompany.com/3013013/dialed/11-simple-tips-for-having-great-meetings-from-some-of-the-worlds-most-productive-peop

What do you do to make your meetings great?  Send your solutions my way!

Lynette

Engaging your employees

Are you part of a fast growing company?  I am.  In the last three months, one third of my team is new.  Our workload has increased dramatically and change is a regular part of our day.  Although my team has adapted to the challenges, my goal is to engage them and help them enjoy their work.  There are challenges of integrated the new team members within the group and keeping the team motivated to do their job efficiently and enthusiastically.

Forbes has a great article that gives suggestions for engaging team members.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/09/23/6-ways-to-make-your-leadership-and-workplace-fun-ag

My biggest focus now is the first one.  I want my team to test their ideas.  Over half of my team is composed of graduated practical nurses.  I want them to be inquisitive, to challenge themselves and think outside of the box.  If your team members begin to take a genuine interest in their work, not only will they generate new ideas, but they will also become engaged.  Keep it interesting and keep it fun.

Do you have original ideas for employee engagement?  What have you tried that did not work?

Please share your ideas.  Together we can build amazing teams!

Lynette

 

How do you motivate your team?

Motivating and coaching your team is one of the most important roles in your job as a manager.  The energy in the department can either help you climb closer to your department goals or completely put the breaks on reaching your end point.  After reading many leadership books, they often repeat the same thing:  Money is only a short term motivator.  That’s both good and bad news.  The good news is that you can motivate and grow people without spending extra money.  The bad news is you need to figure out what motivates them.

Inc. has an amazing article on motivating your team. The article links to references regarding corporate culture, morale boosters, non-cash incentives, motivation by compensation and creating fun at work.  Please see the following link:

http://www.inc.com/guides/hr/20776.html

I have the most amazing team.  They work hard!  However, as the workload goes up, the morale has consistently gone down.  It is my role as a leader to motivate them and help them continue to grow and achieve goals.  I am going to take one suggestion a week and bring it to the team–build the motivation and the momentum!!

What do you do to motivate and re-energize your team?  I would love to hear from you! 🙂

Lynette

 

Coaching Thursday

This has been one amazing week!  University of Tampa offers MBA students coaching opportunities.  My coach is specializes in professional coaching and is simply amazing!  She invited me to the coach appreciation dinner at the university.  The coaches are professionals from the community and volunteer their time to spend with a student.  I met so many fascinating people and networked with a multitude of community leaders.   I can’t wait to be a coach and help others when I graduate!

 

 

It is a tough job market out there.  Even if you have the skills, what is going to set you apart from others?  How can you develop the unique you that others will want on their team?  Forbes had a great article on coaching and how it can help you:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/06/04/the-new-career-trend-are-you-a-wide-achiever/

I was the only student in the group tonight.  Although my heart was racing, I stood up and spoke.  I shared how coaching had already helped me to become more confident and focused.  Of course, I gave my coach and the program director a well-deserved and heartfelt thanks.

How could coaching help you on your path?  I would love you to share your thoughts and comments.

 

Mentoring Monday!!

Wow, today was a magnificent Monday.  Today was mentoring Monday for women in 40 cities across America.  In Tampa, the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Metropolitan Ministries combined for the event.  After some great lectures from local leaders and sponsors, a speaker representing Metropolitan Ministries spoke.  She talked about being homeless and how she is now back on her feet.  It was really moving.  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen

Then the clock began.  We had 5 minutes to sit with a community mentors.  Just five minutes to ask the questions and listen with everything I had.  Wow,  It is hard to believe how much you can learn in 5 minutes!  I sat with 5 mentors in 5 minutes.  I left with years worth of information.

So my question to you is . . .if you only had 5 minutes with your mentor, what would you ask?  Would you remember more?  Even more important . . .if you don’t have a formal mentor–what can you learn from the quick encounters with the leaders you admire?

 

Grow your image while working on your MBA

Getting your MBA is just one step in getting ready for your new role after graduation.  There are steps that you can take now to start getting ready.  Let’s talk about Linkedin.  When I was in my graduate nursing program, it was a requirement to create a Linkedin profile.  At that time, I did not understand the importance of sharing your professional information and creating a professional network.

Here is a site that has compiled interesting statistics from Linkedin:

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-important-linkedin-stats/2/

Linkedin is a platform to get you noticed.  It is a vehicle to help you stay connected with friends and business associates. Upcoming blogs will discuss how to use Linkedin to build your business image.  What are your experiences with Linkiedin?

 

 

Why be a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) with a MBA?

Many people ask why I would combine a MBA with my advanced nursing degree.  The answer to me is obvious.  We are in an age in healthcare where multiple mandates are being made by the Affordable Care Act which is changing our delivery models.  Healthcare is now more of a business than ever.  Healthcare facilities are being placed under multiple demands and need to implement changes within their budget.

It seems that some medical schools are also understanding the unnatural marriage between business and medicine.  Some medical schools are offering joint MBAs so that doctors know how running their business will impact their medical practice. In 2011, the New York Times reported on this trend:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/business/doctors-discover-the-benefits-of-business-school.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

According to another more recent report in 2013, approximately 65 medical schools offered a dual MD/MBA program.  http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/articles/2013/10/01/become-a-business-savvy-doctor-with-a-joint-md-mba-program   Shouldn’t advanced practice nurses consider the same option?  I believe that nurses are in a pivotal role to impact healthcare legislation and cost of healthcare delivery.  What do you think?

360 Review

If you are like me, I had never heard of a 360 review.  In the last week, I had the opportunity to participate in two separate reviews.  One was part of a leadership course and relatively short.  The second was conducted by the human resources department.  It was quite in depth and had so much useful information.

A 360 is a survey about you and your performance within the organization.  You are rated by direct reports, peers, executive leadership and others within the organization.  The 360 evaluation compares your self-evaluation with how others evaluated you.  The report is intended to help you understand where you currently are and may help you direct your path for the future.

After a brief Google review of 360’s I found that many people believe that they are ineffective.  This report was a good summary:

http://blogs.hbr.org/2011/10/the-fatal-flaw-with-360-survey/

My boss used as at an opportunity for growth.  That was my hope when I asked for the review.  He gave me great pointers to continue to learn and move forward in my corporate position.  It was also an opportunity for me to see how I have grown in the corporate world the last year.  The review helped encourage me and direct me on my future path.

To do a 360 or not to do a 360.  What are your thoughts?