0:01

In the last episode I introduced the

0:03

Florence Challenge based on the

0:06

book the Florence Prescription From

0:08

Accountability to Ownership Manifesto

0:12

for a Positive Healthcare Culture

0:14

. Yes , you can

0:16

have a positive healthcare culture

0:19

. Challenge reminds us that taking

0:22

care of the sick , taking

0:24

care of our patients , should be

0:26

a mission , not

0:35

just a business , and being a nurse or healthcare professional should

0:37

be a calling , not just a job . Again , I refer back to my

0:39

previous episode I believe

0:42

it was episode 20 , episode

0:47

. I believe it was episode 20 , where I talked about deciphering are you job-minded or are you career-minded

0:50

? But what the Florence Challenge includes

0:52

is being emotionally positive

0:54

, being self-empowered

0:56

and fully engaged . I

0:59

am using this book to bring in

1:02

a twist on how it helps you grow

1:04

your career . Many of us believe

1:06

that our leadership or others

1:08

should help us grow our careers

1:10

. We'd like for that to be

1:12

the case . Their leaders

1:15

would like for that to be the case . They understand

1:17

that that is part

1:19

of it . Sometimes it's not your

1:21

leadership fault , your leadership's fault or

1:24

your manager's fault and

1:26

they're not able to invest the time in

1:28

helping you to grow because , more than likely

1:30

, it's because they may be overwhelmed

1:32

. But to

1:34

some point that is true , but

1:37

will less likely be the case in most

1:39

cases . I've been in

1:41

nursing for over 19

1:44

years It'll be 20 years this

1:46

year in July and

1:49

so I've ebbed and flowed through

1:51

a lot of leaders understanding

1:53

their abilities or maybe

1:55

lack of abilities to support you in leadership

1:58

. Every person can

2:00

grow their careers without nursing leadership support

2:02

, but you have to take ownership

2:04

of the actions

2:08

or inaction , the

2:10

actions that you don't take to grow

2:12

your careers . Nurse

2:26

podcast , where I provide tips , tools and resources for the experienced nurse to

2:28

put in your career bag to help you be a better person , a better leader , a

2:31

better professional and , most of all , a

2:33

better nurse . I'm your host

2:35

, bonnie Meadows , a career coach

2:37

and a clinical nurse specialist with

2:39

over 18 years of experience

2:41

in healthcare and nursing . It's

2:44

my passion to help experienced

2:46

nurses develop their careers to

2:49

impact health care and their communities

2:51

. I

2:57

was at a point in my career

2:59

my nursing career where my

3:02

boss was not helping me grow . In

3:04

fact , she was doing the opposite

3:06

. I had just moved

3:08

from a job in risk management . I

3:11

was good where I was , so going to quality

3:13

was going to be icing on the cake . I

3:16

was about six months from obtaining

3:18

my first master's degree in nursing , with a focus

3:21

in health systems management and

3:23

a job in quality would allow me to

3:25

use it more . Plus , there was

3:28

no upward , there was not

3:30

a lot of room for upward

3:32

movement in risk management , and

3:34

that's what I was looking for . I

3:36

wasn't looking for . I was looking for a lot

3:39

of out , some outward movement

3:41

, but at that point

3:43

my mind was on

3:46

advancement yes , growth

3:48

, because I was doing things that in

3:50

my career that was helping me to grow

3:53

. But I wanted advancement

3:55

and so , like you , I

3:58

desired a little bit more for my career

4:00

and I wanted a change . But I

4:02

was good if I didn't get the job . So

4:05

I made it to my dream

4:08

position as an outcome specialist

4:10

. This

4:15

position was supposed to set me up for a very progressive career path in quality management

4:17

and in other areas of health care . It provided

4:20

me a lot of exposure where , on a

4:22

regular basis , on

4:25

a regular basis , on a weekly basis

4:27

in risk management , I would work

4:29

with CMOs and

4:32

chief nursing officers . But in

4:34

this other position , it

4:37

was not just the hospitals that

4:39

I covered , but it was a system wide position

4:41

. Where it was , there

4:43

were still presidents that I interacted

4:45

with VPs , svps , executive

4:48

vice presidents . So

4:50

it was it was going

4:52

to set me up and

4:54

the leadership support I needed just

4:57

was not there . Other people

5:00

were bullying her and

5:02

it stunned my growth , so much so

5:04

that she suggested

5:07

I look for another job , and I was in

5:09

agreement because it was

5:11

just not . I

5:13

wrestled with it for a while , because as nurses

5:16

we don't give up , and at

5:18

that point in time I'd had my

5:20

gosh . I'd come off of maybe

5:23

like a four-year time

5:25

frame four or five-year time frame where

5:28

my reviews were exceeds

5:30

expectations . So

5:33

, although that job

5:35

was teaching me a lot

5:38

of lessons , one of the things

5:40

that I had to keep in mind is that

5:42

I'm not a bad employee and

5:45

I had to also

5:47

keep at the forefront of my mind the things

5:49

that I needed to work on . But

5:52

I also kept in perspective . This

5:54

is not all my fault , and

5:57

I'm usually one who will take on a

6:00

lot . I take my responsibility

6:02

for those things that I am responsible

6:04

for , and so I

6:07

had held on as long as I could

6:09

to do better in the role . But

6:12

, as one of my colleagues said , oh

6:14

my , we failed you in your orientation

6:16

and I'm so sorry , and

6:19

this was after I'd started looking for

6:21

another job . Even my other co-workers

6:23

were like , yeah , that's

6:26

a great idea . It just

6:28

never got better . But two months

6:30

before I left I got a new boss

6:33

who was more supportive and

6:35

I could tell my growth had

6:38

shifted . But it was too late . It

6:41

was time for me to move on . She kept

6:43

asking me are you sure

6:45

you want to leave ? Now , that

6:48

was a huge pivot in

6:50

my career time because

6:53

I recently had somewhat

6:55

of the same conversation

6:58

from a job that I just left , of

7:00

a new boss coming in and saying are

7:02

you sure you want to leave ? Like we could really

7:05

like you could stay . If you really

7:07

want to stay , you could stay , and

7:09

so I . But back then I

7:11

told her , yes , it's time for me to

7:13

go , and that was the one of the

7:15

best moves I made in my career

7:17

. Nurses stay stagnant

7:20

because they feel like they have no

7:22

other choice or

7:25

this is just the way it will be and

7:28

they just settle

7:30

there and stay miserable , or

7:32

they leave the profession . Leaving

7:35

the profession is not always the answer , because

7:38

there are so many options in

7:40

healthcare than just

7:42

not than just being a nurse . There

7:46

are so many options in healthcare

7:48

, even in nursing . Honestly

7:51

, it's definitely changed

7:53

in my 20 years as far as the options

7:55

that are available . We are

7:57

at a point , though , where

7:59

we are at a crux in the profession

8:02

, where the options are many

8:04

more

8:07

, so that it's much easier for

8:09

the nurse at the bedside to leave the hospital

8:12

or to stay within the

8:14

hospital setting . But do

8:16

something just a little bit

8:18

different in order to contribute

8:21

. But do something just a

8:23

little bit different in order to contribute , and

8:29

so , in this episode , you'll learn how to use the elements of the Florence Challenge of ownership

8:31

to grow your career . Without leadership

8:34

. Ownership is

8:37

when we aspire to

8:40

be committed to

8:42

our core values , especially

8:45

those that match the organization

8:48

. We are engaged in our work

8:50

and with our co-workers , and we take pride

8:52

in our work and in our profession

8:55

, and that ownership

8:57

that we have is a culture

8:59

that is built within us . That

9:02

ownership that we have is a culture that is built within us , so

9:04

I take the culture of ownership with me wherever

9:06

I go , and people can

9:08

see it on me . This

9:16

is one of the major ways that you can show your value to the organization , and it helps you to validate

9:18

yourself also at the same time . Like this is

9:20

a give and take , we always think , oh

9:22

well , what's in it for me and , yes , we definitely

9:24

want to know what's in it for us , but

9:27

we also have to understand

9:30

the tangibles and the intangibles that

9:32

we are able

9:34

to provide to the organization

9:37

. And

9:39

so , with ownership , there

9:41

are three things under ownership

9:43

, under the big umbrella

9:46

of ownership , that we can really

9:49

focus on , and

9:51

then under that , there

9:54

are ways in which you can

9:56

incorporate ownership

9:58

. So that's more so the

10:00

how are we going to do this ? With

10:03

ownership , we are focused on our

10:06

commitment to our

10:08

values , our own

10:10

vision and mission and the organization's

10:12

vision and mission , and we're

10:15

making sure those two line up at

10:17

all times . And so , even

10:19

though someone , I

10:21

would challenge

10:24

you that , if you are in a difficult

10:26

situation within

10:29

your job , your nursing job , go

10:32

back to find the

10:34

company's vision and mission

10:36

and you read that and

10:38

you look at that , because if that's what they're saying

10:41

but they're not doing it , then

10:43

we we need to have some conversations , because

10:45

I can guarantee you that somewhere in that organization

10:48

, someone , some leader , is carrying

10:50

it out , and sometimes

10:52

you need to make a move . Or

10:55

if you feel like the entire organization

10:57

is opposite of what they're saying

10:59

their vision and mission is , then

11:01

you have some decisions to make . But

11:04

back to ownership , commitment

11:07

to your values , vision

11:09

and mission and the organizations . That

11:13

looks like engagement , and so I talked

11:15

about being fully engaged , being fully present

11:17

physically and

11:19

emotionally , and then having a

11:21

passion , loving your work and

11:23

letting it show . And I

11:25

listen , you're not going to have a passion for everything

11:28

that you do , but anytime

11:30

you get to do those things that do

11:32

bring you joy , you

11:35

find ways to do it . Find

11:37

ways to do those things

11:39

within your work that do bring

11:42

you joy . So , if it's

11:44

working on a project , if it's teaching

11:46

, if it's rewriting

11:50

a policy , if it's doing

11:52

clinical inquiry and doing

11:55

analysis of data , like any

11:58

of those things , if it's patient education

12:00

, if it's mentoring another

12:02

nurse , find ways to

12:05

insert your passion into

12:07

your everyday work so

12:09

that you're not always focused on

12:11

what's not going right

12:13

and what you don't like about work . These

12:19

are the ways , these are the elements of ownership that you

12:21

need in order to grow your career , because

12:24

when you get some of these things

12:26

lined up , then you're

12:28

able to have

12:30

a better vision about where you want

12:32

to go and you're able

12:34

to start journaling

12:38

, writing down , understanding

12:41

your value , and then you're able

12:43

to articulate that to others . Okay

12:46

, so here are some other tangible

12:49

ways to incorporate

12:52

ownership or to be an owner

12:54

of your career

12:56

growth process . The

12:58

first one is being an owner and not

13:00

a renter . No one changes

13:02

the oil in a rental car , so

13:05

anytime you say that's not my

13:07

job , or you walk by

13:09

a patient's room where the call light is on , you

13:11

don't stop pick up a piece

13:13

of paper on the floor when

13:15

your hands are empty

13:17

. You're renting a space

13:19

in the organization . You're not taking

13:22

ownership of

13:24

your work , and then

13:26

that shows to others

13:28

. There are people all

13:31

around you . Shows

13:36

to others . There are people all around you . You're always interviewing

13:38

. From the moment you step foot on the floor to however many years

13:41

you have been in nursing , you

13:43

are always interviewing . And

13:46

so even in the

13:48

places where you

13:50

might just be there for a short period of time

13:53

, you can take on a spirit

13:55

or culture of ownership . Even

13:58

in the short period that you are there

14:00

, you do that by taking

14:02

. You do that by stewardship . You're

14:05

stewarding the resources that are around

14:07

you . People tend to be better

14:09

stewards of things that they own

14:11

than of things that they rent

14:14

, and you don't want to rent out

14:16

your career to someone else . You

14:19

don't want to rent out your growth to someone

14:21

else by expecting someone else to

14:23

do those things . You

14:25

want to be an owner and

14:27

say it's my job to do these things

14:29

. And then that way , you

14:31

show up in an interview 15

14:34

years later in front of someone who

14:37

you knew 15 years

14:39

ago , clear across the country

14:41

, and they say , ah

14:44

yes , this person . They

14:47

might've been in the float pool or , although they were

14:49

a traveler , I liked

14:51

their work ethic . They

14:53

are our owner . They took ownership of

14:55

their patients . They took ownership of the

14:57

work that they did . Now I'm

14:59

not saying be a

15:01

doormat . I'm not saying

15:04

you say yes to everything Again

15:06

. That's where boundaries come in . That's

15:08

where we think about the essential things that

15:10

take us to the next level Stewardship

15:14

, being an owner and not a renter

15:17

. And how do we do that ? We apply

15:19

stewardship and we just

15:21

become a better steward of the things that

15:24

we have , those things that are around

15:26

us . That helps to

15:28

develop a culture of ownership

15:30

within yourself . Do your part . We're

15:33

always looking at what others are not doing

15:35

. Make sure you do your part

15:38

. And sometimes that can be hard

15:40

in health care , because you are doing your part and

15:42

then you're doing 50 other jobs at the same

15:44

time . But if that is happening

15:46

, there are ways to set boundaries

15:49

and say no without

15:51

harming your patients . But

15:54

you know that if you just

15:56

focus on doing your part , you

15:59

can actually change your growth for the better . And

16:03

then you bring

16:05

others in around you to

16:07

help them to do their part . So you

16:09

start delegating to them and

16:12

creating this sense of

16:14

belonging , because

16:16

belonging is one of the parts

16:19

of creating a culture

16:21

of ownership where you work . But

16:24

then it creates a level of ownership

16:26

within each individual to

16:29

create a collective ownership

16:32

. Again , doing your part

16:34

shows teamwork , it

16:36

shows that you know how to work well with others and

16:38

it shows you know how to lead . Next

16:40

point , number three take initiative

16:42

even when you don't have

16:45

a title . I

16:47

am what I

16:49

would say . What

16:51

others would call me is an influential

16:54

leader . I have

16:56

been in several leadership

16:58

positions and not

17:00

a management position

17:03

. But does that make me

17:05

not a leader ? No

17:08

, it doesn't , because

17:10

I still lead people and I

17:13

would argue that my job as

17:15

an influential leader is harder

17:17

than a nurse manager's job

17:19

, because I have to make

17:21

you move , I have to help , encourage you

17:23

to move on this

17:25

thing and I don't sign your

17:27

check You're just going

17:29

off of . I trust them , I

17:32

trust what they're saying to me , so

17:35

I'm going to do it . And so , even

17:37

though you may have been looking

17:40

for jobs where you want to

17:42

grow as a manager , or

17:45

whatever the case may be , sometimes

17:48

growth looks like going into leadership

17:50

positions , and not necessarily

17:53

manager positions . So open

17:55

your open your eyes to that

17:57

. But you

18:00

can practice it where you are right now by

18:02

taking initiative , even when you don't

18:04

have a title . And when you

18:06

do that , you you see what needs

18:09

to be done and you take action

18:11

. You proceed until apprehended

18:13

. So you see something that's wrong on the unit

18:15

and you say , okay , I want to do a project on

18:18

that . Or you go to your nurse

18:20

leader and you say I see

18:22

this as an issue . Can we do a project on such

18:24

and such and such ? More

18:26

than likely they will say yes . Or

18:29

they will say , okay , well , you can partner

18:31

with me on this . I

18:34

had someone ask me once before

18:36

, like how do I let

18:39

my manager know that I want to be involved

18:41

in more projects ? You

18:43

ask them what they're working on . Or

18:45

you see an issue and

18:48

you try to solve it . But

18:50

there are two ways to do that . You

18:52

either take initiative on something that has

18:54

been a problem , that you see that

18:56

your manager might be having a struggle getting

18:58

their arms around and you partner with that manager

19:01

, or you get nosy

19:03

about what they're doing and what

19:05

they're involved in and you ask questions

19:07

and then you pick and choose

19:09

on what you want to get involved in . They

19:11

have a laundry list of things that

19:13

you could take initiative on but

19:16

proceed until apprehended . That

19:19

is how you grow , that is how

19:21

you take ownership , and not waiting on

19:23

someone to come to you

19:25

and say , hey , can

19:27

you , would you ? No , you

19:31

do it , take ownership . And

19:34

then , lastly , you create

19:37

a spirit of ownership where

19:40

you hold people accountable

19:42

for showing up on time and

19:45

for fulfilling the terms of

19:47

what they are supposed to do , what they have

19:49

committed to do . How

19:51

do you do that ? You're like how do I

19:54

do that ? I don't , I can't hold anybody accountable

19:56

. I can't . Yes , you can . Peer-to-peer

19:59

accountability is huge . It's

20:02

huge . I worked in

20:04

a unit where we had strong

20:07

peer-to-peer accountability

20:09

, but what it takes is

20:11

one being in fellowship

20:14

, being a friend and having

20:16

friends at work or

20:18

having a good rapport . So it doesn't . You

20:20

don't necessarily have to be friends , because things can get cliquish

20:22

, but you can have a good rapport

20:25

with people without being friends , because

20:28

you're open , you're ready to

20:30

help , and then you

20:32

have pride in your profession and

20:34

where you work and yourself . And

20:37

having pride means

20:39

working to stay on top

20:42

of whatever is the newest literature

20:44

, making

20:47

sure that you're coming to work in a professional

20:49

manner and having a professional thought process

20:52

. All of these things

20:54

help you to take ownership of your

20:56

career so that

20:59

you can grow . They

21:01

may be intangible , but they

21:03

help your mindset

21:05

to grow beyond

21:07

where you are , and then you end up taking

21:10

that with you when you go

21:12

on a job interview . So then

21:14

they start to see your leadership

21:16

skills . You can

21:18

then better articulate what value

21:21

you bring to the position , which

21:23

then leads to you getting the

21:26

job . But here's

21:28

another bonus point All

21:31

of these things help

21:33

you to get clarity on

21:35

your next step . How is that , bonnie ? Because

21:39

when you do these things

21:41

, you start to tease out what

21:43

you like , what you don't like , what you have a passion

21:45

for , what you don't have a passion for , and then you start to tease out what you like , what you don't like , what you have a passion for , what you don't have a passion for

21:48

, and then you start to think

21:50

, okay , I want to do more of that thing . Or

21:53

sometimes you might have five things and then you just

21:55

got to make a decision on

21:57

the route that you want to pursue

21:59

. But we're always going to have

22:01

many options for

22:04

whatever route we want to

22:06

go . But taking

22:08

ownership of

22:10

your career and

22:12

your career growth starts with

22:15

being an owner and not a renter . Doing

22:18

your part , taking initiative

22:20

even when you don't have a title , and

22:22

then you creating a spirit of ownership

22:25

within yourself and where you

22:27

work , and you will be surprised

22:29

at how your growth

22:32

will accelerate from there . Thanks

22:34

. Thanks

22:38

for joining us this week on the Ambitious

22:40

Nurse Podcast . To review

22:42

the show notes and any links mentioned

22:44

in today's episode , please go

22:46

to theambitiousnursepodcastcom . If

22:49

you enjoyed this conversation , follow

22:52

or subscribe so you don't miss a

22:54

future episode . Also

22:56

, please consider leaving a rating review

22:58

and or comment about what

23:01

you want to hear . This helps

23:03

more nurses , just like you find

23:05

this podcast . Thank you for joining

23:07

me , bonnie Meadows , on the Ambitious

23:09

Nurse Podcast . I look forward

23:11

to chatting with you the next time . And

23:14

remember you don't have to grow your career

23:16

alone . As iron sharpens

23:18

iron , one person sharpens another

23:21

. Thank you for letting me sharpen you

23:23

as you take this knowledge to sharpen

23:25

the next .