One aspect of our current readings from the book Leadership and Nursing Care Management that I am focusing on is that of power. Power is an aspect of organizational structure that has the potential to empower employees in a positive direction.
"It is not the power to control or to dominate others. Power refers to the ability to get things done, to mobilize resources. The structure of power stems from access to opportunities, support and resources. When power is monopolized, employees are empowered and organizations are more likely to benefit; more activity can be accomplished by organizational members, and the capacity for effective action is increased. Empowered work environments are those in which all employees have access to opportunities to learn and grow and to information, support, and resources necessary for the job" (Huber, 2009, p. 418).
This part of the chapter was inspiring to read as it gave me a whole different outlook on the concept of power. In essence, power can be the driving force that makes an organization or unit function on a respectful level as a whole. Through my personal experience, work environments that I have been involved in functioned on both sides of power, control or empowering work environment. Working in an empowering work environment inspires employees to be truly committed to the vision of the organization.
Reference
Huber, D. H. (2009). Leadership and nursing care management. 4th edition. Saunders, Elsevier Health Sciences. Maryland Heights, MO.
Since empowerment is a key aspect of my mission statement, I consider this topic very dear to my heart. An empowered work environment is highly coveted. I strongly desire a sense of autonomy in whatever nursing position I end up in in the future. My husband struggles with this concept in his current job and his previous job (he currently works at a corporate office for a large corporation and his job is to manage a support team for retail stores; and previously, he worked as a store manager at a major telecommunications company). His previous job did not empower their employees much of all and he was very unhappy there. He always felt micromanaged and eventually was fed up with it and left. His current job is much better about empowering their employees and respecting autonomy and he is a lot happier there. He still struggles to own his autonomy, though, because he worked in a controlling environment for so long that he is just really used to having someone breathing down his neck. I keep encouraging him to enjoy the power he's been given so he can relax a little bit.
ReplyDeletePS. I like your zebra print background.