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Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare: Essentials
On-demand, cohort-based learning that starts with Self and builds the Awakener, Connector, and Upholder attributes.
Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare: A Contemporary Approach to Nursing Leadership
At uLeadership™, we believe that to be the most effective leader, who creates a culture of excellence, trust, and caring, you must lead in service to others and take good care of yourself. In short, It Starts with You, but It’s Not About You! Three nurse leaders with years of experience from the bedside to the executive suite share a new model of leadership which captures the essence and complexity of healthcare ̶ Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare. This evidence-based approach requires the leader to practice self-care and mindfulness and to adopt the outward focused leadership attributes of the Awakener, the Connector, and the Upholder. Our mission is to make a difference in healthcare by developing the people who lead the people who care for the people!
Voices
What leaders say
I realized how little self-care I was actually doing, if at all. I put everything on myself in the job and didn’t realize the value of changing my mindset to care for me so I can care for others.
I have learned that I must be patient and sometimes reflect and ask for assistance from others. Autonomy partners well with Collaboration.
I now appreciate the concept of work-life balance in a different way…it starts with me, but it’s not about me.
I realize that I am more of a human-centered leader than I originally thought. Utilizing the principles taught in this class, I will be able to fine tune my skills and produce a better team and outcomes.
I learned the value of recognizing I don’t have to be perfect. I now embrace learning from failure and mistakes. Being vulnerable with my team builds trust…that was a big realization.
Chaos is the beginning of change!
As a Human-Centered Leader, working in a culture of trust leads to people staying at their current position longer. This decreases turnover for organizations. It can also lead to increased production, which has waterfall effects on companies.
I used the Coffee Bean story with my team in huddles. I asked them to think about if they were the carrot (changed by the environment), the egg (also changed by the environment) or the coffee bean (changes the environment). They really got it and understood how they can take charge of their own work environment.
As a new nurse manager, I really appreciated the way we were able to safely share our challenges and different experiences. It was a really good perspective to know I wasn’t the only one facing certain challenges…even when we might be leading different specialties.
As leaders we must never cease to continually improve, adapt, and innovate. Human-Centered Leadership provides us with an evidenced- based label and roadmap to help us along the way.
I learned to push myself to the edge which means to be unafraid to innovate and think outside the box.
I learned to become aware of my own blind spots. Self-awareness has become part of my daily practice and intentions.
I realized it’s OK and is actually healthier for me to not feel as if I have to do it all. I can delegate. It’s not just healthier for me, it’s also healthier for my team to take ownership rather than me just doing everything.
I started asking my team members, “What does ‘great’ look like to you?” This is what the people who are doing the work should be dreaming of, right? Also, I reminded them to think about their “why.” I tell them, “Say it out loud” because that makes it more real.
Program Delivery Model
Our educational model targets the learner by meeting them where they are. Using a unique, on-demand mobile learning platform, learners are able to digest the content in small, “bite-sized” offerings that have associated learning activities. Delivered to a cohort, individuals are able to learn asynchronously within a learning community that has built-in strategies for increasing both individual knowledge retention and integration as well as increased sense of community/peer network.
Finally, our programs offer a framework for each organization to customize by incorporating additional organization-specific content and branding. A video from the CNO can be added to the beginning and the end of the program to share specific organizational goals. This customization makes the course experience relevant to the participant’s existing challenges and developmental needs.
Program Details
The Human-Centered Leader seeks to address complexity through Awakening, Connecting, and Upholding the people who care for the people with an ultimate goal of nurturing a Culture of Excellence, Trust, and Caring. The Human-Centered Leader starts by recognizing that change begins with self. This level culminates with a self-assessment of the Human-Centered Leadership attributes and provides direction on strategies for further individual development.
Objectives
- Learn about a leadership style specific to healthcare based in complexity and caring science.
- Examine research and evidence behind the theory of Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare.
- Recognize the 4 dimensions and attributes of a Human-Centered Leader and the implications of this relational leadership style on organizational outcomes.
- Translate the value of Human-Centered Leadership as an upstream measure to address today’s workforce crisis.
The Human-Centered Leader practices self-care, self-compassion, self-awareness, and mindfulness to build resiliency and the capacity to focus outward. Each of these practices are explored and the leader learns first steps toward their development.
Objectives
- Describe how caring-for-self, mindfulness, self-compassion, and holistic well-being influence your ability to care for others.
- Learn how self-care and self-compassion are connected.
- Understand how to use the practice of mindfulness to decrease the perception of stress.
Recorded/Virtual Learning Lab: Just Breathe: How Mindfulness and Meditation Reduce Stress and Improve Well-Being
Objectives
- Review the effects of chronic/prolonged stress on our health and our over-all well-being.
- Identify the benefits of a mindful approach to stress reduction.
- Discover the process of mindfulness meditation by training the mind to purposefully pay attention to the present moment using the breath as a tool.
- Introduce the “Seven Essential Attitudes for Mindfulness Meditation Practice.” (As identified in “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn)
The leader embodies the attributes of the Awakener by developing the members on the team. The Awakener is characterized as a: motivator, coach, mentor, architect, and advocate. The leader’s influence as an Awakener results in staff members owning their individual and collaborative practice, implementing innovative solutions based on new knowledge, and being accountable for the quality outcomes. These outcomes are sustained in a Culture of Excellence.
Objectives
- Discover the attributes of the Awakener and how they lead to a Culture of Excellence.
- Explore how coaching and mentoring awaken growth and development in team members.
- Learn how to harness your internal energy and power outward to influence your environment and people.
- Learn about practical ways you as the leader can influence a Culture of Excellence and the associated outcomes of improved quality indicators and patient safety.
Recorded/Virtual Learning Lab: Awakening Shared Leadership: Problem-Solving at the Point of Care.
Objectives
- Identify the attributes of the Awakener integrated into the process of performance improvement at the point-of-care.
- Define linear and nonlinear change processes.
- Recognize the structure supporting Shared Leadership at the unit-level.
- Describe how the performance improvement process contributes to a Culture of Excellence.
- Contrast the impact of Shared Leadership when solving problems to that of Traditional Leadership.
The leader embodies the attributes of the Connector by building a sense of community. The Connector is characterized as a: collaborator, supporter, edgewalker, engineer, and authentic communicator. The leader’s influence as a Connector results in a healthy work environment and the natural development of a Culture of Trust. Real-world examples are provided for how the Connector embodies each attribute and achieves success in developing a sustained Culture of Trust.
Objectives
- Discover the attributes of the Connector and how they foster a Culture of Trust.
- Explore how a healthy work environment influences you and your team’s well-being.
- Work with your team to identify healthy and not-so-healthy aspects of your unit.
- Learn about practical ways you as the leader can influence a Culture of Trust and the associated outcomes of a healthy work environment and team engagement.
Recorded/Virtual Learning Lab: Transforming Conflict into Collaboration: The Connector in Action
Objectives
- State the importance of Trust in overcoming the fear of conflict.
- Describe how the Connector overcomes conflict.
- Recognize the 5 different types of workplace conflict.
- Discuss the benefit of embracing conflict.
The leader embodies the attributes of the Upholder by recognizing the humanity in self and others. The Upholder is characterized by demonstrating: personal well-being, mindfulness, an others-oriented mindset, emotional awareness, and social/organizational awareness. The leader’s influence as an Upholder results in teams that perform better, engage more, and achieve the desired outcomes of improved staff and patient satisfaction. A Culture of Caring is exemplified.
Objectives
- Discover the attributes of the Upholder and how they lead to a Culture of Caring.
- Explore how recognizing the humanity in self and others influences the team’s perception of caring.
- Recognize the impact of social and organizational awareness on leader and team success.
- Learn about practical ways to influence a Culture of Caring and the associated outcomes of patient experience and staff satisfaction.
Recorded/Virtual Learning Lab: Uphold the Team to Calm the Chaos
Objectives
- State how the importance of communicating with transparency, acting with urgency, leading with values, and sharing power help calm the chaos for the team.
- Describe how the Upholder who possesses the attributes of personal health and well-being, mindfulness, others-orientedness, emotional awareness, and social and organizational awareness creates calm in the midst of chaos.
- Recognize the connection between a psychologically safe work environment and outcomes.
- Discuss the benefits of achieving a calm and stable work environment and how this leads to a Culture of Caring.