OR Manager June 2023 - 18

Staffing
managers with these skills in daily work
life. Mentors can also help ease the
path for leaders moving from one organization
to another.
Mentoring leaders
An example of how mentorship
can be used to
support leaders is a
peer mentor program.
" A peer mentor program
helps get people up to
speed more quickly and
improves leader retention, "
says Jennifer Misajet,
MHA, RN, CNOR,
CSSM, interim chief
Jennifer
Misajet, MHA,
RN, CNOR,
CSSM
nurse for Trinity Health, who has worked
with several of these programs.
Peer mentors are at the same level
as new mangers, but have more experience
in the role, in the organization,
or both. " The peer mentor can help
the new manager navigate the system, "
Misajet says. The mentor can provide
information such as the right person
to contact with problems and the right
process to follow when making a budget
request. The relationship goes beyond
the mechanics, however, with the mentor
able to help the new manager understand
the culture of the organization
and how to function within it.
Mentorship also provides the opportunity
for mentees to ask questions they
might not want to ask their own manager;
for example, new leaders might
be reticent to admit to their supervisor
that they lack experience in calculating
productivity. " New managers feel more
comfortable being vulnerable with their
mentor than their supervisor, " Misajet
says. Often situations can be resolved
at the mentor level, without needing to
involve the supervisor.
Misajet says the leadership team discusses
the pairing of mentor and mentee
to determine the best fit. " Having
input from the entire team helps in making
a good choice, " she says. For example,
a person who interviewed an in18
OR
Manager | June 2023
troverted new manager might know that
they could benefit from being paired
with someone who is not extremely
extroverted. Important considerations
include whether the leadership styles
of the pair are congruent and whether
a potential mentor has the bandwidth
to take on the responsibility. Both the
mentor and the mentee must understand
expectations, and those in the organization
also need to know about the
pairing, in the same way staff know who
is a preceptor for a new nurse.
Not all pairings work out. " You might
think you made the right pairing, but it
turns out not to be a good fit because of
personality or style differences, " Misajet
says. Quick action to change the pairing
is needed to avoid having the new manager
leave the organization.
The formal part of the mentor/mentee
relationship typically lasts about 6
months. The first 90-to-120-day time
frame is intense. More structured meetings
are held to review items such as
payroll, scheduling, and how to access
IT support. In addition to addressing
mentee's questions, checklists are
used to ensure needed topics are covered.
Trinity has one checklist for frontline
leaders and another for senior leadership.
" Having a checklist to go along
with the mentorship provides a structured
orientation and helps new managers
get a firm foundation, " Misajet says.
Once completed, the checklist is kept in
the new manager's HR record.
The peer mentor can be invaluable in
helping the mentee compete the checklist.
For example, a checklist item might
be to talk with finance, and the mentor
can share the best person to connect
with. " So much is matrix in an organization
that it can be hard to know the best
people to contact for all the different
situations a new manager encounters, "
Misajet says. The mentor can ensure
the mentee knows who they need to
interact with on a regular basis.
After 6 months, informal mentorship
often continues, especially when the
mentee is faced with new tasks, such
as making a capital request or dealing
with a difficult employee. Ultimately,
the mentee may become a mentor.
" Today's mentee becomes tomorrow's
mentor, " Misajet says.
The mentee's supervisor is an integral
part of the mentor/mentee relationship.
The supervisor
regularly meets
with the mentee to ensure everything
is going well, with the mentor to ensure
progress is being made and there are
no red flags, and with both the mentee
and mentor to be sure that pairing is
working. " There are multiple points of
support for the new manager, " Misajet
says.
The peer mentor program benefits
not only the mentee but the mentor as
well. " Most people who serve as mentors
tell me they get far more out of
it than they put into it, " Misajet says.
" They feel it helps them grow and is a
job satisfier for them. "
Organizational support
Job satisfaction plays a key role in retaining
both staff and leaders. A literature
review by Keith and colleagues
found several factors that influence
nurse manager satisfaction, including
workloads, nurse manager-supervisor
relationships, quality of training and
competency, and organizational support.
In addition, leaders themselves
have identified what could change to improve
the work experience (sidebar, Joyful
work). With this background in mind,
here are a few strategies organizations
can use to support leaders.
Job analysis. Organizations can conduct
a critical analysis of everything a
nurse manager does. " Look at what
should be stopped, what should continue,
and what should be added, "
Warshawsky says, noting that in most
cases, the main result will be identification
of many activities that could be
stopped, freeing up the manager.
Nurse manager councils. " We have
shared governance councils for direct
www.ormanager.com
http://www.ormanager.com
OR Manager June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OR Manager June 2023
