Arnold Glasow once said, "A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." Stacey Thompson, Clinical Nurse Manager of Seven East, exemplifies this quotation on a regular basis. I cannot choose just one moment that Stacey has demonstrated excellence in leadership. The way that Stacey provides leadership on a daily basis clearly reflects her values of compassion and making a difference. Stacey is a humble leader who does not take credit for the successes of our unit. Instead, she gives that credit to the entire Seven East team, taking less than her share of the credit in the important role she plays in the success we are able to achieve. The success of our nursing unit stems from the strong leadership and vision that Stacey guides with.
The way Stacey executes her job is evidence of her compassionate character. Stacey embodies Carolina Care in the way she interacts with both co-workers and patients. It is evident that the person is at the center of every decision she makes. Whether it is through the conversations that she has with an upset patient or family member or through the help she offers a co-worker going through a difficult time, Stacey remains non-judgmental, empathetic, and is solution-oriented.
As a new team leader, I have struggled both personally and professionally with the transition. Stacey has remained by my side as a strong and supportive mentor who always sees me as a person first. Because of Stacey's ability to see the person behind every co-worker, she has an incredible patience and is able to help lead people successfully through troubled water. However, just because Stacey sees her team members as people first, it does not cloud her ability to hold us to the standards that we each agreed upon in working at Rex. Stacey believes in those who she leads and holds us each to a high level of excellence and encourages us to strive for our goals. Stacey is consistent with the standards she holds each of us accountable for and that makes Seven East a place where people are inspired to come to work and perform at the highest level.
Stacey's ability to communicate clearly and compassionately is a strength she holds. I am constantly in awe of how she provides a presence that allows others to feel comfortable to share their thoughts and feelings. For example, one morning a patient's daughter requested the charge nurse. When I responded, it felt like there was very little the family member was willing to hear beyond my apologies, and she continuously insisted that her mother's nurse be reassigned despite that the nurse who was chosen to care for her mother was chosen because of her strong advocacy skills and experience in complex discharge planning and education (which would be happening that day). After several minutes, it became clear that our conversation wasn't as productive as it could be. At this point, I approached Stacey and she actually invited me to go with her to speak to the patient's daughter. Stacey allowed me the opportunity to learn from her instead of her just fixing the problem. Because Stacey had regularly completed leadership rounding on this patient and family, she had established a strong rapport. In the short time they talked, the patient's daughter became tearful and it was apparent through her demeanor (both her verbal and non-verbal communication) that she finally felt safe to let her guard down and trust the caregivers taking care of her mother. When the patient's daughter asked Stacey if the staff found her to be a difficult family member, Stacey quickly replied that she viewed her as a concerned daughter who was advocating for her mother. By seeing the person behind the challenge and meeting her where she was at, Stacey was able to communicate in a way that met the needs of the patient's daughter and negotiate a solution that was in the best interest of the patient despite being the exact opposite of the daughter's initial goal. In this one conversation, Stacey exemplified so many aspects of Carolina Care (blameless apology, moment of caring, talking up her colleagues). This is one of the countless examples that demonstrate that the culture of Rex is something that is so embedded in Stacey's values that you wouldn't be able to separate the two.
Stacey acts as a mentor for those under her leadership. She motivates us to strive to be better people and better healthcare professionals. Stacey helps us to develop skills to appropriately and confidently make decisions without her presence. If a co-worker approaches Stacey with a question, she will help guide them towards the answer, but never just gives away the answer. Many times, I have gone to Stacey to find out what decision she would have made and instead, she encourages me to share what I am thinking. This has challenged me to develop my decision-making skills and independence. While at times, this can be frustrating because it is much easier to just get the answer, by doing this, Stacey is creating leaders in each one of her staff members.
Stacey creates a unit that we each feel a part of. She often says, "This is not my unit. It is our unit." The way that she empowers each of us to play a role in the daily operations and the overarching planning of Seven East is a gift and it does not happen everywhere. One way that Stacey has done this is by spending countless times explaining and re-explaining how productivity works so that we each have a bigger picture understanding. It is clear that Stacey's goal is not to just manage a nursing unit, but it is to create and empower more nurse leaders for the future. Stacey takes time to find the strengths of the staff on her team and tell them about the potential she sees in them. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Stacey encourages her team members to take on a new challenge. In my case, Stacey saw leadership potential in me and encouraged me to consider a team leader position. If Stacey hadn't come to me to tell me the specific qualities that she saw in me that would make me a strong candidate for the team leader role, I likely would never have considered the role I am currently in or found the job satisfaction that I feel.
When I was looking for jobs in North Carolina, I was looking to stay in my specialty of pediatric nursing, but on a whim applied to Rex Hospital just to explore all of my options. I did not think that Rex would be the place I would end up choosing. However, after my Seven East phone interview with Stacey, I found myself comparing every other hospital unit with Seven East at Rex. I was initially drawn to Rex and Seven East because of Stacey's leadership and that is one of the reasons why I continue to choose Rex as the place where I want to practice as a Registered Nurse and continue to grow and develop.
Despite having what I consider to be a difficult and stressful job because of the pressure I'm certain she must feel from both those in positions above and below hers, Stacey appears calm and graceful, making her job look easy. I have never once heard Stacey complain or say anything negative regarding Seven East or Rex Healthcare, even though I am sure there are very frustrating days. That positivity and professionalism are what sets the stage for the culture of our unit. A year ago, I wasn't positive that I was going to continue working at Rex because I thought my true passion was in pediatrics. While I still hold that passion, Stacey's leadership and mentoring have taught me that there is so much more to career fulfillment than what patient population you serve. Stacey has empowered me and so many others to make a difference in the lives of the patients we care for every day and for that, I cannot thank her enough.