Angela West
December 2020
Angela
West
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
The Employee Support Team
The University of Kansas Health System
Kansas City
,
KS
United States
Angela has been a role model when it comes to leading a team. She worked hard, many evenings and weekends, to make sure our employees were safe during this pandemic.
This leader is our go-to girl, a diamond in the ruff, our secret weapon. I haven't known this leader long. The truth is, what her and I have been through with COVID-19 has built a stronger bond between us than some people I have been working with for years. Let me start by telling you what I know about this leader.
Angela West rose to a challenge. Weeks ago, we were presented with multiple challenges and this leader was handpicked for the job. She is honest. She is humble. She is all around, a great leader. The first job this leader was presented with was to build and lead a new team to support the COVID hotline, the employee support team (EST). This leader didn't hesitate. She didn't' bat an eye. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
The first day, EST didn't have a phone line, email, processes ... nothing. Angela was a take-charge person that could come up with creative solutions on a whim. I appreciated that about her. I had a feeling from day one that this leader was special, but this was where I was caught off guard. As she began to build her team, she maintained her cool demeanor and flexibility that facilitated an almost stress-free environment. It didn't matter that her team came from all different backgrounds, that her staff wasn't the same from day-to-day, or that updates were coming in from the CDC and KDHE faster than a Jimmy Johns Delivery. Never once did she say, "I think... or I'll try." Her response was always, "Ok. We can do that." She had a can-do attitude that inspired her coworkers to rise up. It was very matter of fact. She was going to succeed. Her team felt included, supported, and that they had a voice. I sat back and listened week after week, taking notes on this unique process and experience. Certainty this was a fluke, it had to be. Her team wasn't even a team weeks ago, but COVID does funny things to people, doesn't it? That's when the second opportunity presented itself.
Angela was tasked with developing a process for employees that were quarantined, tested, or exposed. Time and time again, her team was presented with difficult situations. They would escalate these situations to this leader. She would listen and brainstorm for the "right" answer. I remember a particularly difficult situation that presented itself that hit staff hard. This situation lived in the "we've never had to deal with this before COVID" box that was almost overflowing. As the staff member was explaining the situation, I remember thinking back to someone saying, "When in doubt, just do the right thing". In this situation, what was the right thing? It was at that moment that I realized, sometimes we have no idea what the right thing is. We can take an educated guess, but ultimately, we make the best decision based on the information we have in that moment of time. What brought me peace was realizing that I trusted the leader of our team 100%. I knew her well enough to know that she didn't make decisions lightly. When she didn't know the answer she would say, "I don't know, but let's talk through it to find an answer." At the end of the day, I could go home and decompress knowing that we did great work.
As the calls kept coming in and difficult situations, fear, and uncertainty became the new normal, this leader recognized that the EST staff needed additional support. She collaborated with a Psychiatry and Behavior Science professor to develop a plan for a weekly debriefing for her staff. Time and time again, this leader showed up to our meetings with example after example of why her team was so great, how they surpassed her expectations with the challenges she gave them, and she would self-reflect on what she learned from the EST team through this unpredictable journey. That's right, you heard me... what she learned from the EST team.
After having the opportunity to work with this leader during these particularly difficult times in history, it was time that I followed in her footsteps and reflected on what I learned from her. Take it day by day. Before you know it, weeks had passed, and amazing things had been accomplished. You can learn something from everyone. Self-reflection is a powerful thing. Nursing is in her heart, and she shines with each new challenge she takes on professionally.
In addition to being the practice manager for Vascular Surgery, she’s also taken on the role of Nurse Manager of the Employee Support Team in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the things I respect the most about this leader is that I know she is always in my corner. I can trust her to be an advocate for her staff and to advocate for me as a fellow nurse. At the end of the day, Angela will always identify as a nurse first. The woman’s work ethic and dedication to the Health System and profession of nursing knows no bounds. I am in awe of her accomplishments and humble nature daily. She promotes a culture of trust and respect by utilizing transparent communication and openly admitting when she doesn’t have the answer but is always reliable to find it. She is a strong advocate of patient-centered care and keeps the priority on doing what is best for the patient.
Change is not always easy and developing standard work for every role in a clinic is quite the undertaking. During a certain workshop, things got stressful and there was frustration, but this person would walk between groups she sensed needed her guidance and would ask probing questions in order to get the group to find common ground, with the patient being the focus. The workshop was a success, and every role now has defined standard work. It should be said that not only during an already tough and stressful workshop, tragedy struck one of their own staff, this leader kept clear communication with the team, allowed them time to cope, but was then able to bring them back together and keep the work moving. She knew that though they wanted to quit and cope, we needed their expertise on the workings of the clinic and their roles. She was able to meet both needs of the group all while making everyone feel supported and encouraged in their ability to continue. She clearly knows how to read her staff. We were all starting to feel the pressure of dealing with our friends and colleagues who are scared, sick, or quarantined, and trying to do everything in our power to keep others safe. This leader recognized our stress and immediately put together a couple of sessions with the psychologists so we could all decompress. She also went out of her way to arrange skype meetings with our chaplain to share and talk through our feelings.
Angela has been a role model when it comes to leading a team. She worked hard, many evenings and weekends, to make sure our employees were safe during this pandemic. This took time away from her family. She had moments she got tired, but she remained happy, positive, and completely on top of both her roles. People with different backgrounds bring different strengths. Recognize those strengths and use them when times get tough. To quote Mother Teresa, "Together, we can do great things." Thank you for reminding me that through supporting others we can also learn more about ourselves. The best part about it is this leader didn't even know she was teaching me in the process.
Angela West rose to a challenge. Weeks ago, we were presented with multiple challenges and this leader was handpicked for the job. She is honest. She is humble. She is all around, a great leader. The first job this leader was presented with was to build and lead a new team to support the COVID hotline, the employee support team (EST). This leader didn't hesitate. She didn't' bat an eye. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
The first day, EST didn't have a phone line, email, processes ... nothing. Angela was a take-charge person that could come up with creative solutions on a whim. I appreciated that about her. I had a feeling from day one that this leader was special, but this was where I was caught off guard. As she began to build her team, she maintained her cool demeanor and flexibility that facilitated an almost stress-free environment. It didn't matter that her team came from all different backgrounds, that her staff wasn't the same from day-to-day, or that updates were coming in from the CDC and KDHE faster than a Jimmy Johns Delivery. Never once did she say, "I think... or I'll try." Her response was always, "Ok. We can do that." She had a can-do attitude that inspired her coworkers to rise up. It was very matter of fact. She was going to succeed. Her team felt included, supported, and that they had a voice. I sat back and listened week after week, taking notes on this unique process and experience. Certainty this was a fluke, it had to be. Her team wasn't even a team weeks ago, but COVID does funny things to people, doesn't it? That's when the second opportunity presented itself.
Angela was tasked with developing a process for employees that were quarantined, tested, or exposed. Time and time again, her team was presented with difficult situations. They would escalate these situations to this leader. She would listen and brainstorm for the "right" answer. I remember a particularly difficult situation that presented itself that hit staff hard. This situation lived in the "we've never had to deal with this before COVID" box that was almost overflowing. As the staff member was explaining the situation, I remember thinking back to someone saying, "When in doubt, just do the right thing". In this situation, what was the right thing? It was at that moment that I realized, sometimes we have no idea what the right thing is. We can take an educated guess, but ultimately, we make the best decision based on the information we have in that moment of time. What brought me peace was realizing that I trusted the leader of our team 100%. I knew her well enough to know that she didn't make decisions lightly. When she didn't know the answer she would say, "I don't know, but let's talk through it to find an answer." At the end of the day, I could go home and decompress knowing that we did great work.
As the calls kept coming in and difficult situations, fear, and uncertainty became the new normal, this leader recognized that the EST staff needed additional support. She collaborated with a Psychiatry and Behavior Science professor to develop a plan for a weekly debriefing for her staff. Time and time again, this leader showed up to our meetings with example after example of why her team was so great, how they surpassed her expectations with the challenges she gave them, and she would self-reflect on what she learned from the EST team through this unpredictable journey. That's right, you heard me... what she learned from the EST team.
After having the opportunity to work with this leader during these particularly difficult times in history, it was time that I followed in her footsteps and reflected on what I learned from her. Take it day by day. Before you know it, weeks had passed, and amazing things had been accomplished. You can learn something from everyone. Self-reflection is a powerful thing. Nursing is in her heart, and she shines with each new challenge she takes on professionally.
In addition to being the practice manager for Vascular Surgery, she’s also taken on the role of Nurse Manager of the Employee Support Team in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the things I respect the most about this leader is that I know she is always in my corner. I can trust her to be an advocate for her staff and to advocate for me as a fellow nurse. At the end of the day, Angela will always identify as a nurse first. The woman’s work ethic and dedication to the Health System and profession of nursing knows no bounds. I am in awe of her accomplishments and humble nature daily. She promotes a culture of trust and respect by utilizing transparent communication and openly admitting when she doesn’t have the answer but is always reliable to find it. She is a strong advocate of patient-centered care and keeps the priority on doing what is best for the patient.
Change is not always easy and developing standard work for every role in a clinic is quite the undertaking. During a certain workshop, things got stressful and there was frustration, but this person would walk between groups she sensed needed her guidance and would ask probing questions in order to get the group to find common ground, with the patient being the focus. The workshop was a success, and every role now has defined standard work. It should be said that not only during an already tough and stressful workshop, tragedy struck one of their own staff, this leader kept clear communication with the team, allowed them time to cope, but was then able to bring them back together and keep the work moving. She knew that though they wanted to quit and cope, we needed their expertise on the workings of the clinic and their roles. She was able to meet both needs of the group all while making everyone feel supported and encouraged in their ability to continue. She clearly knows how to read her staff. We were all starting to feel the pressure of dealing with our friends and colleagues who are scared, sick, or quarantined, and trying to do everything in our power to keep others safe. This leader recognized our stress and immediately put together a couple of sessions with the psychologists so we could all decompress. She also went out of her way to arrange skype meetings with our chaplain to share and talk through our feelings.
Angela has been a role model when it comes to leading a team. She worked hard, many evenings and weekends, to make sure our employees were safe during this pandemic. This took time away from her family. She had moments she got tired, but she remained happy, positive, and completely on top of both her roles. People with different backgrounds bring different strengths. Recognize those strengths and use them when times get tough. To quote Mother Teresa, "Together, we can do great things." Thank you for reminding me that through supporting others we can also learn more about ourselves. The best part about it is this leader didn't even know she was teaching me in the process.