Theresa Cholette
October 2023
Theresa
Cholette
,
RN
Orthopedics
Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital, Warren Campus
Warren
,
MI
United States
When I congratulated her on the unit's award, in true Theresa fashion, she humbly would take no credit and said, “It's all of you guys, it's not me.” While I love Theresa, I would have to disagree with her. She is the foundation that our unit has built this fantastic team upon.
Theresa embodies the characteristics of a superior leader in Nursing. Her ability to communicate with her staff, doctors, and patients, the relationships she has built with her staff and others throughout the hospital, along with her self-awareness, and ability to seek out staff feedback are key qualities she possesses that make her an outstanding leader. I have never worked for a leader who is as authentic as Theresa; she is a breath of fresh air.
Recently after 5 East received the DAISY Team Award, I went to congratulate Theresa, as Theresa is a primary catalyst of how our team functions on a daily basis, which is directly reflected in our ability to provide exceptional patient care while actually enjoying our jobs and the unit we work on. When I congratulated her on the unit's award, in true Theresa fashion, she humbly would take no credit and said, “It's all of you guys, it's not me.” While I love Theresa, I would have to disagree with her. She is the foundation that our unit has built this fantastic team upon.
As I am coming to the end of my 19th year of nursing, I have reflected on the many leaders I have worked for throughout these years. Theresa stands out above the majority of these leaders due to her ability to motivate her unit to perform and exceed expectations. Excellent leaders provide both recognition and appreciation to their employees. While these may sound like the same thing, they are actually different.
Recognition is about giving positive feedback based on your performance, while appreciation is about acknowledging a person's inherent value. It’s about who the person is. Examples of how Theresa recognizes staff are by offering an employee of the month award for our unit and by recognizing staff with meal tickets when they have gone above and beyond in their performance. She appreciates her employees by celebrating them on their birthdays with cards and birthday cake, and by throwing staff get-togethers that allow time for our unit to bond like a family. She prays for us during our morning huddles, where she shows her genuine care for our wellbeing. Managers who both recognize and appreciate their employees create a culture of engagement, loyalty, and high performers. It is no surprise that we have one of the units with the lowest turnover rate in the hospital and an unofficial waiting list of people wanting to transfer here.
Another characteristic of Theresa’s that makes her stand out above my previous leaders is her desire to see her staff grow. She regularly asks her staff where they want to be in the future. As an ACL, she has provided opportunities for me to shadow her as a manager where I can learn more about the role and determine what is the best next step for my career path. I regularly find myself taking notes of things that Theresa does that I want to implement when I become a manager. There is so much I have learned from her in the short 10 months I have been working for her. I remember when my husband asked me, "Why are you driving past Novi and Southfield to work in Warren?" My response was, "I am going to work for an amazing leader." Who you work for is everything. I knew then and still know now that she has so much to teach me and others about what it means to be an outstanding leader. I think she should be a part of onboarding every nurse manager who starts at this hospital as a mentor, she would help them thrive in their first few weeks without question. Many times I have also observed nurse managers from the hospital coming to her for advice and to bounce things off of her. She has the respect of not only her unit but many leaders throughout this hospital and the greater Ascension organization.
The first time I heard about Theresa as a manager was while I was working for the THRIVE program as a career coach. I remember when she took over the management position clearly because I had my employee coaching calls with many associates from her unit and I noticed that it was the first time I had a unit manager where no one had any complaints about them. Everything was so positive. I had been coaching for the 7 SE Michigan sites and this was the first time I had found this in the 3 years of coaching. Ascension is lucky to have.
***
Theresa also received 11 additional nominations from her associate staff.
Recently after 5 East received the DAISY Team Award, I went to congratulate Theresa, as Theresa is a primary catalyst of how our team functions on a daily basis, which is directly reflected in our ability to provide exceptional patient care while actually enjoying our jobs and the unit we work on. When I congratulated her on the unit's award, in true Theresa fashion, she humbly would take no credit and said, “It's all of you guys, it's not me.” While I love Theresa, I would have to disagree with her. She is the foundation that our unit has built this fantastic team upon.
As I am coming to the end of my 19th year of nursing, I have reflected on the many leaders I have worked for throughout these years. Theresa stands out above the majority of these leaders due to her ability to motivate her unit to perform and exceed expectations. Excellent leaders provide both recognition and appreciation to their employees. While these may sound like the same thing, they are actually different.
Recognition is about giving positive feedback based on your performance, while appreciation is about acknowledging a person's inherent value. It’s about who the person is. Examples of how Theresa recognizes staff are by offering an employee of the month award for our unit and by recognizing staff with meal tickets when they have gone above and beyond in their performance. She appreciates her employees by celebrating them on their birthdays with cards and birthday cake, and by throwing staff get-togethers that allow time for our unit to bond like a family. She prays for us during our morning huddles, where she shows her genuine care for our wellbeing. Managers who both recognize and appreciate their employees create a culture of engagement, loyalty, and high performers. It is no surprise that we have one of the units with the lowest turnover rate in the hospital and an unofficial waiting list of people wanting to transfer here.
Another characteristic of Theresa’s that makes her stand out above my previous leaders is her desire to see her staff grow. She regularly asks her staff where they want to be in the future. As an ACL, she has provided opportunities for me to shadow her as a manager where I can learn more about the role and determine what is the best next step for my career path. I regularly find myself taking notes of things that Theresa does that I want to implement when I become a manager. There is so much I have learned from her in the short 10 months I have been working for her. I remember when my husband asked me, "Why are you driving past Novi and Southfield to work in Warren?" My response was, "I am going to work for an amazing leader." Who you work for is everything. I knew then and still know now that she has so much to teach me and others about what it means to be an outstanding leader. I think she should be a part of onboarding every nurse manager who starts at this hospital as a mentor, she would help them thrive in their first few weeks without question. Many times I have also observed nurse managers from the hospital coming to her for advice and to bounce things off of her. She has the respect of not only her unit but many leaders throughout this hospital and the greater Ascension organization.
The first time I heard about Theresa as a manager was while I was working for the THRIVE program as a career coach. I remember when she took over the management position clearly because I had my employee coaching calls with many associates from her unit and I noticed that it was the first time I had a unit manager where no one had any complaints about them. Everything was so positive. I had been coaching for the 7 SE Michigan sites and this was the first time I had found this in the 3 years of coaching. Ascension is lucky to have.
***
Theresa also received 11 additional nominations from her associate staff.