Repairing the Damage
Creating an effective team is tough enough during the good times. Just imagine how difficult it would be after a protracted labor dispute like the one that recently occurred between Twin Cities’ hospitals and the Minnesota Nurses Association. Even though an agreement has been reached, the main sticking point, staffing ratios, was left unresolved in the contract.
So what needs to happen to bring everyone together as a team to deliver outstanding health care services? While there are many things that could help, here are five I would hope everyone involved would at least consider.
- Celebrate together. While everyone probably has mixed feelings about what was won and what was lost, there is one thing everyone can be happy about. The two parties reached an agreement and avoided a strike. Nobody wins in a strike, and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that one was going to occur. Because of the willingness of both sides to compromise, everybody’s going to remain on the job.
- Make amends. In the heat of negotiations, both sides probably did and said things collectively and individually that were neither fair nor respectful. All should take time to examine their behaviors over the last months, think about who they’ve wronged and apologize.
- Forgive. While it’s unfortunate that bad things occur, that’s just what happens in disputes. People aren’t on their best behavior. If someone seeks your forgiveness, grant it. Better yet, release any anger you have towards employees, employers, co-workers, administrators, the media, the public, the union, replacements, and anyone else that made your blood boil. While it’s easy to dwell on what they did, one needs to ask how it helps to hold on to the anger. It will only make you and others around you miserable.
- Change the focus. If everyone is to move forward together, there needs to be a positive and compelling vision. There currently seems to be a lot of energy around the idea of providing excellent patient care. Clarify that vision and put people to work on figuring out how to make that happen. Both sides agreed to do so through the committee process. Crank up those teams and and start making positive changes.
- Patience. Finally, give it some time. All will need time to work through their emotions and what they want moving forward. Some will quickly process this. Others will need much more time. Just let the wounds heal naturally.
The easiest thing to do would be to go back to business as usual and pretend none of this ever happened. The problem is that it did. And in the course of trying to resolve the dispute, some damage was done. Ignoring problems rarely makes things better. Each person needs to do what he or she can to repair what got broken.
