Joining us this week on our Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF) partners’ Healthcare Experience Matters Podcast is Deborah K. Zastocki, DNP, EdM, MA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE(r). Deborah brings her expertise to our show while expressing her thoughts on how effective leadership can aid in reducing employee turnover.
It is a very pertinent discussion to today’s healthcare environment that is often subject to the consequences of a difficult hiring environment. As discussed in previous episodes of our podcast, retaining great employees is a must for healthcare institutions in 2022.
With more than 30 years of experience, Deborah’s professional career has been highlighted as a clinical professional journey from staff nurse to nurse executive roles, author, adjunct faculty, and healthcare executive. We are excited to have her join our podcast for the first time.
Effective leadership behavior helps build an engaged workforce with high levels of enthusiasm and compassion for patients often times the result. Today’s conversation with Deborah starts with her telling us about the importance of leading by example.
“Leading by example is one of the key behaviors that makes a difference for the culture of the organization, but the key is you need to be able to do it consistently,” she told us.
Leading by example helps build trust. It may also help colleagues see you as a coach or mentor which can be helpful with team building and overall employee engagement.
“I also think it helps people when they’re with you see that they have an opportunity for mentoring and coaching, so they can ask you questions,” she added. “All of these things start that relationship building, which is pivotal for helping to have staff want to remain in your organization.”
Creating a sense of belonging and relationship building can be another key benefit of effective leadership behavior as we also learn in this interview.
“When people feel like there’s an emotional connection and there is a sense of ownership by the organization that they want the employee to feel supported, that begins to translate to the staff person being eager and willing to go beyond what you would normally expect,” she said.
Listen to the podcast below: