Talking to a Brick Wall
When working with employees at nearly any healthcare organization, a common criticism I hear is: “They don’t listen. We’ve brought it up time and time again. Nothing ever changes.” So, they stop offering ideas. Not surprising, within the same facility, the leaders also lament, “I ask for their input and ideas. All I get is silence. Then they claim we never listen or involve them.” And a wall is built...
Have you experienced this? There’s likely truth in both perspectives. Both are frustrated. Both feel as though they’re talking to brick walls. It sounds like an impossible situation. But what if it weren’t? What would it take for both sides to talk TO each other rather than AT each other?
THE PROBLEM
It is very likely that employees have indeed brought forward their concerns. The challenge is, it often comes across sounding like complaining or whining. For example, “This is dumb. It’s such a waste of time. No one listens. No one does anything.”
Those in a position of authority (aka, leadership) hear it as criticism, become defensive, and stop listening. Thinking to themselves, “Here we go again. There’s just no pleasing them.”
What if instead the employees posed their observations differently? What if it sounded more like, “We’re working on improving the efficiency of providing care. We noticed how many places we document the same information and how many additional clicks it takes to capture even the most routine clinic visit. If we could streamline the documentation, it would save nearly 3 minutes per visit. That’s 30 minutes a day or 2 ½ hours a week that we could spend with patients instead. Is this something we could explore?”
As a leader, would you not hear that concern quite differently? Would you be curious? Eager to know more? Excited?
Employees may not know how to pose their concerns in that way would yield a far different result. If they did, they WOULD be heard; things WOULD change. And both employees and leaders would be happier!
So, as leaders, we need to invite their concerns in a different way, one that helps them phrase their ideas and grievances in a more productive manner.
What we desire (subconsciously) is the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) type of feedback that we can do something with. Yet we often invite their solutions in group settings by saying something like, “We need to be more efficient. What ideas do you have?” We’re not asking for ideas in a way that produces input that’s actionable. We handicap their response, then are frustrated they aren’t sharing more useful ideas.
THE SOLUTION
Help employees come to the table with a clearer picture of what you are trying to solve so they can bring forth useful feedback.
- Clearly define the problem and offer context. Not just that things are broken, but specifically what is broken and how…and by how much (use numbers). What’s changed? (Situation, Background)
“Patients are voicing that we are distracted by our documentation systems during visits. We’re also seeing one less patient a day than we did a year ago, which is impacting access.”
- Invite employees to brainstorm specific solutions. Get them into action with the guidance of focusing on things they can control so they bring solutions, not just problems. Sincerely invite their input, create the safety for all ideas, and allow time to think before sharing. (Assessment, Recommendation)
“My intent isn’t to ask anyone to work harder. I’d like us to explore solutions that would eliminate extra, unnecessary steps in our everyday work that would help us serve patients in a way that feels good for them AND us. I’d like each of you to reflect on your work over this next week. At our huddle next Monday, bring back examples of steps that create delays or make things challenging to your work, no matter how trivial or small. It all adds up, so count how often they happen. Think of ways we could eliminate or minimize those occurrences somehow. All ideas and observations are welcome.”
You can use this technique to coach an employee if they bring what sounds like a complaint to you. Instead of tuning them out, bring them into the conversation. Invite their collaboration. Ask questions like:
- “Thanks for bringing that concern to my attention. What do you think is specifically going on there? What in that process is broken? How does it impact your work or the work of others?”
- “How often do you notice it? When it happens, how long-lasting is the impact?”
- “What has been tried so far? What other ideas do you have that could prevent or minimize this from being a frustration?”
Help stop the perpetual feeling of talking to a brick wall—on both sides! Open the window to allow sound and collaboration to penetrate back and forth between employees and leaders. Talk TO each other rather than AT each other.
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“Part of being successful is about asking questions and listening to the answers.” - Anne Burrell
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Explore these workshops and programs offered by our RWHC Education Team to improve your skills of generating safety in problem-solving:
- The Lean Residency Program
- Empowering Employee Problem-Solving: Soliciting Group Input & Team Decision-Making
- Introduction to Psychological Safety: The Foundation of Quality Care
- Making the Case: The Art of Persuasion for Passionate Employees
- Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Challenge Victim Thinking
To learn more, visit: https://www.rwhc.com/Services/Educational-Services/Leadership-Series or email me at csearles@rwhc.com.
Consider joining our Leadership Bites program: https://www.rwhc.com/Services/Educational-Services/Leadership-Bites
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Corrie Searles, MPT, Leadership Development Educator
In Corrie’s role as Leadership Development Educator at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC), her aim is to empower leaders—formal and informal—to create positive influence that enables others to serve well.
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