I am going to start sharing my Dialogue notes with you all, and invite you to comment and continue the Dialogue here. The comments are not attributed to specific individuals but clearly reflect a variety of perspectives. Please understand these are 'notes', not a transcript, and so contain incomplete thoughts/phrases.
Our December Dialogue sessions began with consideration of the following questions from the Encyclopedia of Positive Questions by Whitney, Cooperrider, Trosten-Bloom, and Kaplin.
"1. When you think back to your beginnings with this organization (community), what were your most positive and powerful first impressions? What first attracted you to the organization and its people?
2. When you reflect on your time with this organization (community), what is the greatest contribution it has made to you and your life?
3. When you think of organizations(communities), that you consider to be the best employers in your community or profession, what is it about their culture that makes them attractive to you? How might we create more of that quality within our own culture?"
What is most valuable to me in this organization is opportunity, growth, freedom, allowances for learning, tolerance.
Values are important, human life, dignity.
I have been an both an avoider and a seeker in different situations.
I like to feel my contributions are valued.
I feel a void of contribution.
How can we have transformation without leaving the organization, within the organization?
I like to take a fresh look, suggest something different, bring forth ideas, challenge old ways.
How can this become commonplace?
The main reason I came to this organization was the way that the mission statement and values were articulated, they were in line with my personal vision.
I was impressed with the people, they were honest about the state of things. They were "authentic".
I am still hopeful about being on the verge of 'possibility'.
There is a synergy or focus on making a difference.
There are things that don't make sense due to defined culture. Things that are inconsistent stand out.
This organization has a huge impact on community, yet it is not involved, others are more involved in the fabric of the community.
There is an opportunity for increased involvement in community.
I have a problem with the term 'community', organizations and communities are not automatically synonymous.
I came to the community to be near friends, and for the lifestyle and happened to get a job at the hospital.
Community is not always a good thing, especially if holding on to old ways, it can become dysfunctional
Our culture allows individuals to be themselves and achieve personally beyond 'locked in' definitions.
Community and self are interrelated. Interactions shape individuals who then shape community.
Our program is well known to the community, but not well known to be a hospital program.
We have freedom to do what meets the need.
There is a tension between freedom & organizational viability.
I object to 'fake' sense of community . It is hard to keep up links to community due to other business of hospital - there is an inability to keep committments.
At new employee orientation, there is a lot of energy around mission, values & culture. People leave excited and then run smack into 'real world'. How do we get people engaged, long term employees? How to avoid or overcome loss of spirit?
We articulated the spirit and engaged the heart. We've disengaged the heart.
We have strategic initiatives to support new nurses, how we provide mentoring. We have the Student Nurse Apprentice Program (SNAP) we could change it to Senior Nurse Apprentice Program.
There are people who don't know who the CEO is, how can they know who or what they are working for?
We could have a 'reorientation' program, ask 'why did you come to St Joe's?" What if we took that appreciative approach with senior employees? 'Why are you staying?" Would that be enough?
Not at PH. Some say, if you expect the organization to care about you personally, you are in the wrong organization" The organization has little to do with what value I find personally important.
Most things are postitive, sometimes though it's acting out of character, or inconsistent. What do we do with that?
Lots of people know or see these things. How then do you engage them in discussions of mission & values? Must trust one another, without talk, there is loss of credibility. Must admit that organizations are fallible too. Be open, admit mistakes. Who brings up the discrepancy? We've let it go, no one has broached the subject. Without talk, the organization suffers.
It is a privilege to hear new stories, 'not perfect' still 'great'. Reaffirming committment helps, but doesn't always work.
Every ten years, there needs to be a revolution. Blow it up - start over, if not, patterns become institutionalized.
What barriers do we put up? Think about it? What do we do that creates distance?
It is exciting to contemplate organizational transformation, but big bites can choke you. Remember - one patient at a time.
Thinking about the movie ANTZ - colonies are organizational systems, new organizations over time develop more rules, they get frozen. Need to pull down the structure and keep the substance.
Going back again to 'the situation' the external view is different from the internal view. Information sharing/lack of sharing contributes to the difference. A person 'gets the shaft' by the external view when internal information isn't shared.
Thinking more about reorientation of employees - look at where they were originally, where are they in their personal and professional growth and development? Do nurses shift into other areas like computers, education?
Is it unique to SJH - with mergers, different CEOs?
Must idealism fade? What is possible? What is success?
Need to look at the long view, consider "better" is success, vs considering it failure if total transformation isn't achieved.
Increased turnover in directors and managers. Why does the turnover occur? Are we asking? Maybe it is okay to leave? How do we keep idealism alive? How do we support transition? Need to focus on authenticity, renewal.
Sensing a major assumption that needs testing about turnover. How many people have been here forever? Is turnover 300 or 1200? Are the same positions turning over frequently, or have that many people left in all areas?
Eugene's Renewal Experience is a two day program. How can we bring it here? Who should go?
Culture is organic because it is people based, and therefore must be dynamic. It must support growth and change.
For those good people who participated in this Dialogue, I recognize that only a fleeting shadow of your perspective is captured here. Due to my own delay in posting these, my judgements and filters, perhaps it is an offbase representation at that. Please feel free to expand through comments or your own posting so that it better reflects the richness of our sharing.
All other kind readers, please share any thoughts these questions or our commnets evoked for you.
