Identifying Leaders
Initially, staff expressed their concerns to their team leader. Some of the minor issues were dealt
with at the team level however, the big issues were organizational and resolution would require the
involvement of people higher up in the organization such as managers, directors and in some cases CEO's.
The registered nurses went to their supervisor first to alert her of the problem. Then, together they made plans to meet with their manager to inform her of the deeper nature of the problem.
In this situation as in most, competing interests emerged between the stakeholders. For instance the manager and supervisor had different interpretations of the problem and each had potentially different solutions to the problem.
When trying to figure out who needed to be involved, the registered nurses used their organizational chart to identify everyone who was affected by the situation and who was most able to assist them in resolving their problems. By reviewing the chart they understood the various roles of the leaders in their organization and could see how each might be able to help them.
The analysis of the organizational chart helped staff to see the chain of command in the hospital and health authority. They knew that if their manager was not able to help them resolve the problem then they would have to go up the ladder until they got someone who would be willing to listen.