The pandemic has been part of our everyday lives for over a year now. A challenge for society as a whole and a very special one for everyone in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries. But how do you manage your tasks as a team in a situation like this and still get by? A functioning healthcare system is enormously important right now. A brief discussion about team development and leadership in a special time.
It just has to work, doesn’t it?
Wherever we entrust ourselves to the healthcare system, to our doctor, nurse, practice or hospital – we expect the best possible or even maximum help in times of illness or need. The processes are right from arrival to discharge, the team is friendly and understanding, the treatment takes effect and we can soon get back to our normal lives in good health. That’s the way it should be, or that’s what many people expect. It just has to work, doesn’t it?
Instead, challenges for everyone
However, the reality is different. Illnesses are part of everyday life, from birth to death. They can make us aware of how valuable our health is and also put into perspective what we otherwise prioritize day in, day out. And they have been motivating people around the world to search for therapies, medicines and aids to maintain or restore health, and not just since Hippocrates. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, which has left the global world groaning like never before, it has become clear how necessary a functioning healthcare system is for us all. How necessary it is for people to work 24 hours a day to heal others. And we can all see, if we look, what a burden this places on those involved.
If the usual diseases are already a challenge, the pandemic increases the pressure on everyone even more. This is having an impact. This constant stress, which has been going on for over a year now with the prospect of an extension, is tiring and this combination of increased commitment and the constant risk of falling ill yourself is wearing us down. A situation that can and in many cases does turn the helpers themselves into people in need.
Helping the helpers
Whether at doctors’ surgeries, in hospitals or nursing homes – it is extremely important for all of us that help is also offered to the helpers. This does not just mean monetary support.
What can we do? We can learn from areas in which people are permanently exposed to comparable permanent stress situations outside of the pandemic. These are, for example, social workers in state and municipal organizations who, for example, look after the welfare of children in families with behavioral problems in dangerous situations. The ability to put this into words suggests a capacity for control, which is what we want from the state and local authorities. But in everyday life, helplessness and hopelessness are often added to this. They often have to watch as their efforts come to nothing and no success is achieved. An enormously stressful situation.
Offers for accompaniment
Well-managed teams respond to this and the helpers also receive competent, professional help. The following should definitely be mentioned here:
Supervision
A supervisor often supports teams and individuals by discussing and working through real cases together in confidence. In this way, professional exchange within the team is promoted, learning processes between experts are initiated and individual stress is reduced. Internal stress and worries are given a controlled outlet to the outside world. This is often a great relief for those affected. Speak out, share, be understood.
Team coaching
In many cases, people work together in a team day in and day out. A team coach provides support to help optimize team processes, identify conflicts (which are completely normal in stressful situations) at an early stage and deal with them appropriately, and identify and absorb impending individual failures at an early stage. A team often grows even closer together in such stressful situations. Effective crisis management and appropriate support are important tools in this regard.
Team development
In professional team development, a team prepares for special challenges at an early stage in a time-limited event. Responsibility, tasks and role allocation are clarified. Suitable measures are used to strengthen the team spirit and the team faces challenges in a much more united way.
All of these measures should not be viewed in isolation, but can be combined very well. If you yourself are responsible for leading a team as a doctor or nursing manager, how do you support yourself and your team in these special times? Stay healthy!
by Karl Heinz Lorenz. Trainer at Lorenz Seminars