She did not walk down the halls with her arm around me, whispering in my ear what I needed to do here or there. She was tough. I wanted to be good enough to please her because she gave out accolades very sparingly. I wanted her to see me and to value me. Because of that, I worked hard.
An opportunity came up for me to reopen an obstetrical service in a different hospital that had been closed. I would need to hire all the nurses, write all the policies – all that goes with it. I saw it as an exciting challenge, and I resigned.
The CNO called me to her office – and you understand this is West Texas. She said, “Rhonda, I just want to make sure no one has stepped on your tail here because you know you could run that service out of your garage with one hand tied behind your back, right?"
I think the challenge and opportunity for nurse leaders is to let the nurses around you know you value their work and see their contribution.
In that moment, I knew she saw me. I knew she truly valued my work and found it extraordinary. I left to go do the other job with the CNO’s blessing. I try to give back to every nurse around me that same gift of knowing that I find their work valuable, that I value what they do with me. I try to do that with my team always.
I think the challenge and opportunity for nurse leaders is to let the nurses around you know you value their work and see their contribution.
This is how we lift each other up, not only as nurses, but as human beings.
