What blew me away when I talked to the charge nurse was the acceptance and moving on from 'we don't have enough staff' to the 'how can I look after the staff I've got'. Now I could unpick a number of things from that encounter but I'm going with gratitude.

I shared and demonstrated a tool that they could use with the team. A tool that works within their scope, and gives a sense of control and power. It’s a tool that I’ve seen raise energy, bring smiles and improve connection in a team. All of which are supportive measures against burnout and disengagement. No, this isn’t the solution to chronic understaffing or increasing work demands. It is one of the things you can do within your own space to create the environment on your terms that you want to work in.

-Talk specifically about what the other person did - what was their action or behaviour 
-Share the impact it had - for you, or for the others involved
-Say thank you

What I've learnt about giving positive feedback is that the more specific you can be, the more spine tingly it can get. When you share the impact, there is a light of recognition that the little things matter, really matter and make a difference. You've just increased the chance of that happening again.

Make it specific and make it personal, because it is. What we offer up as work is our time, energy, thinking and motivation, all of that is personal.

It only takes a few minutes and has a ripple effect way beyond those few minutes. It's a tool that you can use in groups that really does boost the energy for the team at that moment and puts a bit of bounce in the step as you then all get on with the day. Taking those minutes matters and can make a difference for the rest of the shift, impacting other staff, patients and visitors, while increasing clinical safety, engagement and problem-solving. 

One of the resources I’ve shared was a reminder that gratitude is a key part of a leader’s self-care kit. It's also a key part of having a good day. When you start to intentionally and regularly engage with a gratitude practice in your teams, you are going to increase retention, reduce sick days, and increase commitment and productivity. Kind of a few of the things I believe we need right now.

This isn't a tick box checklist - 'said thank you to 5 staff today', job is done. move on. It's not a metric to track or create a report on. This is noticing, being present, listening and then taking that moment to relay that back, individually and meaningfully to that person. The general 'thank you all for the hard work' is OK but it isn't getting you all those super benefits. This needs to be specific and make me feel seen, as a person doing a job. 

It takes a bit of practice, encouragement and warm-up for a team to get used to the idea. The time to get started is now.