What do you do if your healthcare team lacks assertiveness skills?

1 Assess Needs

Before you can address the lack of assertiveness in your healthcare team, you must first identify the specific areas that need improvement. Observe interactions among team members, noting any instances of passive or aggressive behavior that could be more assertively handled. It's also beneficial to gather feedback from team members about when they feel less confident in their communication. Understanding the root causes of the issue will guide you in developing targeted strategies to enhance assertiveness skills within your team.

2 Plan Training

Once you've identified the assertiveness gaps in your team, it's time to plan training sessions. These should be tailored to the needs of your staff and could include role-playing scenarios, communication workshops, or problem-solving exercises. Training should focus on building confidence, teaching effective communication techniques, and encouraging staff to express their thoughts and opinions respectfully and clearly. Ensure that the training is interactive and provides practical tools that team members can apply in their daily work.

4 Encourage Practice

Practice is key to developing assertiveness skills. Encourage your healthcare team to apply what they've learned in training to real-world situations. Create a supportive atmosphere where team members feel safe to try out new communication styles without fear of criticism. Recognize and praise instances where individuals demonstrate improved assertiveness. This positive reinforcement helps to build confidence and reinforces the value of assertive behavior within the team.

5 Provide Feedback

Ongoing feedback is essential for continued growth in assertiveness. Implement a system where team members can receive constructive feedback on their communication style from peers and supervisors. This feedback should be specific, actionable, and delivered in a manner that maintains the recipient's self-esteem. By making feedback a regular part of your team's culture, you encourage continuous learning and improvement.

6 Monitor Progress

Finally, it's important to monitor the progress of your team's assertiveness skills over time. This can be done through regular check-ins, performance reviews, or by observing team dynamics during meetings and patient care. Monitoring progress will help you identify any areas where further support or training might be needed and will allow you to measure the impact of your efforts on the team's overall functioning and the quality of patient care.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?