Leadership

It was my 18th birthday, my first day on the job as a Nurse’s Assistant at a large Catholic hospital. I walked into room 5307 and my life was shaped forever.

Lying in the bed was a 42-year-old female who just had been released from surgery. My gut said something was not right with this woman. I ran to the nurse’s station and asked someone to follow me. I exclaimed, “This is urgent! The lady is turning blue!” One of the nurses said she would check it out and followed me to the room. We entered the room together and the nurse dove on top of the lady and began CPR. “Call a code!” she yelled to me. I ran back to the nurse’s station and told the nurses to call a code. Dressers, nightstands, and chairs were tossed from the room and the nurses began CPR to save this woman. A code team – physicians, specialists, and IV technicians – flew up the stairs, a crash cart was wheeled into the room, and the unit/floor nurses stepped aside. I stood outside the room, awed by what I was witnessing. When I look back at this vivid experience, I can only think of the team dynamics and interaction that took place that day in room 5307.

It was clear that everyone knew his or her position on the team, understood his or her function, and was working towards a common goal. When you are working in this type of environment, any decision may result in life or death. The code team worked on the lady for what seemed like an hour. Finally, the team left the room. One of the physicians noticed me standing in the hall peering into the room. He must have known by the look on my face that I was terrified. He came to me and said, “Good job, you saved her!” Wow, I made a difference!

Team Dynamics

While most of the work we do is not this stressful, I often reflect on my five years’ experience in Nursing. This was the first of many more codes that I experienced; some lucky and some not so lucky. I am grateful now to have had this experience at such a young age. In my opinion, this was teamwork and team dynamics at its best. In the example above, the leadership shifted among many people. First, I was the leader because I identified the problem and took immediate action; the nurse who responded to my request became the leader when she began CPR. Then once the code team arrived, the head physician became the leader. A good leader will not always be the expert in all areas but will know when to call in the experts!

These medical professionals were the first leaders that I had the privilege to know. I learned quickly they were not all created equal. Like in any profession, some leaders are better than others. At times, a role reversal would take place where titles no longer mattered. A good nurse might guide an inexperienced physician, as knowing what to do next is often simply the result of experience and time on the job.

Passion

Do you have a passion for the role that you are playing on the team? If the person’s heart is “not in the game” and there is a lack of passion, then it can be detrimental to the overall team. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. Can you imagine if any person on the code team did not have their heart in the game or lost the desire to be in that room?

This lesson is one I have had to re-learn throughout the years. “Am I in the game” and “am I happy”? If not, I would ask, “what do I need to do to change?” Whether it’s a relationship, friendship, job or volunteer work, ask yourself: “are you in the game”?

It always amazed me looking at the backgrounds of these physicians. Many had worked in other professions before going into medicine. Was it because of their love for school or a desire for more debt? No, they had followed their passion. Success will come to those who have passion for their work.

I have held jobs in my life that bored or failed to challenge me. It frustrated me and affected my overall happiness. When I asked my mentor, “Is it okay to quit a job that I hate?” he replied, “As a vice president, I would rather have a superstar for two years than a non-dedicated individual for life.”

Persistence

Mentors and coaches come and go, but you remember those who encouraged you to succeed. During high school, I was not the fastest runner on the track team, but my coach recognized my drive and determination. I met the distance runners every morning at 6 a.m. for a voluntary run before school. I approached the team each morning in good spirits, which brightened the morning for everyone. Often the coach commented to the team that I had strengths that reached beyond the track. We all wanted to please him because he recognized everyone’s strengths.

If you want to succeed, surround yourself with those who will support you and want to help you grow. The wisdom and guidance gained from these leaders is priceless.

Compassion

In addition to taking temperatures, blood pressures, and emptying bedpans, I made an effort to know all of my patients. Many times, over the five years I worked as a nurse assistant, I sat holding the hand of a dying patient whose family could not get there in time.

When an elderly woman, who had been a patient in our nursing unit for nearly a year, passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the end came at first as a blessing to her daughter. Then reality hit. The daughter confronted us with an unexpected concern: “My relatives will all be arriving for the funeral and I have spent the last year here at the hospital with my Mother. My house is a disaster!” I organized a group of physicians and nurses to clean her house. Everyone pitched in to help; the men spruced up her yard while the women cleaned her house. It was four hours of serving and a lifetime of feeling good about what we had done for this family!

Are you a survivor?

The day after Thanksgiving, 2001, during week 19 of my second pregnancy, I developed a very bad headache while shopping. Near the end of my twenty-minute drive home, as I changed lanes to exit the freeway, I found I was unable to turn my neck to check for traffic. I knew something was wrong and took action. After a call to a nurse hotline, my husband rushed me to University of Michigan hospital.

The obstetrics team was waiting for me. By the look on their faces, I could tell it was bad. Tests confirmed their hypothesis. I had bacterial spinal meningitis. I spent the next month in the hospital fighting to beat the illness. I was treated with the highest dosage of IV antibiotics. My body looked like a pincushion; big, round, and severely poked! This was the ultimate test of my persistence, strength, and determination to survive. Finally, I was released on Christmas Eve to join my husband and our one-year-old son. Despite being ill for the rest of my pregnancy, I delivered a healthy baby girl.

We had a third child, a son, two years later. As my husband and I juggle work and the demands of three kids, we have learned to take things in stride. This illness taught me not to sweat the small stuff and that my health is Number One. Without good health, nothing else matters! Remember, your life could be taken at any moment. Ask yourself, will you be satisfied with your accomplishments?

The Journey

Throughout my mid-20s to mid-30s, my focus was on career growth. Reflecting back, there were unlimited possibilities and it was exciting. This phase of my life represented improved self-confidence and greater self-identity as a working woman with a young family. I was eager to seek out mentors that could help me balance my career with my new family.

Personally, I found my mid-30s to late-40s the most challenging time. It took great effort to juggle multiple career/family responsibilities and general demands on my time. I feel this period is when working women, especially working moms, need the most support. I was serving Fortune 100 clients and my work demands were increasingly challenging. The quote from Barbara Dale, Cartoonist, sums up this phase of life well, “Balancing a job and a family is not the hardest thing to achieve. It's second. Right after world peace.”

?As I entered my 50s, my balance shifted toward increased mentorship ultimately giving back to my work community. This period is also a time of greater self-reflection while considering my career legacy. My goal is to recognize, reward and utilize my life experiences to help others including my young adult children as they enter the workforce.

As I reflect on my 23-year career in consulting, I am grateful for many amazing opportunities. Typically, companies hire consultants to support them in achieving a defined goal, then the consultant departs when the goal is achieved. The pace of consulting is fast, you learn a great deal in a short timeframe and the experience results in high achievements. The consulting model has served me well and I am grateful for the many wonderful opportunities I’ve had throughout my career.