On power, teamwork and communication

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:

On power, teamwork and communication

Having enough of it at work, I tend to avoid drama in my entertainment choices unless it involves aliens or post-apocalyptic nonsense. My family and I are currently enjoying the creative spectacle of Project Runway “Teams” version from a few seasons ago. In it, the judges of the clothing design competition repeatedly make the point that “teams are only as strong as their weakest link.”

A significant part of the Project Runway teamwork challenges involve communication. Collaborators who take over the project and those don’t speak up can both get penalized by the judges. Similarly, teamwork within the long-term care setting heavily relies on communication. For the best healthcare outcomes, it’s essential for all team members to contribute their expertise.

An article in the American Psychological Association Monitor, however, suggests that people who feel powerful are more likely than those who don’t feel powerful to share “opinions that differed from the norm,” a important element of team interactions.

Further, the authors cite research that describes how “people who feel powerless are more likely to…behave in inhibited ways. People in positions of greater power, on the other hand, are more likely to…act in uninhibited ways.” A care team member who feels inhibited is less likely to speak up and contribute to a group discussion.

In the hierarchical world of LTC, administrators, nursing directors and medical directors have more perceived power than, say, charge nurses or recreation therapists, despite whatever layers of upper management and accountability exist.

In my conversations with aides and residents, there is consistent disagreement among them regarding who has the power. Aides will argue that the “Resident’s Bill of Rights” gives the residents control, while residents, waiting on aides for intimate care, feel that the aides are in charge. Both struggle to deal with the moods and behaviors of the other.

Family members can be considered a part of the team that wields power in the form of potential phone calls to senior staff, the ability to transfer their loved one to a different facility, a negative social media review or a lawsuit. At the same time, relatives are often overwhelmed by the new and unfamiliar situation and the shifting dynamics within their families and many feel powerless in relation to the staff members upon whom they depend for good care for their loved one.

The challenge for LTC is to empower all team members to overcome their “inhibitions,” so that they offer their expertise despite the imbalance of power and in perceptions of power.

For the entire article, visit:

On power, teamwork and communication