Leadership Strategies to Build Trust and Staff Satisfaction-Leadership Strategies to Build Trust and Staff Satisfaction

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Video Summary

Lauren Evans, a night shift patient care manager at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, shared how she improved trust, communication, and staff satisfaction on a hematology-oncology unit. After leadership changes, COVID-related strain, and a lack of consistent night/weekend leadership, her staff engagement score dropped to 63, with especially low scores in action taking, work-life balance, recognition, and perspective taking.<br /><br />To address this, Lauren used Richard Finnegan’s stay interview approach, along with regular one-on-one meetings and transparent monthly emails. She increased her visibility on nights, brought staff meetings and education to the night shift, and focused on being present and accessible. She also worked to improve recognition by modeling peer shout-outs, using appreciation cards, and organizing fun team celebrations.<br /><br />These efforts led to measurable improvement: the engagement score rose to 79 within six months, recognition scores increased by 20 points, and her leadership-related scores improved as well. The project strengthened collaboration, morale, and trust, and eventually contributed to a leadership award for Lauren.

Keywords

patient care management

night shift leadership

staff engagement

stay interviews

employee recognition

team communication

healthcare leadership