Healthcare leaders
According to the Silence Kills study carried out by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and VitalSmarts, ¾ of nurses and other clinicians work under hostile conditions as they work with superiors who are rude, insulting, or condescending. The ill treatment among these healthcare providers is longstanding and so frequent that it drives the worker’s intent to quit their jobs. More than 50% of the nurses have continued to be disrespected for a year or longer with 20% facing disrespect for over 5 years.
The first most beneficial argument put across by Grenny (2009) is that human behavior is heavily impacted by social influence given that regardless of how motivated a person is to behave accordingly, he/she encounters various social influences that catalyze or impede their behaviors. Healthcare leaders and powerful individuals have a role in driving change within the healthcare system. These individuals need to break the code of silence given that most healthcare workers fail to speak against hostile working conditions because they argue that it is not their job to speak. By doing so, they will be able to mobilize social pressure which will in turn drive change. Grenny (2009) argues that healthcare leaders should exercise the huge social influence that they have and ensure that healthcare works work harmoniously and respect each other.
The second beneficial argument is that healthcare leaders need to empower their caregivers so that they can confront disruptive behaviors head on. Leaders have a responsibility of substantially investing in the skills and willingness of every worker to speak against disrespectful behaviors and other challenges (Grenny, 2009). They should be empowered to speak against mistakes, violations of safety standards, and incompetence. By so doing, leaders will be able to avoid chaos and promote healthy working environments.