Building a Support Group Culture

Over the years we’ve been home to dozens of rescue animals. I love the bumper sticker that asks “Who rescued who?” The love these animals have brought into our household has been just as much a rescue for us as our adopting has been for them.

Our two favorites have been Dumpster (RIP) and Cassie (reigning Princess of the household), so we asked my good friend Joya Cousin – who is both a fine portrait artist and author of some of the most inspirational posts on LinkedIn – to paint them. If I’m having a tough day, these portraits boost my spirits!

I believe this is a law of the universe:

Whatever you most need in life, the best way for you to get it is to help someone else get it who needs it more than you do.

It’s a principle that underpins every support group. AA members know that the best way for them to remain sober is to help other drunks get sober.

If you are struggling with anxiety (and who isn’t these days?), helping someone else who is anxious and depressed (the two often come as a couple) will help you to better cope with yours.

Many of the hospitals I work with have implemented lean management programs. That’s fine, I tell them, but you should complement lean management with lean on me management by fostering a support group culture.

One of the most effective (and easiest) ways to foster a support group culture is to weave it into staff huddles. Many of the tools we’ve developed – including The Pickle Challenge and the 7 daily promises of The Self Empowerment Pledge – have a compounding impact when they are included in staff huddles. And that is by design.

I am currently recording 21 videos for the second generation of our course on Everyday Courage for Extraordinary Times. One of the things we’ve heard from users is that having each video be 5 minutes (they are currently between 8 and 12 minutes) would make them ideal for staff meetings and group huddles.

What more can you do to foster a support group culture that encourages lean on me management? Let me know how I can help. In today’s post-pandemic world, where stress and burnout are at an all-time high and trust has been seriously eroded, what could be more important?

Will you be at the ANCC Magnet/Pathway Conf?

If you’re planning to be at the Magnet Conference in Philadelphia next week please make a point of stopping by Booth #1357 in the exhibit hall. Look for the giant “Proceed Until Apprehended” banner.

We’ll be launching the second generation of our Everyday Courage for Extraordinary Times course and introducing the new post-pandemic edition of The Florence Prescription.