Transcription:

Bill Klaproth (Host): This is a special AONL podcast, as we speak with session presenters from the AONL 2022 conference. With me is Syl Trepanier. Syl is the Chief Nursing Officer at Providence. And we're going to talk about how everyone deserves an inspirational leader. This is Today in Nursing Leadership, a podcast from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. And I'm Bill Klaproth. Syl thank you so much for stopping by. We appreciate it.

Sylvain Trepanier, DNP, RN, CENP, FAONL, FAAN (Guest): Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Host: You would think we would have more inspirational leaders today, but I guess we don't. Why don't we, what is the problem?

Syl: Well, the problem is that, I mean, think about all of what we've gone through over the last two years. There's so much negativity. There's a lot of angst. There's a lot of anger. It's very easy to get lost, to get lost in all of that. It's happening in the workplace. It's happening at home. It's happening at the grocery store. It's happening everywhere.

Host: Right. This is true.

Syl: So, when you think about that, imagine that you have the responsibility and quite frankly, you have the privilege to lead a group of individuals to a common goal. But what better way to do that, to achieve those outcomes, but through inspiration.

Host: In that inspiration can not only lead to their professional life, but also their personal life too, which is really important, the other end of that, that work-life balance thing is their personal life. And if you can make things better at work, you make things better at home. Is that right?

Syl: Absolutely. And I'd probably look at it from a work-life integration.

Host: Okay. Work-life integration. I like that term. That's good. So I know we're all humans, you, me, everyone listening to this podcast. I know we've probably been touched at some point by an inspirational leader. Somebody that really got the best out of us, that respected us, that really took care of us, really invested in our own professional development. I've had mentors in my life. I'm sure you have too. So how can someone become more of an inspirational leader? How do you make an audit of yourself and go, I need to be a better leader. I may not be checking all the boxes here. How can someone listening do that?

Syl: To me, it starts with being fully present. You start by making sure that you always check yourself in. Am I here right now? And I'm speaking about not physical presence, but being and obviously it starts with physical presence, but also being here with mind, body, and soul. Not allowing yourself to be distracted so that people deserve to experience you at your best. So it really starts with presence. And when, when you're fully present with yourself and with others, you have this ability to connect. To connect with that inner energy. I'll call that love. That love within you. That really allows you to really fully connect with others and when that happens, I find that trust ensues. Trust, you know, trust appears. And in my mind, you can't inspire others, you can't lead others without that special ingredient trust. And that trust cannot happen if you don't show up as a loving, warm leader. And it just starts with being present.

Host: I love how you said that check yourself in. That's such a great term. And then you said don't allow yourself to be distracted, be present, and that presence then turns into trust and people feel heard then, right? They're not invisible kind as you talked about earlier, people are, they're not invisible anymore. I'm seen, I'm heard, I feel taken care of. So that, that builds that trust then. So the benefits of that, not only are someone really feeling appreciated at work, getting a lot more satisfaction out of their job, but for patient care, then that's gotta be the next component. Is that

Syl: Oh yeah, absolutely. When you think about, so I happen to be a nurse leader, so I lead other nurses, nurses who care for patients, who dedicate their life, their time, and in touching both physically, emotionally at the most vulnerable time, in fact, so imagine the power of being able to fully engage with others so that they feel like you see them. You know, what it feels like when you're seen and when you're seen your, it just unleashes this power within you to then be a better person. And quite frankly, by being a better person, you're, you're a better nurse.

Host: I just wrote down the word contagious, who you just said, you know, when you feel heard, you feel seen, when you get that from an inspirational leader, you then in turn can give that to your patient and your patient can feel heard and seen. Am I connecting the dots correctly Syl am I putting it together?

Syl: You are spot on. You're the best student ever.

Host: That's great. I love it. Well, that just seems to make sense though. So there is a real benefit to being an inspirational leader. Can you share some examples or of any successes that you've had with this?

Syl: Oh, absolutely. It surrounds us, you know, everyday. I've had the pleasure of being led by inspirational leaders. And I also unfortunately do see around us what it's not. When you're able to, see the difference, and experience the difference, that's really powerful. I'll just share with you a personal example where I remember a time I was just transitioning into a new role, less than six months. And I took ill all of a sudden. It was just before the holidays and my boss at the time was planning, you know, the typical holiday party at his house, everyone was invited and I felt so bad. I couldn't go there. I mean, I was hospitalized. It was a last minute thing. And I call him the morning of, and I say, I'm so sorry. I can't be there. He was like, well, you don't need to apologize. You can't, you know, I get it. But you know, the good news is I'm being discharged from the hospital today, but I feel so bad. I'm not going to be able to, to be there.

And this is how present this boss was where he called me a few times during the day to make sure that I had transitioned at home. And the reason why I choose this example is to show that presence is not necessarily the physical presence in the moment, but you can be present sometimes via proxy or sometimes by doing stuff with others, to others, for others. And it's 5:30 and the doorbell rings and I go there and there's this gentleman in front of the door. And he brought all the food from the party.

Host: Oh my God.

Syl: To my house.

Host: That's amazing.

Syl: So that's what being present means. He knew what was going on in my life. He knew, I felt bad that I couldn't be there, but yet figured out a way to bring me in and make me feel special. That's what being present is all about. That's inspirational to

Host: That's a great example. That's inspirational to me. So let me ask you this. How did that make you feel?

Syl: I mean, amazing. Amazing. I felt important. I felt, I'm gonna bring us back full circle. I felt seen, I was seen for who I was in that moment, at that time and that was just amazing. It makes you want to do more of that yourself. It gives you the energy to want to do that.

Host: I was just going to say, look at how that affected you, how you're retelling the story. And I'm sure you've remembered that throughout your career, making some of your staff feel seen with a kindness gesture like that out of the blue that made them feel good. So this person's gesture of really being present, as you said, really had an effect on you and it's having an effect on all the people you work for. So it really can spread.

Syl: You know, and this is a big example, right? It's just to show and to highlight the importance of being fully present. He heard me, knew what was going on. So we can do that every day. I challenge myself every day to send a few texts to people that I hadn't seen for a while. I know I'm not going to see them. Likely I'm thinking they might be struggling with something. And I say, hey, just want you to know that I'm thinking about you and I'm here for you.

Host: Great tip. And, uh, it's a great example for everyone who's in management. Any other thoughts or anything else you want to add Syl? This has really been informative.

Syl: I just want to leave you with the importance that we can never underestimate the impact that we have on others. And as leaders, the people deserve to experience us at our best and to a certain extent, it's pretty simple. And it's all about being present.

Host: People deserve to experience us at their best. It's a great quote. I love that. Syl, thank you for spending some time with us today. This has really been fascinating and I really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you again.

Syl: Oh thanks for having me.

Host: And once again, that's Syl Trepanier. For more information, please visit aonl.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Today in Nursing Leadership. Thanks for listening.