NURS 6053: Interprofessional Organization and System Leadership

My Work Environment Assessment score was 88, indicating that my workplace has many positive aspects, but there may be room for improvement. This score suggests that the workplace is moderately healthy (Clark, 2015). Based on the results of the assessment, there are three areas that I need to put more effort in because they performed below average. These specific areas include communication among employees, employee engagement, and workload and stress management. Engaging in the work environment assessment was insightful because it underscored the importance of organizations regularly conducting these assessments. Doing this enables these organizations to monitor the evolution of the work environment and make changes as necessary.

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Two things that surprised me about the results were that the workplace’s physical environment was rated highly, and the workplace’s psychological aspects were also good. One idea confirmed before conducting the assessment was that the organization’s policies and procedures effectively promote a healthy and safe work environment. The work environment assessment later confirmed this idea about the organization’s policies and procedures. The assessment showed that the organization’s policies and procedures were effectively implemented to create a healthy and safe work environment for employees.

The work environment assessment suggests that the workplace is generally safe, healthy, and conducive to productivity. The physical space is free from hazardous materials, and the psychological environment is favorable. The organization’s policies and procedures are also effective in protecting employees from discrimination or unfair treatment. This indicates a generally positive work environment. However, there may be opportunities for improvement in areas such as providing more resources for employees, improving communication systems, and fostering a sense of community among staff to enhance the workplace even further.

Part 2: Reviewing the Literature

Clark (2015) highlights vital concepts to foster effective communication in the workplace. The first concept discussed is engaging in constructively challenging conversations by asking questions, listening actively, and reflecting on the conversation. The second concept is committing to the conversation and finding a resolution by expressing empathy and understanding while maintaining respect for the other person. The third concept is preparing for the conversation by understanding the purpose and gathering relevant facts and information. Finally, the fourth concept entails using contemporary communication models like the DESC model, which involves describing the situation, expressing feelings, stating the consequences and desired outcome, and asking for a resolution.

These theories and concepts discussed in Clark (2015) help encourage and promote meaningful conversations in the workplace. Newnam and Goode (2019) argued that by engaging in challenging conversations, reflecting, probing, and committing to the conversation, and applying contemporary communication models, employees could build relationships, trust, and respect with one another. Ultimately, doing this leads to improved morale and better communication, which improves the level of civility in the workplace.

By encouraging employees to reflect on conversations, probe for more information, and commit to finding a resolution, organizations can improve communication and understanding among team members. Newnam and Goode (2019) suggested that organizations can realize more effective collaboration and problem-solving models by practicing this. For example, when a team is facing a challenging project, the team leader could facilitate a conversation where team members reflect on their challenges, probe for more information about each other’s perspectives, and commit to finding a solution together. Such a process would help build trust and cohesion among team members and lead to better outcomes for the project (Lake et al., 2020). Using the DESC model would be helpful to organizations as it would provide effective feedback and improve communication among team members. For instance, when a team member fails to meet expectations, a manager could use the DESC model to provide feedback. Using the model, the manager would effectively describe the specific behavior causing concern, express its effect on the team, specify the desired behavior, and state the potential consequences of not making the change.

Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams

A strategy that could be implemented to improve communication among employees is to establish regular team meetings