Sadly, many newly promoted nurse managers do not make the impact they – and their employer – had hoped for, resulting in stress for them and their manager, poor employee retention, and declining clinical and financial outcomes.

An Effective Delegation ChecklistDelegation is an essential management skill. It allows you to distribute work among your team, freeing up your time to focus on more critical tasks. But delegation can also be difficult, and if not done correctly, it can lead to frustration and resentment among your team.

The Bells Breakthrough Leadership Coaching LLC team wishes you the happiest of holidays this season. May the New Year be filled with joy, health, and prosperity!

When it comes to the Healthcare industry, time management, emotional intelligence, and work-life balance are essential to ensure your team can consistently perform at an optimum level. However, the long hours can soon take their toll on nurses, making it challenging to motivate them. If this scenario sounds familiar, maybe you should consider working with a leadership coach to rally the troops.

People are more than ever seeking the support of a trusted coach who understands their situation and can help them see opportunities and uncover their hidden talents. In today's fast-paced business world, leaders face the challenge of adapting quickly to change. A skilled coach will act as their thinking partner and help them break through barriers and identify new and exciting solutions.

Congratulations! Your hard work and skills have landed you in a nurse manager role.

In your new role as a nurse manager, you're responsible for creating safe, healthy work environments that promote patient engagement and support the work of the health care team. As a team leader, your role is imperative to creating a professional environment that fosters a culture that facilitates optimal patient outcomes and professional growth.

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new website!

We all make assumptions and they are not always true. As a leader, it's important to challenge your own assumptions and those of others.

The other day my son asked if he could go to the movies with some friends. I asked who and what movie and then approved. I drove him to the movie theater and when he got out of the car a group of boys, not the ones he was going to the movies with, ran up to him and high five’d him.

I reacted immediately to what I saw, or what I thought saw!

My son had lied to me!

Then my mind went into overdrive and I started telling myself that this was the beginning of a new era, an era in which my son was going to make poor choices. He was going to get caught up with the wrong crowd, he would succumb to peer pressure, he will not do well at school and would probably end up taking drugs.

In my work as a Leadership Coach for nurse leaders I see my clients do something that I can really relate to. These clients are extremely, strong and capable people. They know what needs to be done and they know how to do it.

So they use these strengths and take on a lot of responsibility to make sure everything that needs to get done gets done, by them. The more they do the stronger they become the more they take on.

This reminds of going to the gym, the more I lift weights the easier it gets so I pick up heavier weights. Sounds good? Well what I don't do is try a different exercise? I do them same exercises over and over and keep working on the same muscle, leaving some muscles undeveloped and weak. I do this because its easy for me to work on the same muscles, if I try a new exercise it's hard, I don't burn as many calories and the next day I am in pain.

How do you know if you’re taking responsibility for someone else’s happiness? I was hanging out with a group of friends the other day and I a cracked a joke about something that I thought was funny only to discover that what I said triggered defensiveness and anger in a friend.

Has that ever happened to you?

I get that my humor isn't for everyone, but I don't think it's bad enough to make someone angry, so what happened. Well, the truth is I don't know. I don't know what made her defensive and angry but I do know it wasn't me.

When was the last time you tried something new?

What are some of things that you wish you could do?

Why aren’t you doing them?

Well if you’re anything like me it’s because you tell yourself you can’t, that you aren’t good at them, you don’t have what it takes or maybe that’s its just too hard or you don’t have enough time.

All of these reasons might sound plausible! However they're really excuses or thoughts that you came up with to stop you from putting yourself out there and giving it a go.

My road to delegation mastery: There were times in the past when I was delegated to that it felt like an honor and privilege. I loved taking on the new responsibility. Then there were the times when I felt like I'd been dumped on from a great height. The difference in my performance under each situation was obvious. When it felt like an honor I went above and beyond. When I felt dumped on I did the least I needed to do. In some instances that wasn't much. How the delegating manager viewed and approached delegation made the difference.

Successful delegation requires communication and collaboration. It requires a meaningful conversation. Both parties must be aligned. The delegate should be in agreement and feel valued and supported. The following are 5 steps to successful delegation.

I was just listening to my daily Headspace Meditation and he was talking about happiness and how we often look for happiness outside of ourselves. This really resonated with me, I mean seriously how easy is it to think we need to go somewhere or buy something to be happy and that happiness is short lived?

So if happiness is not outside of us it must be inside us! This must mean we can create our own happiness - ta da.

But how?

I did a little research and discovered that laughing can increase happiness?

What! Don’t we need to be happy first before we can laugh? It appears not!

What do new leaders need to know? You've been recognized as an outstanding Individual Contributor. This recognition has earned you a new position as a Manager, congratulations. Now it's time to learn a new set of skills. Your expertise, knowledge, and ability to get the job done is what got you promoted. But it's not enough to be a successful leader. Some say this is most the difficult transition of a professional's career.

You may be familiar with the quote, "what got you here won't get you there"? To be a successful leader you need to know what "there" is for you and you need to know what will get you there. Adopting the following practices will help you make the transition to a leader. A leader who can make 2 - 3 times greater contribution than an Individual Contributor. Know your why

Getting sucked into other people’s energy is the name of the game today and it reminded me of a recent argument I had with my husband over the purchase of a new vacuum cleaner.

I pick vacuum cleaners for their style. I found one that was pink, it looked easy to handle, the decision made. Right?

My husband, on the other hand, is an engineer and a lot more interested in the mechanics of a vacuum and how long it will last.

He is a problem solver, by nature. I am more of a free spirit.

Who is right and who is wrong?

She will take care of everybody else but doesn’t let anyone take care of her.

She feels embarrassed asking a fellow school mom if her son needs tickets for the family night because she’s mad at herself that she forgot.

She told her boss she could take on that extra project, then went into the bathroom to cry, knowing she just added tons of stress to her week.

Sound like someone you know?

Do you have delegation barriers? It's Monday morning. Your heart sinks. You feel overwhelmed and frustrated with the number of items on your to-do list and calendar. This is not what you thought it would be like to be a leader. You wonder, "what went wrong?"

If this resonates in any way its time to "sharpen your saw". Sharpening the saw is one of the 7 habits described by Stephen Covey, in "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People". He is referring to self-renewal and self-care. If your to-do list is weighing you down it's time to stop and upgrade your operating system. This will need you, to be honest with yourself about why you have so much to do and why you aren't delegating more? Time

First off, for those who don't already know, let me tell you what your Monkey Brain is. It is the part of your brain that keeps you awake at night reminding you of all the things you didn't get done.

Sound familiar?

It happens to most of us at one time or another and not only does it cause us sleepless nights, it also can exacerbate stress. So you might be wondering why anyone would want to appreciate it?

Well, our brains were never designed to hold and process the amount of information that comes our way each day. All the emails, text messages, FaceBook messages, reminders, company systems communicating new processes etc. etc. In addition to us having to keep on top of all of this information, we have jobs to do and responsibilities at home. So on any typical day, we either jump from one task to the other based on a to-do list or by addressing what seems to be the most important item at any given moment, including reading all of the communication.

Our world is going through disruption. How can strong leaders navigate disruption? It's easy to get caught up in the drama and get distracted. Strong leaders know how to navigate these situations. They stay focused and help their teams and businesses thrive.

People will focus on something and talk about it. Strong leaders understand this. They use it to their advantage by purposefully directing focus.