One of the issues we've heard repeatedly in this project is the challenges staff and contract SANEs feel in communicating with their managers and agency administrators. Not feeling like they have a voice and not feeling like their concerns are being addressed has led to problems with retaining good quality, competent nurses. So I was pretty interested in this article over at the Harvard Business Report's Best Practices blog, How to Give Your Boss Feedback. I have to tell you, I found a lot of the advice to be pretty reasonable and applicable to our work, as well.

I'll be interested to know what you think and if you have any other strategies that seem to work.

Over at RWJF's Future of Nursing blog, Dean Marla Salmon, from the University of Washington School of Nursing poses the question, what do we need to teach the nurse of tomorrow? This is a pretty important question, and one we have discussed frequently here at the sustainability project. Because one of the struggles we so often see in SANE programs around the country are nurses who have never had access to education focused on business management, leadership development or public policy. These are all critical areas that impact the day to day lives of SANE programs. A lack of these skills (or a failure to even see this skills as being relevant and necessary) makes it difficult to keep SANE programs healthy and viable for the long-term.

I don't think every SANE program manager needs an MBA (although it wouldn't hurt to have a few more in our ranks), nor do I think we should be shifting foundational nursing education away from the clinical skills that are so central to the profession. But I agree with Dean Salmon when she writes, "A good start would be strengthening the connection between initial, graduate and continuing education.  These linkages are not well defined – nor are resources that are now separately associated with each. Perhaps we should think about the possibility of a lifelong learning “curriculum” or some sort of career development framework as a way of shaping some new conversations about education and learning.  This could engage both our educational and service institutions in supportive and coordinated ways." An expectation that continuing education is not only part of the career path, but occurs in a purposeful and organized fashion? Continuing education tailored toward professional growth and development, and not just randomly chosen as a means for maintaining certifications or satisfying agency policies? Yes, please. It would certainly strengthen our specialty.

I am working on crafting a response to Dean Salmon's post. I hope some of you will also consider weighing in on what we should teach the future nurse. It's a great opportunity to give some feedback to an organization that has definite influence on the future of nursing.

 I am so excited that there's a new blog here at NSVRC, the Engaged Bystander blog. Join guest blogger, Joan Tabachnick, author of the NSVRC publication, Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention, to explore the powerful ways that we can all choose to do something or say something to prevent sexual violence.  Share your ideas. 

You can also check out the Bystander Intervention Online Resources. This Special Collection includes background information and research on bystander intervention strategies, online learning tools and information about campaigns and programs focused on engaging bystanders.

Enter the Blog.

I am a hothead. Anyone reading this who knows me is smiling and nodding right now, because they know my default setting is holler. So I was intrigued by this post over at The Happiness Project last week about under-reacting to problems. That's not to say the post's author advocates ignoring or minimizing problems; simply that as she points out, not every problem requires a full-bore freakout. Calm and well-humored trumps yelling and losing it in most cases--it doesn't help you and it certainly doesn't remedy the situation.

This probably seems painfully obvious to many of you, but I think it's worth mentioning here simply because as programs face inevitable challenges such as funding cuts and staffing shortages, it's sometimes difficult to keep it all contained when wading through the muck. However, SANEs around the country have repeatedly told us that the actions and attitudes of program directors significantly impact their decisions to stay on board when things get rough. Managers who are able to tackle problems without projecting a feeling of impending doom on their staff may find that people are willing to hang in there and see what happens next, rather than bail in the face of what appears to be certain disaster.

As for me, I am trying to adopt a new attitude of fervent under-reacting. I'll let you know how it goes...

We've been talking a lot this week about what good leadership looks like. I would suggest that good leadership requires a certain amount of kind (as opposed to nice). Several years ago Susan Cramm wrote about compassionate leadership over at the HBR blog, which I think takes us to a similar place. You can read the full entry, but to sum it up, she mentions 5 key points:

1. Assume the best in others.
2. Understand what makes them tick.
3. Serve their needs.
4. Accept responsibility.
5. Assume the best intentions.

I'm particularly fond of #1, which I might rewrite just a bit: Assume competence until proven otherwise. Don't make "prove it" or "gotcha" your default.

 I love this sign posted about meeting rules, over at Blue Avocado today:

"Don't yuck someone's yum"! Outstanding!

[Ground Rules for the New Generation, Blue Avocado]

Happy 2010! I thought I'd start the year off with a positive spin, a new free eBook from Seth Godin. It's called What Matters Now (PDF), and I love the way it was created--multiple short essays and other pieces from great minds in diverse fields. It's sort of an anti-resolution manifesto. Less "try", more "do". A great guide for how we might approach the new year.

My favorite so far is by the author Elizabeth Gilbert, in her piece called Ease. A short excerpt:

Dear ones, EASE UP. Pump the brakes. Take a step back. Seriously. Take two steps back. Turn off all your electronics and surrender over all your aspirations and do absolutely nothing for a spell. I know, I know – we all need to save the world. But trust me: the world will still need saving tomorrow. In the meantime, you’re going to have a stroke soon (or cause a stroke in somebody else) if you don’t calm the hell down.

Enjoy!

I like short, useful pieces on managing programs. You know that if you read this site with any frequency. But this one might just be in my top 10. A virtual strategy session for running a program in a tough economy. The author's tips are incredibly relevant to our work. I especially love #3: do less with less. Fantastic.

[And Now for Something Different About Nonprofits and the Economy, Blue Avocado]

Over at the Get Rich Slowly blog, there's a fascinating post about negotiating. It really made me think about how often we have to negotiate for ourselves in our line of work: negotiate the ability to conduct these exams, to get paid to coordinate our programs, to work without undue pressures from key stakeholders such as law enforcement and prosecutors, to attract new talent and keep veterans on the roster. It's a real art, but it's one few of us are ever taught.

I would encourage you to read this, because although I'm not sure everything applies, what's discussed in the post sheds some light on my own behavior in past (failed) negotiations, and provides potential strategies I imagine I'll employ in the future. Check out a few of the links while you're there, or peruse the video clip at the end of the article.

[Get Rich Slowly: You Can Negotiate Anything]

A lot of people have asked me about how social media can be used to benefit SANE and other victim service programs. People feel very intimidated by the process, which is a shame, because I think it's an incredibly approachable and democratic tool. And I think we could harness its broad appeal and reach to allow for not just awareness and fundraising campaigns, but also recruitment efforts. If anyone's using social media to help with recruitment I'd love to hear from you!

For those of you who'd like to explore just how social media can be of use, but aren't sure where to start, I really like this post by Amy Sample Ward. It's the perfect step-by-step intro on how to organize your approach.

BTW, I will be at the LaFASA conference this week talking about sustainability at one of the Thursday morning plenary sessions, so I hope to see some of you there. Please come by and say hello.

[Amy Sample Ward's Version of NPTech]