What does advocating for a colleague look like? What do we need to do to adequately, and appropriately, advocate for a colleague? Is it our job to advocate for them, do they want us to do that? I believe those are all valid questions, and are important for us to consider, both from our own perspective and from the perspective of what this may feel like for them. Having said that, I have advocated for a colleague, many times, but I believe the most valuable times have been when I was their formal leader.

I have been a nurse for several decades and I have worked in very small hospitals, a 30-bed community hospital, to 350-bed trauma 1 centers. I have risen to a level of expertise at the bedside and was leading programs. I was the charge nurse, the one to reach out to when there was a problem. During that time, I was strong and took charge when needed, but I am not sure I was the greatest team player. I believe that I saw myself as the team leader, more than a team player.

An interesting thing happened to me, as I transitioned to formal leadership and grew in that role. In a strange way I became more of the friend, more of the encourager and less of the one ‘leading the charge’. Why did this happen? I am not sure. Maybe I finally felt that I had earned my place, maybe I didn’t feel like I needed to prove myself as much, maybe I have just aged enough to stop feeling so insecure. However, whatever the reason, I feel that as a leader I can be more of an advocate for my colleague than previously.

As a formal leader, I do hold my employees accountable. However, I find it helpful to look at the whole person, to recognize the person sitting in front of me, and try to hear the individual, not ‘the nurse in the NICU’. Of course I practice the principles of Just Culture, I follow HR rules and standards, but I attempt to never forget that is a person in front of me.

Because their child ran away last week does not mean that they can forget the professional standards of behavior for the workplace. But, because their child ran away last week does mean that I can be a support and a listening ear. Advocating for that person may mean providing access to employee assistance or reminding them of the options for time away. However, never forgetting that person in front of me, I try to be sensitive to what it is they could use. Maybe it is a listening ear, maybe it is a different assignment for the day that does not require as much high-level thinking, maybe it is a note occasionally, to let them know they are cared for.

I have found that, as a leader, I need to advocate for the person who is my staff member in the way they need me to be there, respecting them enough to know that changing the rules is not what they need. Seeing them as a person and reacting to that individual is what advocating means in this circumstance.