STORIES FROM THE FIELD: Developing Programs in Response to Strategic Planning


During the strategic planning process at our institution, the focus area of advocacy and advance- ment was identified with an emphasis on developing individuals, promoting the department, and ele- vating the dietetics profession. One strategy was developed for the purpose of creating opportunities to enhance employee communication skills for the promotion of professional roles. This was borne from the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, one finding of which was that dietitians collectively believed it was common for other disciplines to make nutrition deci- sions and develop protocols without collaboration. This lack of inclusion and effective collaboration created substantial divides between interprofessional teams and weakened relationships. There were varying abilities of self-empowerment behaviors among department members, some of whom lacked the confidence to collaborate with other teams. In addition, the SWOT analysis identified the need to enhance leadership and effectively mentor others. It became evident that although the clinical skill sets of dietitians were typically strong, they were only part of the equation for successful work per- formance and acceptable clinical outcomes.


A project team of nine volunteers included registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs), nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered (NDTRs), and a nutrition manager. Recognizing the need for im- provement in the areas of communication, leadership, and empowerment, the team quickly realized it had an opportunity to develop an innovative grassroots program using untapped problem-solving techniques and creative skills.


In an effort to measure the program’s impact and understand employees’ needs, an electronic survey was created that included 23 statements using a 5-point Likert scale with responses ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” The intent was to measure preprogram attitudes and beliefs and compare these to postprogram results using the same survey.


Statements on the scale were categorized into five domains: Leadership, Communication, Mento- ring and Development, Empowerment/Sense of Self, and Building Relationships. The majority of responses (more than 75%) were favorable. The team then focused on the statements having mostly responses of “neutral,” “disagree,” or “strongly disagree” within the domains of Communication, Lead- ership, and Empowerment; the team developed content to address these areas. The team of volunteers evaluated the existing resources within the organization and determined that a unique program to meet the needs of the nutrition department was necessary.


The team created three mandatory training sessions customized for the specific needs of RDNs and NDTRs. Cohorts of 12 to 25 attendees were assigned to attend training classes together to enhance networking opportunities. Attendees were required to complete surveys before and after the sessions and participated in various learning activities that were both didactic (such as short lectures, story- telling, and deductive reasoning) and Socratic (such as those that took a problem-centered approach, involved class dialogues, or used inductive reasoning) in nature. Short homework, including read- ings and journaling, was also assigned and completed outside of class sessions. The course culmin- ated in a case study and incorporated all three aspects of the course for group discussion.


The training program was created to align with the department’s strategic plan initiative to meet the needs identified by clinical nutrition professionals. By empowering one another to fulfill an initiative, program creators enhanced their own professional abilities, including teamwork, communication, and presentation skills. In turn, program attendees participated in assessing their own strengths and learned various strategies to capitalize on them.


Comparison of pretraining and posttraining survey results showed the following notable positive changes in employee attitudes after completion of the program:


» I feel I can comfortably voice my opinion to a member of another department (increased by 10%). » I am confident I can positively influence and lead others (increased by 12%). » I feel empowered to make changes within my department (increased by 14%).


» I believe it is more important to focus on developing people’s strengths than to fix their weaknesses (increased by 24%).


Based on postprogram survey results, department members improved communication skills, are stronger self-leaders and leaders of others, and are empowered to be more inspired and motivated clinicians.


136 EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT IN NUTRITION & DIETETICS


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