¶ … Power of Story
Story has a significant amount of power as an efficacious communication technique to move change forward. This statement particularly applies to the field of healthcare and to the sort of impact that nurses have on their healthcare organizations. Actuated by cogent stories, the sort of changes that can occur within these settings have both hard and soft elements -- each of which are required to effectively produce the sort of changes that can positively impact those involved in healthcare entities. If implemented correctly, each of these different elements can form invaluable facilitators for change.
It is important to realize that there is a relationship between the soft and hard elements of change that are produced from a compelling story. The soft elements of change generally take place prior to the hard elements of change. For the most part, soft elements of change involve a transition in the thinking of those in healthcare organizations. This prioritization of these elements of change are necessary because changes in action require changes in thought, first. Stories are a way of informing the next generation of practitioners at a care facility (Hiltz, 2013). Viewed from this point-of-view, soft changes are changes in thoughts about situations and potential activities. Hard changes, then, are the actual changes in action, method, and practice that ultimately reap the benefit from powerful stories that inspire transformation.
Soft elements of change, or those that involve changes in thinking, are certainly facilitators for change. One of the most prominent of these elements is a general...
Focus is another important soft element of change, as stories can produce situations in which those who listen to them and utilize them as examples focus on aspects of care that may have previously been neglected. Attention is another aspect of a change in thinking, as those who are aware of and focused on different parts of the process for care are forced to pay attention to parts of their jobs that they might not necessarily have before. Each of these elements is a facilitator for change in that they serve as precursors to action. Employees that are aware of situations requiring change, focused on them, and giving them due attention are able to take action to create the sort of change necessary to engender the desirable outcomes that stories can inspire.
The hard elements of change are those which involve direct action and take on the form of change that story can motivate in the health care industry. Nonetheless, there are certain types of action that can accompany a healthcare organization that is attempting to effect change. Some action is evinced in the form of changes in policy. Specifically, it is possible for management to create new procedures that employees must adhere to that will help to guide the sort of change that a particular story has inspired. In extreme instances, this action can take the form of hiring new employees, or perhaps creating new positions, that are aligned with the sort of organization-wide change for which stories are responsible. In some instances, hard…
