Scenario one: Change Management

1. Identify the problem from the scenario

The main areas of concern in the above scenario are managing limited resources, staff exhaustion, working overload, and organizational resistance to change. The absence of funds and the consequent downsizing implied a separation between the number of people available and the amount of work that can be done. The situation worsens when a new client group is introduced without any more means to support it. Based on the review from Cameron (2008), ineffective management of the organizational paradox is also a key issue that impact on negative workplace change management. The key issue arises from the implementation of a new data system that may create pressure on staff since workplaces take time to adjust due to the overwhelming number of cases. From this position, the manager is effectively the scapegoat for disregard from superiors and stress delegated to subordinates, which may lead to a deterioration of morale and mental health within the team.

2. Outline the strategy with the help of proper principles and practices of positive psychology and leadership

The model of Authentic and Positive Leadership can be used in order to address these issues such as organizational leadership, and most importantly the behavioral management of the hierarchy in the workplaces. The approaches of people-centric leaders have the traits like trust, voice, and tolerance and that help to mitigate the challenges staff issues and other cross-cultural conflict (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). On the other hand, positive leadership consists of an emphasis on a positive work climate through the formation of strengths, the organization's health, and employee morale (Cameron, 2012).

The following strategies are proposed:

a. Re-establish Open Communication Channels:

Authentic leadership stresses the use of both vertical and emotional communication. The manager also needs to engage in periodic meetings with the team to listen to the complaints, ideas, and opinions of the staff before making any conclusion. A serious consideration of this is listening to the staff as they express their opinion on their workload and the new system in place since this could help in gaining their buy-in (Gardner et al., 2005). In an organisation, both virtuousness and performance influences the positive aim and objective towards goals. Open communication helps to improve both the virtuousness and positive performance management in the workplaces (Cameron et al., 2004). Having an open door policy allows the individual staff to bring their concerns personally to the manager, from where the latter is in a position to address those particular areas where staff has burnt out.

b. Prioritize Tasks and Manage Workload:

Workload management means that whenever there are numerous activities in the workplace, and so few people to complete them, it is important to re-evaluate priorities. The manager can apply to senior management for such options as working with certain percentages of staffing or outsourcing less important jobs (Zhang & Parker, 2018). This is in line with the positive leadership style, which is all about designing for success through the provision of resources (Cameron, 2012). A recent audit of current working schedules working in a team format would reduce individual workload and reveal efficiencies.

c. Provide Training and Support for the New System:

Staff members should aim to be proficient in the usage of the new data system to avoid causing many disruptions. The limitation is that the training may overwhelm team members at once, so a phased approach to training will solve this problem. Another change strategy that the manager can use is to select insiders, that is, individuals who will willingly act as mentors and coordinate training among peers; this strategy also helps to eliminate last-minute panic (Kotter, 1996). Having awareness of self, authentic leaders endeavour to embrace flexibility and put it into practice to make the team feel at ease during the process of achieving skill acquisition.

3. Skill needed to address the challenges

• Emotional Intelligence (EI):

EI is important in emotional management both on individual and group levels. In a workplace, for the leaders and the managers, it is essential to require empathy in order to identify the cause of this resistance (Goleman, 1998; Rezvani et al., 2019). The manager should also be aware of their burnout as well as monitor the team's emotional states should they get the team's support.

Conflict Resolution:

• Teamwork is not completely free from misunderstanding or disagreements, and conflict resolution becomes necessary when the conflict is between the team members or between the team and the management. This entails conflict solving, conflict expansion, and conflict containment, which enhances the flow of communication, or developing agreeable methods of solving conflicts that do not disrupt the functionality of the team (Rahim, 2002).

• Strategic Thinking and Problem-Solving

Due to the load issues, the manager needs to consider the activities and problems, decide on an effective action plan, and make changes to them (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). This entails the balancing up of near-term performance requirements together with long-term strategic objectives and also making staff feel involved in organizational decision-making.

• Communication and Negotiation:

There is a need to communicate with the project team to set realistic expectations and to communicate decisions. The manager will have to make requests to senior leaders for more resources or more capacity and will have to involve and update the team on what is happening.

Moreover, it can be argued that utilizing genuine positive leadership approaches, based on EI, conflict, and thinking skills, will assist the manager in overcoming the issues of staff burnout, high workload, and resistance to change.

Scenario two: Team conflict

1. Identify the problem from the scenario

The fundamental problem is inter-professional conflict between the three eminent officers where they have resorted to avoiding each other and working below optimal capacity. The conflict has made communication in the team deteriorate and instead of working in harmony, there is conflict, reduced motivation, truancy, and delays. As per the review from Richardson and West (2009), when managers face dual pressure, the hierarchical management should maintain the functional fulfilment of the teams and simultaneously meet the expectations of the organization. It will not help to reduce the conflict if you just tell the team members to get along with each other. That is because the problem needs a more focused approach by embracing authentic leadership, encouraging a positive behavioural culture, and proactively managing workplace conflicts.

2. Outline the strategy with the help of proper principles and practices of positive psychology and leadership

Rebuild Trust and Relationships: For the conflict to be resolved in the long term, the manager is required to concentrate on the restoration of trust in the course of the team. Having fun with the team and encouraging them to attend company-supported team-building sessions may help foster a comfortable environment for actual teamwork (Richardson & West, 2009). Several theories hold that appreciative communication, focused on positing the core assets of the involved personalities in a team, raises staff motivation and improves relationships between people within the business (Seligman, 2019). The following activities can alleviate the current conflict, and force the senior professionals to work with the rest of the team and help make or contribute to its success.

Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed: Conflicts with the team and group are not solved once and for all, but continuously subsist as a facilitator. The manager has to periodically report back to the senior professionals and the core team about progress. Amendments to some of the conflict-solving techniques used may be required based on the further evolution of relationships.

Implement Mediation: The manager can set up a mediating session involving himself and another person, not affiliated with the conflict like an HR officer or an independent mediator. According to Fredrickson et al. (2008), positive emotions and love-kindness meditation are the significant organizational behavioral approaches that can build consequential personal resources. Moreover, consequential personal resources help to reduce personal and team conflict. Mediation can create a context for the resolution of conflict in the organizational, non-aggressive form.

3. Skill needed to address the challenges

• Conflict Resolution Skills: Conflict also needs to be managed in order, and this involves negotiation, and mediation abilities as well as communication mastery. It may require nasty discussions, but the manager cannot weigh in on the issue and needs to make sure the parties respect each other. Many executives focus on voice coaching, fact gathering, and problem-solving and often overlook the aspects of collaboration, participative listening, and facilitation through a personal rapport of many constituents within the organization, (Lencioni, 2002).

• Effective Authentic Leadership: In this context, genuine leadership competencies are particularly valuable here because the manager needs to set high levels of credibility, which include being truthful and ethical in dealings as well as reporting the truth to the team (George, 2015; Lewis, 2011). Therefore, the manager ought to set an example by expressing the problem faced and measures taken to encourage the members of the team to do the same in their aspect.

• Communication Skills: Conflicts can be resolved on a personal level between two people or in a team for the entire group as well as the team dynamic. The manager should understand how to set expectations and express them, how to give feedback, and how free conversation channels can be maintained between the members of the team. Speaking and listening are equally important as well as knowing when to step in and provide feedback or when to let the listener sort things out for themselves (Northouse, 2018).

Scenario three: Breaking down the silos

1. Identify the problem from the scenario

The major problem is the delay in discharges which is a result of a lack of effective communication between the ward, the pharmacy as well and other allied health departments. Current organizational structures of these departments remain bureaucratic hence challenging effective integration in the solving of organizational problems. This has been compounded by the fact that the pharmacy and allied health teams have declined to address the concern anymore. Based on the review from Bao and Taliaferro (2015), Compassion Fatigue and Psychological Capital are the two key challenges for the healthcare professionals such as nurses to work in an acute care setting. These types of declination also result in inefficiencies, thereby impacting patient flow and hospital costs and also disrupts the health of the patient (Lawton et al., 2014). Senior management and discharge KPIs put pressure on the ward manager who in turn creates pressure on staff thus reducing morale and staff satisfaction.

2. Outline the strategy with the help of proper principles and practices of positive psychology and leadership

Authentic Leadership: Incorporation of authentic leadership principles that include; enthusiasm, forthrightness, and perspective should guide the ward manager. Effective practicing of authentic leadership creates the openness that allows for free-flowing discussions across organizations (Lencioni, 2002). The manager could schedule a cross-departmental meeting to highlight the problem together where each team's concerns, including a lack of resources, are considered and something is done to solve the problem.

Conflict Resolution: It is necessary to find effective conflict-solving skills in this case. The ward manager should adopt a problem-solving approach to the situation by encouraging each department in the ward to find a common solution to the problem instead of castigating each other for worker negligence (Gordon et al., 2018). Communications could be taken a notch higher with the introduction of mediation where representatives from the warring departments sit down with a third party and sort out their differences with regards to discharge KPIs.

Interdepartmental Collaboration: Applying the knowledge and understanding of the principles of transformative collaboration the manager should introduce the formation of the discharge task force team from the representatives of the ward staff, pharmacy, and allied health (Kletter et al., 2021). This task force can sit regularly to look at the discharge process and the hurdles that are observed. In refusing to engage in freestanding and by developing a common algorithm for the discharge of patients, with the assistance of proper communication lines, one can reduce the waiting periods.

Positive Psychology Practices: Positive psychology can be included in implementation to improve teamwork and diminish stress among them. Habits that should be encouraged include appreciation where organizations call for group members to complement their colleagues and strength-based negativity (Seligman, 2019; Donaldson et al., 2019). Adopting an orientation towards problem-solving where the employees focus on the positive aspects of the situation, and developing on them enhances the change of attitude as well the elimination of conflict-oriented thoughts.

3. Skill needed to address the challenges

• Communication Skills: In particular, enhancing communication processes may be considered a key factor for enhancing trust and thus improving the explanation of discharge procedures. The manager needs to establish that there are common objectives of all departments and promote communication. Managerial communication will establish clear and assertive communication. These approaches of communication can be effective in dealing with the other teams resistance and better coordination of a problem-solving approach (Zhang & Parker, 2018).

• Conflict Management: Generally, handling conflict issues across organizational structures requires highly sophisticated conflict-solving skills. The manager should engage in positive approaches to the conflicts, and ensure that each team has to appreciate the views of other departments and find a common solution. To unlock this resource, professionalism is a significant aspect that helps in enabling and supporting the discussions or negotiations of the issues, for instance, the scarcity of resources.

• Change Management: The ward managers themselves will need to have strong change management to be able to influence the culture, and to have a collaborative care system in place. This includes supporting the departments in the changes needed for it to meet discharge KPIs such as changing protocols and working in groups.

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