Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 12:12am
Daring to dream
Column: Executive Soul
A decade ago, healthcare in the Aswan region of Egypt was abysmal. While the rest of Egypt had made impressive strides in healthcare, the mostly rural Aswan region had been left behind.
Low morale, passivity and lack of commitment characterized healthcare workers in the region. Despondent and discouraged, they had lost hope in improving the situation.
Dr. Morsy Mansour, projects coordinator of the population and family planning sector of Upper Egypt, was puzzled that the situation hadn't improved despite numerous training sessions for healthcare workers. He decided to take a closer look. He discovered that the training sessions, while excellent in terms of presenting technical skills, didn't address the root of the problem: hope.
Dr. Mansour realized that the first step was to teach healthcare providers to dream. Only then would they be able to assimilate the technical skills and turn around the healthcare situation in their region. To that end, Dr. Mansour began by asking, "If you could have anything you wanted in terms of healthcare results in the region, what would it be?"
At first reluctant to speak up, once caregivers realized that Dr. Mansour believed in them, they began to speak from their hearts. Their dreams poured out, first in pairs and then in the entire group, dreams for every woman in the Aswan region to receive prenatal care, dreams for every infant to receive vaccinations. As they spoke their dreams and discovered that others in the group shared their vision, they began to hope.
Then Dr. Mansour partnered with Dr. Joan Galer of Management Sciences for Health in the United States to create a management and leadership training program based on empowering caregivers. The one-year pilot program, from June 2002 to June 2003, trained 41 healthcare providers in 10 teams. Throughout the program, Drs. Mansour and Galer encouraged dreaming, sowing seeds of hope. They found that caregivers, once their motivation and hope had been restored, easily learned technical skills.
The results of the program were remarkable. With healthcare workers taking ownership of the vision, teams worked together to achieve goals. Seventy-five percent of the teams reached 95 percent of their goals. Formerly afraid to speak at all, nurses gained confidence and, by the end of the program, even spoke before high-level healthcare officials in Cairo, convincing them of the value of the program. Once the pilot program ended, the participants took responsibility for continuing the program on their own, without outside funding.
"The program showed us how to work properly and to love and help each other," reported Nagwa Ibrahim Mohamed, a beginning nurse at Gharb Aswan Hospital.
By daring to dream, caregivers awakened their hope and turned around a desperate situation. Now the program in the Aswan region is being held up as a model for other parts of Egypt and for other parts of the developing world.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.
Low morale, passivity and lack of commitment characterized healthcare workers in the region. Despondent and discouraged, they had lost hope in improving the situation.
Dr. Morsy Mansour, projects coordinator of the population and family planning sector of Upper Egypt, was puzzled that the situation hadn't improved despite numerous training sessions for healthcare workers. He decided to take a closer look. He discovered that the training sessions, while excellent in terms of presenting technical skills, didn't address the root of the problem: hope.
Dr. Mansour realized that the first step was to teach healthcare providers to dream. Only then would they be able to assimilate the technical skills and turn around the healthcare situation in their region. To that end, Dr. Mansour began by asking, "If you could have anything you wanted in terms of healthcare results in the region, what would it be?"
At first reluctant to speak up, once caregivers realized that Dr. Mansour believed in them, they began to speak from their hearts. Their dreams poured out, first in pairs and then in the entire group, dreams for every woman in the Aswan region to receive prenatal care, dreams for every infant to receive vaccinations. As they spoke their dreams and discovered that others in the group shared their vision, they began to hope.
Then Dr. Mansour partnered with Dr. Joan Galer of Management Sciences for Health in the United States to create a management and leadership training program based on empowering caregivers. The one-year pilot program, from June 2002 to June 2003, trained 41 healthcare providers in 10 teams. Throughout the program, Drs. Mansour and Galer encouraged dreaming, sowing seeds of hope. They found that caregivers, once their motivation and hope had been restored, easily learned technical skills.
The results of the program were remarkable. With healthcare workers taking ownership of the vision, teams worked together to achieve goals. Seventy-five percent of the teams reached 95 percent of their goals. Formerly afraid to speak at all, nurses gained confidence and, by the end of the program, even spoke before high-level healthcare officials in Cairo, convincing them of the value of the program. Once the pilot program ended, the participants took responsibility for continuing the program on their own, without outside funding.
"The program showed us how to work properly and to love and help each other," reported Nagwa Ibrahim Mohamed, a beginning nurse at Gharb Aswan Hospital.
By daring to dream, caregivers awakened their hope and turned around a desperate situation. Now the program in the Aswan region is being held up as a model for other parts of Egypt and for other parts of the developing world.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.