Just inside of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome there is a bronze statue of St. Peter that dates back to at least the 13th century. Over that time a tradition of touching the right foot of the statue in order to receive a blessing has developed. So many people have touched this foot over the years, that a portion of it has slowing been rubbed away.
This past May I was a part of two days of training with some ICU nurses from the Foothills Medical Centre discussing moral distress in the workplace. These individuals who, on a daily basis, are confronted with critical care issues, face a significant amount of moral distress as they deal with the numerous concerns around caring for their patients. Their core values are regularly challenged by the situations they encounter and this has considerable consequences for them personally as well as for their work environment.
For most of us, these kinds of life & death situations are not a frequent experience. But as I pondered the discussion it occurred to me that each of us, no matter what our profession or occupation, could sometimes experience the same underlying concern. When we find ourselves at odds or disconnected from our work place environment, or if we feel the pressure – great or small – to work differently than our values might suggest we should, we experience some measure of moral distress: which is something like St. Peter’s foot. No single hand or event has caused the deterioration of the statue; but the accumulated touch of thousands of hands has. For some, the on-going concern of carrying out their responsibilities in a way that is disconnected from who they are can have a similar affect: over time, with each small experience, some key part of them is slowly rubbed away. At some point they then realize that something important is missing.
I believe that great organizations find ways to clearly state their core values, demonstrate how those core values can be lived out on a daily basis within the organization, and empower their personnel to do so. Developing this kind of organizational culture takes time, but when it’s in place, it contributes to creating a great place to work and an environment where people can do and be their best.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Comments.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
St. Peter’s Foot
Just inside of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome there is a bronze statue of St. Peter that dates back to at least the 13th century. Over that time a tradition of touching the right foot of the statue in order to receive a blessing has developed. So many people have touched this foot over the years, that a portion of it has slowing been rubbed away.
This past May I was a part of two days of training with some ICU nurses from the Foothills Medical Centre discussing moral distress in the workplace. These individuals who, on a daily basis, are confronted with critical care issues, face a significant amount of moral distress as they deal with the numerous concerns around caring for their patients. Their core values are regularly challenged by the situations they encounter and this has considerable consequences for them personally as well as for their work environment.
For most of us, these kinds of life & death situations are not a frequent experience. But as I pondered the discussion it occurred to me that each of us, no matter what our profession or occupation, could sometimes experience the same underlying concern. When we find ourselves at odds or disconnected from our work place environment, or if we feel the pressure – great or small – to work differently than our values might suggest we should, we experience some measure of moral distress: which is something like St. Peter’s foot. No single hand or event has caused the deterioration of the statue; but the accumulated touch of thousands of hands has. For some, the on-going concern of carrying out their responsibilities in a way that is disconnected from who they are can have a similar affect: over time, with each small experience, some key part of them is slowly rubbed away. At some point they then realize that something important is missing.
I believe that great organizations find ways to clearly state their core values, demonstrate how those core values can be lived out on a daily basis within the organization, and empower their personnel to do so. Developing this kind of organizational culture takes time, but when it’s in place, it contributes to creating a great place to work and an environment where people can do and be their best.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.