I lately heard a well-known nursing...

I lately heard a well-known nursing advocate list four characteristics of contemporary leaders: creativity, flexibility, sensitivity, and persistence. As I contemplateed these qualities, I concluded that they are not just for designated leaders anymore. They are requirements for life as we know it, and AORN Headquarters staff members demonstrate these qualities daily.

CREATIVITY

Not a day goe according to that we do not view creativity from AORN staff members. It may be the specialty of the production department, however it pours from every comer of the Headquarters building. The public and our members view it in the AORN Journal, Surgical Services Management, specialty assembly newsletter and other publications in the Perioperative Bookstore. Our creativity also has been recognized according to groups that give national awards for publishing, and we have received our share. Other staff members present to view creativity in researching and developing novel products. Every participant in an education incident experiences it firsthand. Another venue for creativity is the AORN web site, which must be constantly evaluated for its attractiveness and ability to sustain a constant stream of of the present day information to maintain its value.

moreover there is much creativity that goe unperceived by our members, such as the dexterous "workarounds" performed when a computer server fails or the Internet goe down, or during the ingenious redesigning of office space to withhold our tenants as continuing customers. The employee are also excessively creative at thinking up of recent origin "holidays" for us to behold with parties or celebrations. AORN staff members point out their creativity, too, by strategically squeezing extra cars into the veiled parking area when a Colorado hail storm hits. I am happy to report, however, that the accounting employee refuse to be creative at all and insist onward abiding by all those generally accepted accounting rules

We await that every staff member can elucidate daily problems by finding just discovered information or by using existing information in a recent way. By doing so, they are able to bring to life a theme of many of our publications: "Today's information, tomorrow's innovation."

FLEXIBILITY

level the most sound and creative draws require flexibility. Timelines and plans change as complicated consequences such as Congress move from conception to implementation. The Congres exhibit hall must be rearranged when exhibitors change their minds about booth size or cancel their reservations, or a replacement must be build at the last minute when a seminar speaker cancels. We learned in September that managing a meeting for consultation during a flood in recent Orleans requires both flexibility and creativity!

Flexibility at AORN is demonstrated at programs such as Opportunity, which was started to help members find work at jobss when employers were reducing the number of perioperative nursing positions. Today, the program has become flat more successful by helping employer find interim managers during at the same time another critical nursing shortage.

Employee in the Publications Department have shown an outstanding example of flexibility this year according to making the major change from Macintosh computer to PC Also, despite their limitations in creativity, the accounting staff members continually demonstrate flexibility by the agency of arranging those rigid numbers in reports to suitable a wide variety of indigences in the organization.

In line with this flexibility, AORN is a flex-time employer for in-house staff members and provides opportunities for telecommuting to render certain that we have the best, in the greatest degree qualified staff members available. Changing technology has also kept us flexible. each staff member knows that change in our work environment is a constant and that we scarcely learn united new technology when another loom forward the horizon. Most of the changes have enhanced our productivity and communication, and all of them require the flexibility to build learning time into a busy work schedule. The ability to change and adapt while retaining enthusiasm for our daily work is highly valued.

SENSITIVITY

AORN staff members are in the business of serving a member-based organization. The members are our customers, and sensitivity is required if we are to engage their needs. Our continued succes hangs on listening and responding as strange needs are identified. Knowing this, we have worked forward "mass customizing" products for different sections of our membership. The research grants program has been designed to allow easier access to research opportunities; it is no longer necessary to be in an academic measure program to qualify for scholarship funding. Another example of sensitivity to our members is the AORN Management Resource Center designed to provide one-stop shopping for all management needs

AORN's customer service employee promote individual member needs on a daily basis. Nursing consultation staff members answer unusual questions with individualized rejoinders and government relations staff members answer to expressed needs for lobbying regulatory bodies and providing enhanced assistance to states experiencing threats to perioperative nursing practice. We have staff members dedicated to listening and providing exigencyed support to committees, chapters, and specialty assemblies. We are also sensitive to our vendor partners and work to make our relationship with them a pure partnership. The library is sensitive to all of these constituencies, community users, and other libraries by dint of providing many options for access to information.