Building community in the healthcare workplace - Part 2, Envisioning the reality

Squeezed between mounting budget pressures and staffing demands, healthcare managers hare little room to maneuver as they are buffeted by incessant ne w strategies. So what is the constant that they can use to keep a steady co urse through all the chaos? We suggest that the overarching constant is "co mmunity in the workplace." Although community building may have both short- and long-term benefits, it is not a strategy but a career-long philosophy, structure. and approach to help managers tie together all the facets of th eir daily work into a more meaningful and satisfying purpose. This article, part 2 in a 4-part series, explores the principles and charac teristics of community and provides material for further study and discussi on. Four conceptual cornerstones-philosophy, influence, culture, and inner transformation-are considered in relation to the community approach. Part 1 (April) described the negative dynamics that obstruct sustainable ch ange and reasons for moving to community at work. Part 3 (October) will des cribe how to build community and will give options for implementing change in complex adaptive systems. The final article (November) presents case stu dies and discusses how community can be built in a unionized environment.