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For perioperative managers, directors and leaders developing their teams

Leadership Decision Desk

Know what to say—and what to do next.

A difficult conversation is easier to put off when you are unsure how to begin. Work through realistic OR examples, choose words that sound like you and plan how you will follow up.

What you can use

A conversation plan with a clear opening, questions to ask, support to offer and a date to check back.

  • One bookmarked PDF
  • Fillable worksheets
  • Print selected pages

$39 USD · one-time purchase

One bookmarked PDF · No ZIP extraction · Individual professional use. Phone download guide →

1 individual-use license · no subscription

Read a sample before buying ↗

Preview before you buy. If a file is missing, faulty or does not match its description, contact WCL for help or a refund where the policy applies. Review delivery and limited refund terms before purchase.

What’s included

One 91-page bookmarked PDF with fillable working pages. Save a working copy, choose the section you need and begin. No ZIP extraction.

  • 24 OR-specific opening lines, each with facts to check, an action and a follow-up
  • Integrity, Accountability and Conversations: four lessons on honest decisions, emotional conversations, sustained accountability and high-performer conduct
  • Developing People and Careers: four lessons on new nurses and frontline staff, focused coaching, high-performer growth and promotion readiness
  • Eight completed examples, eight practice situations where the facts change, and eight fillable action pages across the two core guides
  • The foundational Field Manual: six situations, 24 practice variations and a worked executive recommendation
  • A 30-day practice guide, five fillable application pages and a clear Start Here section

Choose this when

You need to address unfinished work, support a charge nurse, coach a colleague or have a conversation you have been putting off.

Choose Decision Desk for people and conversations. Choose Launch System for operating-room performance and surgeon-service problems. Each toolkit works on its own.

When this is not the right purchase

You need a formal HR determination, legal advice or an urgent safety response. This toolkit helps you prepare leadership decisions within your authority.

Start here

  1. Open the PDF and choose the relevant section from the contents or bookmarks.
  2. Read the completed example. Consider how your response would change if the person needs clearer instructions, more practice or help with competing work.
  3. Use the matching action page to prepare your opening, the questions to ask, the next action and the follow-up date.

Start with one task

Prepare one conversation you need to have this week.

Can you explain the concern without labeling the person, ask what got in the way and agree on the next step?

Start with the pages for this task. You do not need to read the whole package first. Keep confidential details in your organization’s approved systems.

Follow the first-use guide →

Practical help getting started

Open it.
Know where to start.

Three realistic OR examples help you prepare for unfinished work, support the board runner and raise an operational concern with your director.

6 pages · Fillable preparation page · No video or account required

  1. Read a realistic example.
  2. Prepare your own next step.
  3. Review what changed—and what did not.
Open the Decision Desk companion PDF ↗Read the companion online →

This companion is free to use. Your purchased toolkit includes the full lessons, additional examples and working pages.

A closer look

Prepare the conversation and the next step

Actual page from the toolkit

Download the four-page PDF preview ↗

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Read the worked example as text
WEST CLINICAL LEADERSHIP DECISION DESK / OR OPENING LINES OR OPENING LINES | Adapt the words to the verified facts OR conversations 04-06 04 | A turnover discussion turns into blame CHECK: Check the same turnover interval and comparable cases; separate required work from avoidable waits. SAY: "Which part of the turnover is waiting, and which part is necessary work? Let's identify the step before blaming a team." NEXT: Review the sequence with the affected teams and select one feasible change. REVIEW: Check the interval, rework and delays shifted to another department. 05 | A tray is not ready for tomorrow's list CHECK: Verify the concern with sterile processing using approved systems and confirm who needs the update. SAY: "Which instruments are still unresolved, who is checking them, and when will we know whether the planned list is supported?" NEXT: Use the local readiness and escalation process; do not assume a substitute is acceptable. REVIEW: Confirm the receiving team acknowledged the update and the issue has an assigned next step. 06 | An add-on exceeds the apparent capacity CHECK: Check urgency through the authorized clinical process, case requirements, staffing and downstream capacity. SAY: "Before we promise a time, can we confirm the priority and the support this case needs?" NEXT: Bring unresolved capacity and priority decisions to the responsible clinical and operational leaders. REVIEW: Communicate the approved plan and any effects on other cases through approved channels. 31 WCL | CUSTOMER PDF EDITION 4.7 | OCTOBER 2026

Fictional teaching examples. Adapt to your role and local policy; keep confidential details in approved systems.

A free place to begin

Practice before applying it.

Try three decisions as the situation develops. See what your choices change and what still needs attention. The full practice case is free.

Practice a conversation about unfinished work →

See the work before you buy

A completed example. A page for your own preparation.

These are actual pages from this toolkit. The example is fictional; use your own verified facts. The blank page shows what you will be able to prepare.

See a completed example

Overall PDF page 12

Leadership Decision Desk: completed example, overall PDF page 12Open the page at full size ↗
Read this page as text
WEST CLINICAL LEADERSHIP DECISION DESK / CORE GUIDE 01 LESSON 02 / WORKED EXAMPLE The employee becomes tearful Fictional case. The completed decision shows the reasoning, action and review. The opening A new coordinator missed two routine status updates. The manager describes the dates and effect without saying “you are unreliable.” The coordinator becomes tearful and says, “I am trying; everyone thinks I cannot do this.” The manager pauses: “I can see this is difficult. We can take a few minutes. We still need a workable plan for the updates.” After the pause, the coordinator explains that two managers request different formats and the shared report is inaccessible. The manager checks the access issue and confirms the conflicting instructions. The coordinator also says they waited for a perfect answer rather than flagging the barrier. Both the system problem and the missed escalation need attention. Completed agreement Fictional review What the manager learns The manager accepts responsibility for agreeing one format with the other manager and arranging access through the authorized route. The coordinator will send the available status and flag missing information by the agreed checkpoint. They rehearse one brief escalation message. The manager asks for teach-back and sets a three-workday check-in. 8 Two updates arrive as agreed. Before the third is due, the coordinator explains what information is still missing. The manager thanks them for raising it early and helps obtain it. At the next review, they check whether the arrangement works without repeated reminders. WCL | CUSTOMER PDF EDITION 4.7 | OCTOBER 2026

See the matching working page

Overall PDF page 14

Leadership Decision Desk: blank working page, overall PDF page 14Open the page at full size ↗
Read this page as text
WEST CLINICAL LEADERSHIP DECISION DESK / CORE GUIDE 01 LESSON 02 / APPLY Conversation preparation page Write language you could say naturally. Use prompts, not a script you must read word for word. Response to emotion or disagreement; what remains required? Complete this page with a fictional or nonconfidential example. Move real commitments into the approved work system. What happened, its effect, the expectation and facts to check Your opening and two questions about the task or barriers Their action, your support, their understanding and check-in date What to review, where to record it and when to involve another leader Before acting: confirm who agreed to do the work, any approval needed and the check-in date. 10 WCL | CUSTOMER PDF EDITION 4.7 | OCTOBER 2026

Find your starting point

Open the pages for the work in front of you.

Numbers below refer to the PDF reader’s overall page counter. The printed labels within sections may differ. Use the named section or bookmark if your reader displays those labels instead.

Prepare a difficult conversation

Try this first: Separate what you observed from what you assumed. Write one opening question that invites the other person’s account.

In your toolkit: A difficult conversation people can hear, PDF page 11. Then use Conversation preparation page, PDF page 14.

Prepare: An opening, two questions, your support and a check-in.

Follow this first-use route →
Address work that is not being completed

Try this first: Confirm the expected work, what got in the way and whether your promised support was provided.

In your toolkit: Accountability that changes the work, PDF page 15. Then use Accountability and support plan, PDF page 18.

Prepare: A clear task, agreed support and evidence to review.

Follow this first-use route →
Format, access and use

Begin with Start Here. Choose a lesson in Integrity, Accountability and Conversations or Developing People and Careers. Each lesson explains the approach, shows a completed example, lets you practice with different facts and provides an action page for your own preparation. The Field Manual includes 24 OR-specific opening lines with facts to check, next actions and review prompts.

After payment is confirmed, Wix sends a download link to your checkout email. Save the PDF on your phone, tablet or computer. Open the contents or bookmarks and choose the section for your task. Find your first file and device instructions →

Use a PDF reader with form support for fillable pages. Each toolkit is one PDF; no Word edition is included. Phone browsers and document apps vary. Test one nonsensitive entry, then save, close and reopen it. Fields have fixed space. Use additional pages for longer work. A larger screen is helpful for writing and printing.

The license is for the individual purchaser’s professional use. Team distribution requires a separate license. Ask about permission to use the toolkit with your team. Keep the original files and work in copies. Follow organizational policy and professional guidance; keep restricted information in approved systems.

Read the delivery and limited refund policy →

Only if it fits your next task

90-Day Leadership Planner

90-day cycle · One reusable fillable PDF · One-time purchase

If your next challenge is keeping agreed actions visible through the week, the Planner provides a separate weekly review. Decision Desk stands on its own.

Explore 90-Day Leadership Planner · $29 →

See the 90-day planning approach →

Explore it if it fits your next need. Nothing is added to your cart automatically.

See how to discuss unfinished work →