Other Titles
Recognition, Celebration and Collaboration: Strategies for Enhancing Member Engagement in Sigma [Symposium Title]
Other Titles
Symposium Presentation
Abstract
Purpose: Professional organizations which offer members opportunities to collaborate at local, state, national, and international levels promotes member engagement. Proactive leadership strategies improves engagement (George & Massey, 2020). The skills developed through collaboration within professional organizations often translate to enhanced performance in members' workplace settings (Sullivan & Stevenson, 2009). Collaborative efforts guide the development of nurses' professionalism (He et al., 2024). Collaboration fosters deeper connections, boosts participation, and promotes innovation by leveraging diverse perspectives, shared goals, and collective problem-solving. Recent studies highlight that such collaborative efforts improve organizational performance by building trust, accountability, and psychological safety within teams (Scager et al., 2016). Tools like Slack and Zoom, combined with intentional asynchronous and synchronous interactions, have proven effective in maintaining engagement and creativity in virtual settings (Whillans et al., 2021). Collaborative efforts promote educational, leadership and evidence based practice opportunities (Castaños & Bowden, 2024). Sigma chapters have successfully collaborated to participate in educational event and community volunteer events (Gallagher, 2018). This presentation will explore the collaborative efforts within Sigma Region 7, and frameworks to optimize member engagement.
Methods: Leveraging various technology and virtul platforms to meet and promote collaborative opportunities, the regional team works together to expand their network of resources and share strategies for collaboration across the region.
Results: Monthly meetings facilitated collaboration and led to the following outcomes:
- A continuing education opportunity focused on artificial intelligence in nursing.
- A town hall meeting that served as a platform for members to share ideas and discuss collaborative opportunities.
- A regional award initiative designed to recognize and celebrate contributions to collaborative efforts.
- Timely discussion threads and meaningful dialogue on pressing nursing issues, advancements, challenges, and opportunities to collaborate on solutions.
Conclusion: Member recognition and celebration play a key role in sustaining engagement and collaboration. By implementing these collaborative initiatives, Sigma regions can create more inclusive and effective environments that empower members and drive organizational success.
Notes
References:
Castaños, L., & Bowden, V. R. (2024). Knowledge-to-Action. Advancing Nursing Excellence: The Role of Professional Nursing Organizations. Pediatric Nursing, 50(5), 254–259. https://doi.org/10.62116/PNJ.2024.50.5.254
George, V., & Massey, L. (2020). Proactive strategy to improve staff engagement. Nurse Leader, 18(6), 532–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2020.08.008
He, X., Mao, Y., Cao, H., Li, L., Wu, Y., & Yang, H. (2024). Factors influencing the development of nursing professionalism: a descriptive qualitative study. BMC Nursing, 23(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01945-6
Munley Gallagher, R. (2018). Collaboration key to success for Sigma’s virtual chapter. Reflections on Nursing Leadership, 44(3), 41–46.
Scager, K., Boonstra, J., Peeters, T., Vulperhorst, J., & Wiegant, F. (2016). Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence. CBE life sciences education, 15(4), ar69. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-07-0219
Sigma Membership
Beta Pi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Global Leadership, Virtual Learning, Competence, Leadership, Leadership Initiatives
Recommended Citation
Keane, Kathryn and George, Viji, "Collaboration as a Strategy for Member Engagement" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 250.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/250
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-11
Collaboration as a Strategy for Member Engagement
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Purpose: Professional organizations which offer members opportunities to collaborate at local, state, national, and international levels promotes member engagement. Proactive leadership strategies improves engagement (George & Massey, 2020). The skills developed through collaboration within professional organizations often translate to enhanced performance in members' workplace settings (Sullivan & Stevenson, 2009). Collaborative efforts guide the development of nurses' professionalism (He et al., 2024). Collaboration fosters deeper connections, boosts participation, and promotes innovation by leveraging diverse perspectives, shared goals, and collective problem-solving. Recent studies highlight that such collaborative efforts improve organizational performance by building trust, accountability, and psychological safety within teams (Scager et al., 2016). Tools like Slack and Zoom, combined with intentional asynchronous and synchronous interactions, have proven effective in maintaining engagement and creativity in virtual settings (Whillans et al., 2021). Collaborative efforts promote educational, leadership and evidence based practice opportunities (Castaños & Bowden, 2024). Sigma chapters have successfully collaborated to participate in educational event and community volunteer events (Gallagher, 2018). This presentation will explore the collaborative efforts within Sigma Region 7, and frameworks to optimize member engagement.
Methods: Leveraging various technology and virtul platforms to meet and promote collaborative opportunities, the regional team works together to expand their network of resources and share strategies for collaboration across the region.
Results: Monthly meetings facilitated collaboration and led to the following outcomes:
- A continuing education opportunity focused on artificial intelligence in nursing.
- A town hall meeting that served as a platform for members to share ideas and discuss collaborative opportunities.
- A regional award initiative designed to recognize and celebrate contributions to collaborative efforts.
- Timely discussion threads and meaningful dialogue on pressing nursing issues, advancements, challenges, and opportunities to collaborate on solutions.
Conclusion: Member recognition and celebration play a key role in sustaining engagement and collaboration. By implementing these collaborative initiatives, Sigma regions can create more inclusive and effective environments that empower members and drive organizational success.
Description
Overall Symposium Summary: Engaging members is key to organizational success, particularly in professional associations such as Sigma. Sigma’s North Atlantic Region 7 welcomes the 2023-2025 Presidential Call to Action by creating a strategic plan that embodies the change we wish to see in the region. This plan honors the unique perspectives of each member and employs recognition, celebration, and collaboration as key strategies for engaging members within Sigma’s Region 7.
Note: The attached slide deck is a combined symposium presentation containing the slides of all featured symposium speakers.
To locate the other presentations in this symposium, search the repository by the Symposium Title shown in the Other Title field of this item record.