By
Mary J. Boustani, MHA, Managing Consultant, Press Ganey Associates
Health care leaders have many talents, and one of them is juggling. When I worked in hospitals, I was always trying to keep a lot of balls up in the air. I knew that when one fell, my juggling act would come undone and there would be balls hitting the ground all over the place. You can also call this chaos. I am sure many of you can think of the times when you had to chase things down in order to bring order, only to start the juggling act again; for some it is a daily occurrence.
I have started to ask the leadership teams I work with to describe the items they’re busy juggling. Typically it includes meetings, e-mails, financials, change related to health care reform, capital expenditures, physician recruitment and employment, regulatory compliance, quality indicators, staffing efficiency and patient safety – just to name a few. That’s a lot of items to keep airborne, but you likely have more you could add to the list. Let me know what’s missing through our comment box below.
Here’s one thing I would add: the needs of the people who work in the organization. Employees and physicians want to participate in decision-making. They seek recognition and coaching/mentoring. They want leaders who communicate and listen effectively, are responsive to employee concerns, can build relationships, can ensure the environment allows for ease of practice and maintain a viable institution into the future.
Take a moment and ask yourself if those items are on your list of things to juggle. Without a doubt, organizations that do not make a priority of meeting the needs and wants of their employees and physicians aren’t living out the organizational mission of creating the optimal environment for quality patient care and customer service.
Here’s a start for fulfilling these needs:
- Clearly define the values and expected behaviors of everyone in the organization. Be specific.
- Educate managers, staff and physicians about the values and expected behaviors and hold all accountable to them. Leaders must exhibit the behaviors.
- Examine the decision-making process in the organization and educate leaders to learn to push decision-making to the people doing the work as often as possible. Turn the traditional decision-making model upside down.
- Recognize and coach staff frequently. Leaders must recognize and praise good work – you don’t have to have toys and trinkets in your recognition program if you can’t afford it, so maybe start with genuine thank-yous – in meetings, posted on boards or online, and in personal notes. Coach employees to change behaviors and address skill/knowledge deficits. Meet with employees quarterly to review goals.
- Be transparent; hold regular employee and physician forums. Leaders should round on patients, physicians and employees to build relationships and trust. Ask for feedback and input on upcoming decisions.
Those are just some of the things that leaders need to consider as they adapt their juggling act to incorporate the needs of the people who deliver patient care. Good luck!