Well, that went fast. I find myself wondering
how it is possible that this is our last blog. Did I miss something? I feel
like I have been so rhythmic at looking forward to our weekly presentations and
projects, that I missed the weeks ticking by. This has been my first Masters
Class, and I feel like the bar has been set high. I can say that I honestly
learned in this class. Learned things about myself and for myself. I learned
the things that you would normally learn as time goes on. These things all tie
into my own plan for myself. I have had a personal mission statement for some
time now. I think that it is true, and I believe that this class has helped to
sharpen its words. I would like to share with you what my mission statement is.
My mission is to use my skills, both innate
and learned, to aid in the advancement of others. I will care for, serve, and
advocate for those with and without a voice. I will be known by my family,
friends and acquaintances as a person of integrity, honesty, reliability and
loyalty. I will always remember that even though I cannot change circumstances,
I can change my response to them. I will never stop learning and will
continually strive to maintain an open mind.
I strive to be a leader; a leader in the
digital age who inspires, not manages. David Marquet (2014) was able to lead
his team to be the best versions of themselves, by allowing them to
metaphorically and physically take the wheel. Marques recognized that the
weaknesses that he had were in fact some strengths of his team. He recognized
that the sum of their skills collectively when used to their fullest was
greater than the individual talents with a governor applied to them.
I mean, no one would ever dream of keeping
this beauty down right? We recognize her potential, and when the time comes we
take her out on the open road and let her show us her stuff. Marquet knew this
of his people, and he created a team of winners waiting for their turn on the
open road. I hope that I am able to inspire the same leader-growing confidence
in the people on my team.
I love the idea of complexity science. I
realize that in the future of healthcare, we need to keep in mind the balance
of people and their value. I have learned that people of different personality
types are all needed on our teams. The value and balance they bring are
invaluable. If we have a team of all extroverts, we may not get much done
except socialization. This does not serve our team or our goals. Instead,
when we add people to our team that are of different personalities and
strengths, we are able to function in a way that unites us. Take the Rockettes
for example. I bet when you think of the American staple of a dance troupe, you
think of similarity. In fact they are not similar, they come in different
heights, and ethnic backgrounds. A visual illusion is created by blending their
strengths. By placing the tallest ladies in the middle and working their way
out they create a visual that makes us feel like they are all the same exact
height. We are also fooled into thinking that they are leaning on each other.
It certainly looks like that right? In fact they are not. They position their
arms in a way that checks their position, but doesn’t touch their neighbor. The
truth is, that if they were leaning on their neighbor, no one would be able to
be their best, they would all be hindered by the limitations of the person leaning
on them. Instead, they use their own individual strengths to each pull off
their best performance that makes the overall performance so much more magical.
I realize how important this magic is, and it comes from diversity.
Emotional intelligence is a huge factor that I
took away from this class. Though the recent past has taught me its importance,
this class has helped solidify its place in my leadership skill set. It is kind
of like the framework for a puzzle. There are so many pieces to put into place,
but if we use our EQ like that outside edge of the puzzle, we know we will be
adding to the big picture. Simon Sinek (2011) had so many words of wisdom in
this area, but I think the thing that I feel is the most impactful were
his words about not sending emails late at night or first thing in the morning.
We need to take our time and decide if it’s worth the cost. I can’t help of
thinking of Jim Jefferies (2015) a comedian who was making a point about gun
control. He was speaking to the fact that as humans, we react then think. He
points out that the constitution was written at a time when muskets were the
gun of the day. He points out that if we still used muskets, we would not have
as much gun violence as we do today. He says “You know what is good about
muskets? It gives you a lot of time to calm down.” He then mimics pouring
the gunpowder into the gun, then packing it down. He says, by the time
you are done getting the musket ready, you might think “ahh,… you’re not a
bad guy.” While this is obviously a comedic routine, it gives real
life examples. When we fire off our responses in anger, we shoot before we
think. When we use a musket to fire, we can pack down our emotions and allow
the logic of the situation to come to the top. I don't want my words to hurt
anyone, and I know that my metaphoric musket will help me to think before I
shoot.
All musket talk aside, I know that resolving
conflict is more about understanding and better communication than being right.
One of the principles that Susan Clark and CrisMarie Campbell (2015) spoke of,
and really stuck with me, was using the force of the energy from the conflict
to dive deeper into what the real issue is. It helps us ask the questions that
we may not have asked. I know that conflict is inevitable and probable, but I
also know that I have more tools in my tool box now to use. I know that it is
my goal to help both sides get to “yes”. I know that I can and will encourage
positivity. Because after all, success is hard work. Success is even harder
when our front line has a person who is negative. A coach once told me that
wearing weights of negativity around does not make us stronger over time…it in
fact makes us much weaker and less effective. Dana Casperson (2015) says that
conflict can give us the energy to talk about what matters. This is helpful in
both flushing out what the actual conflict is, but helping to change that
negativity into positivity.
Yesterday, I had the best compliment that I
could ask for. I have established that my “why” is to make people smile so that
they can relax and be ready for change or education or whatever is needed at
the time. While at an all day event with my organization yesterday, I went up
and introduced myself to one of the newer managers from one of the other
clinics. I shook her hand, welcomed her and told her that I was excited to see
her at that event, as I hadn’t had the opportunity of meeting her yet (we work
at different buildings). She then gave me a huge smile and said “Oh, I
remember seeing you at our Ambulatory Spotlight Meeting in January. You had so
much energy and excitement about what your staff had accomplished in the last
year. You made me smile, and think ‘How could you NOT want to grow and change
with her as your leader?’” Yes! (Insert happy dance here) I have gotten my
“why” across to at least one person, and maybe more. While I realize that I
cannot win over everyone all the time. I do know that I have impacted
someone…and that is a good start. It actually made me think of Fred Lee’s
presentation (2011). I was the person remembered for how good I made someone
feel. As a Leader, we don’t get many Kudos, we give them. It was nice to have
had one given to me.
I know change is hard, but it is necessary. I
am truly lucky to work for an organization that KNOWS where we are headed and
are on the right path. In fact, our EVP/COO said yesterday “We are living in
a digital age, and we know healthcare is changing. We are on track to be on the
right side of that change. I am so grateful that we have leaders like you all
who are leading your staff to make that change at the front line…” she went
on to speak of how we are such a large diverse group that is spread across a
lot of locations. I wanted to raise my hand and say “That is a complex adaptive
system you just described!” instead, I giggled to myself and felt pride
that I had learned the “How” of our organizations journey. It was all coming
together for me now. Looking back I realize that when I started in this Lean
model line clinic, I was told that our “True North” was our patients. I, of
course, felt like this should have been a no-brainer, but these last few weeks,
I realized something: Our “True North” is really our “Why”. We love serving
children and their families in all ways possible. Our “How” is by transforming
ourselves from a linear organization into a digital age, complex adaptive
system. Our “What” is the Lean system for performance management. Sinek (2010).
This speaks to what Pat Ebright (2010) talks about when she speaks of where
healthcare needs to go, and what needs to happen for it to get there.
To quote an old Chinese Proverb: “Feed a
man a fish and they eat for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.” This quote has come to mind several times during the course
of this class. I realize that I am that type of leader. Transformational
leadership, it turns out, is my style. I admit to sometimes doing more things
myself than I need, but usually that is because I know my staff is too busy to
take on even one more thing. Having said that, I am also likely to give back to
them a problem that is theirs.
Just recently, we started having more
providers on Mondays and Tuesdays than any other days. This poses a problem
with scheduling. To be more specific, granting people’s requests to have time
off. Some people just like to have off Mondays, others might have a trip
planned all day, etc. I saw that this is becoming unfair and asked my staff to
give me input on how to proceed with their schedules. I gave them two options
and asked them for input and asked them to come up with other suggestions as
well.
They were kind of confused at first, but then
one nurse said “Well, this is our time off, we need to find the fairest way
to go forward” I was asked a few clarification questions and had to add the
ever popular “This of course is as staffing allows…meaning if something
weird comes up, I might have to change things up a bit for that occasion.” They
all, of course, lamented over that last bit, but still understand that we have
patients to see. They knew that those patients are why we get to come to work.
There were a few holdouts who were trying to find the best possible scenario
for their own situation.
Ultimately, they all agreed on what they
thought was the most fair way. They even said, “We may need to just do more
trading or communication to each other when we need a day off.” I was
very pleased, I had given them a problem, and they solved it. They, as well,
were thinking into the future about how to take care of those one-off times
when they might need extra help. This is what Transformative Leadership means
to me. I know the needs of my staff are important, but always doing things for
them will not serve their needs or our patients’. I know the road to transformation
is long, but I have brought a few new tools along with me and plan on camping
out in order to see it through.
Thank you so much for encouraging us to see
the leaders in ourselves. I have enjoyed this class more than I would have ever
expected.
References
T. (2015, July
13). Conflict is a place of possibility. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=115&v=WfQeH3092Sc
T. (2015, July
13). Conflict – Use It, Don’t Defuse It | CrisMarie Campbell & Susan Clarke
| TEDxWhitefish. Retrieved January 18, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o97fVGTjE4w
M. (2016, June
07). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=NzBqJNh8z2U
T. (2011, April
06). TEDxMaastricht - Fred Lee - "Patient Satisfaction or Patient
Experience ?" . Retrieved February 06, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylvc9dY400
M. (2010,
February 02). Complex Adaptive System Theory. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=VNFFEJqz9YA
TEDTalks: Simon Sinek--How
Great Leaders Inspire Action [Video file]. (2010, May). Retrieved
January 7, 2018, from blob:https://embed.ted.com/ecfb94a1-b469-455a-abf2-658e2663e4c4
T. (2011, April
06). First why and then trust. Retrieved February 15, 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VdO7LuoBzM
What is
Leadership? (2014, May 17). Retrieved January 7, 2018, from https://youtu.be/pYKH2uSax8U
No comments:
Post a Comment