I have had this blog topic bubbling away in my little brain without the time to knock it out here, but ever since returning from the inaugural PEER conference I have been wanting to blog about this topic.
An over arching theme at the PEER conference is the unknown of what will construct medical landscape. Allow me please...ACO's, Medical Home, ICD-10...we are back to more change, or if you are new to the industry, more of the same with perhaps bigger impact. Also, allow me to plug the PEER conference for those of you who may have been on the fence about attending. If you are looking for a difference experience on how to connect and exchange with your peers and colleagues on timely topics-this is the the conference for you. Back to the topic at hand...
I recently had the pleasure as a guest speaker at a local college here in the Denver area to a Healthcare Management department. I had a room full of students wanting to know "what it takes" to get in the business. One of the more pressing questions from the group was if clinical knowledge was required. Interesting. No, I said, even if you are managing nursing staff, you do not need clinical experience. Recently, this topic was addressed in two difference publications-The Harvard Business Review and The New York Times. "Technical and functional expertise matters less than leadership skills and a strong grasp of business fundamentals", was how the HBR explained what was needed to reach the "C-suite".
However, here is my favorite research nuggest from the New York Times written about Google's new management approach: "leave people alone" (and I'm thinking...if only they would leave me alone!). Google also found in their corporate management journey that employees value "even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems" by asking the questions and avoided dictating. It's SO difficult isn't it? Am I the only one that feels like I have my hand up in the back of the room pleading "pick me, pick me" when your staff or physicians have an issue that you know they have to work through themselves and your role is simply to lead them?
Back to the PEER conference...if you haven't heard or spoken with anyone that attended, the keynote address was delivered by a maestro conducting a full ochestra scattered throughout the audience. The connection to management and leadership was immense and moving and I highly recommend reading the book "Maestro". So, as I look ahead at all of the newest challenge and change in healthcare with regard to ACO's (where does my group belong-or not), ICD10 (ugh) along with all of the regular day-to-day issues and how best to explain the impact to my staff and physicians, I know I will need to dig deep into my leadership style. Roger Nierenberg writes in "Maestro", "A leader must commit to that which has not yet happened. Otherwise, you are not really leading; in fact you are following." Have you all been reading the banter on the member communities? I have noticed one theme and that is we have all committed to the healthcare landscape and patient care delivery WILL change. How? This is where we all have digressed dependent upon our markets, locations, what our group dynamics are, etc. But this is alright, because this is part of what leadership is about; jumping in and getting messy with it.
Google's team spend lots of hours and research on what it takes to make their bosses better. Everyone is always looking for what the next new thing is in leadership, however Google's data suggests that not much as changed in terms of what makes for an effective leader and was able to condense it down to two things. Make sure you have time for the people you are leading, and be consistent. I would also add to step off the podium every once in a while and let your musicians play-without the baton in their face.
Bibliography:
Bryant, A. "Google's Quest to Build a Better Boss." The New York Times online. March 2011.
Groysberg, B., Kelly, L. Kevin and MacDonald, B. "The New Path to the C-Suite." Harvard Business Review
Magazine. March, 2011
Nierenberg, R. Maestro: A surprising Story about Leading by Listening. 2009. Penguin: New York City, NY. p. 85.