On the Healthcare Plus podcast, I recently interviewed Leonard Friedman, PhD, FACHE, director of the Executive MHA program at the George Washington University, Washington,…
Hard to believe, but 2024 is almost over. A good way to wrap up the old year is by thinking about what we might do differently in the new one. How can we set ourselves up to be better, more successful leaders, employees, and human beings in the new year? In thinking how best to answer this question, I revisited some columns I’ve written over the past year. Here are a few actions to focus…
You have likely heard the statement that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason: to spend twice as much time listening as we spend talking. It is true. Many of us could stand to become better listeners. Research tells us listening is a skill with positive outcomes for both the talker and the listener. For example, good listening: Improves relationships by making interactions more meaningful. Builds trust. Good listeners are perceived as more…
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing my longtime friend Dr. Thom Mayer for the Healthcare Plus Podcast. Thom, who is a crisis management expert, has an incredible career. He is the medical director for the NFL Players Association, executive vice president of leadership for LogixHealth, founder of BestPractices Inc., clinical professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University, and senior lecturing fellow at Duke University. Thom has a new book out called Leadership Is Worthless…But…
As Thanksgiving approaches, we think about gratitude. I find that our level of gratefulness shows up in the words we choose. I get to be with people on a regular basis, as organizations ask me to speak at events. I always individualize the content to the organization. One size never fits all. Yet there is one common theme I do find applies to every group. I always ask, “When you are getting ready to take…
On the Healthcare Plus podcast, I recently interviewed Leonard Friedman, PhD, FACHE, director of the Executive MHA program at the George Washington University, Washington, D.C. He and his colleague Wayne Psek, MD, PhD, had written an article in Healthcare Executive. The title, “Developing Leadership Competencies for an Uncertain Future,” caught my attention. In healthcare, we have so many new leaders. We hear a lot about getting back to basics, but how do we do that when so many…
I do my best learning when I’m working on something that does not come easy. Being naturally pessimistic, my focus is on ways to become optimistic. Being naturally afraid and anxious leads to the search to be grateful and less fearful. My search for results leads me to understand how important structure is to achieve the results. There is a saying, “I did not get what I wanted; however, what I got was what I…
When the person you report to sees you coming toward them, is their thought, Here comes some good news! or, Here comes a solution! Or is their emotion more like, What now? In my talks, I often cite the opposite scenario: what employees think when a supervisor contacts them. Some examples of this are below. But keep reading to see what happens when the message is reversed. A question I ask groups is, “When you receive…
In facilitating many groups, we do a table activity. We ask each person to share with the others why they stay working in their organization. Having now facilitated this a thousand times, the word I hear most often—in fact, almost always—is family. “My coworkers are like my family.” “I spend more waking hours with my coworkers than my family.” “When my mother was sick, my coworkers held me together.” “When my son died in an accident,…
What is empathy? I’ve heard it explained as being aware of, sensitive to, and having the ability to vicariously experience the thoughts and feelings of another. Empathy continues to make a difference in people’s lives. Showing empathy in the workplace can start when an employee is first hired or takes on a new role in the organization. When a person accepts a job, they do not do so with the goal of not having the…
Lately I’ve been writing and speaking a lot about trust. One of the foundation stones of building a culture of trust is information sharing. It’s so important that leaders share information, not just with our own department but across the organization. It breaks down silos, prevents mistakes and duplication of work, and lays the groundwork for good decision making. And, as I will share later, there are lots of other benefits too. But first, let’s…