Leadership Skill Building

Leaders, Don’t Underestimate the Impact You Have on Employee Perceptions

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How employees perceive things often depends on their leader. I often speak to organizations that are undergoing a merger or consolidation. (This is happening a lot right now.) In my presentation to the group, I will usually talk about the many benefits of joining a larger system. For example, it gives them access to capital and technology. It lets them leverage their size to save money on supply chain purchases. It helps them standardize things,…
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Be a Fire Starter

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What a privilege it is to be a Fire Starter—to help others keep their own flame of life burning brightly. This thought came to mind when I received an email from Rani Brahmbhatt, a student at George Washington University, after a talk I had given. She shared her takeaways and closed the message with, “I hope to become a Fire Starter and build a successful career helping others as well!” I first heard the term…
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We Are All Day-to-Day, So Let’s Act With Urgency

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“He is listed as day-to-day.” This is a term used in sports when there is uncertainty about whether a player will play in an upcoming game. Vin Scully, the late, great play-by-play announcer of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, immortalized this term when he said, “He’s day-to-day, but then again, aren’t we all?” This quote became top of my mind when I spent time with Harold Dawson, a friend of mine. Both of us know the…
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Narrate and Celebrate Positive Change

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Things have changed so much! Hard to believe it is the same place. When we see a community, or a place of work, or even a person often, changes in them appear to take place gradually. Things seem to move slowly or not at all. When we’re away for a while and then see the person or place again, changes may feel dramatic. After my book Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America was published,…
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Be the Boss of Your Brain: A Framework to Help Leaders Fight Burnout and THRIVE

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While the path to healthcare leadership can be exhilarating, it can also wear people down when they don’t know how to manage the stress that comes with it. Yet it is possible for leaders (and everyone) to avoid burnout and thrive in healthcare, regardless of our industry’s pressures. It requires being what Annamarí Dietrichson calls “the boss of your brain.”

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How (and Why) to Make Continuous Improvement Part of Your Culture

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Part two of a two-part series on innovation Innovation often comes from outside an organization. Why? “Outsiders” have fresh eyes and are not undoing something from the inside. As discussed last week, people are comfortable with things staying the same (assuming what is taking place works to a degree). In a session on change, the presenter asked us to cross our arms. We did this easily. For me, it is my left arm over my right. We…
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The Best Leaders Are “Unsettlers.” (Moving People Past Pushback.)

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Part one of a two-part series on innovation. March 20th was the first day of Spring. I find people are psychologically motivated this time of year to take a fresh look at how we do things and make positive changes. That’s why this felt like the perfect time for a two-part series on innovation. “The six most expensive words in business are: ‘We’ve always done it that way.’” Abby Spence, the CEO/Administrator for Signature HealthCARE of…
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Everyone Is Important, and Every Job Matters

Everyone Is Important, and Every Job Matters

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My last column was on uplifters. By this I mean people who lift others up. When I wrote the column, I was not aware that the week it was published, I would be uplifted by spending two days with the leadership team at Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) in California. This organization is well regarded for many reasons. One is that Loma Linda has the world’s first proton unit used for cancer patients. Another is…
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We May Never Know the Impact We’ve Made on Another Person’s Life

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Never underestimate the difference you make. This statement was born in 1999 as I spoke to a group from Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. I had arrived in the area the night before my presentation. I called my sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Mike Fitzpatrick. Why? On December 24, 1995, their son Brian had been in a car accident and was transferred to Christ Hospital where he was pronounced dead. I had never previously discussed…
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Lean Into Feedback, Tell on Yourself…and Don’t Quit Until the Miracle Happens

Lean Into Feedback, Tell on Yourself…and Don’t Quit Until the Miracle Happens

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Last week, I shared some insights from some of my favorite columns of 2024. My goal was to find some simple, yet impactful actions readers can work on to improve their leadership skills in 2025. This week I’d like to share a few more. With the holidays upon us and the end of the year almost here, I find myself feeling introspective. My observation is that when we share our most personal thoughts and feelings, we…
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