(LIVE BLOG from Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future, April 28-29, in Atlanta, GA)
Generational friction is real. But Dan Collard says we often diagnose it wrong.
In his session, Genfluence: Leading a Multigenerational Workforce (Human Capital Ecosystem™: Coworker Relationships), Dan challenged leaders to change the way we think about generational tension. Older leaders might assume younger employees are entitled, fragile, or difficult. But usually, the issue is mismatched expectations, not bad intent.
Misalignment, not malice.
That mind shift matters, because culture shifts person by person, not policy by policy.
Dan introduced the idea of becoming a professional workplace influencer, or “Genfluencer.” In healthcare, influence isn’t always top-down, and it’s not based on tenure alone. Younger employees bring new ways of thinking. Experienced leaders bring context and stability. Leaders can and should influence across generations.
He shared a leadership reboot framework called Control + Alt + Lead:
Control yourself first.
Alter your view of other generations.
Lead differently.
There are eight steps in the framework:
- Take the Focus off the Other Person and Put It on You.
- Get a Good Diagnosis of the Situation.
- Create an Individualized Approach for the Person You Are Managing.
- Assume Good Intent and Give People the Benefit of the Doubt.
- Keep Them Connected to Their Why.
- Build Age-Diverse Teams, Create Psychological Safety, and Break Down Generational Silos.
- Ask Yourself: Do I Really Do a Great Job Positioning the Next Generation for Success?
- See Every Interaction as a Trust-Building Opportunity.
Don’t try to do it all at once, and don’t worry about order. Pick one or two and focus.
Dan really brought #7 to life with a terrific story about something he saw during a Cheap Trick concert. Lead vocalist Robin Zander noticed his son Robin Taylor Zander struggling to retune his guitar. So, he went over to the son right in the middle of the song and gave him a squeeze on the shoulder. What did the squeeze mean? “You’ve got this and I’m here if you need me.”
Imagine how it feels to a new employee who is struggling to have an experienced leader give “the dad squeeze” or “the mom squeeze.” Their support really matters. (You might be tempted to rescue the inexperienced person, but that doesn’t help.)
That squeeze on the shoulder is how we position the next generation. Someone did it for us. Let’s do it for them.
About Dan Collard, Co-founder, Partner, Healthcare Plus Solution Group:
Dan Collard is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 27 years of healthcare industry experience including operations, consulting, and technology start-ups. He is the co-founder of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group along with long-time colleague Quint Studer.
Most recently, Dan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of TeamHealth, one of the nation’s largest hospital-based physician practices.
Prior to joining TeamHealth, Dan served as President of Press Ganey’s Strategic Consulting Division and as CEO of EVOQ Medical, Inc. a healthcare technology start-up in Atlanta.
Dan spent 13 years at Studer Group as a senior leader, where he served organizations ranging from rural hospitals to complex health systems and academic medical centers.
Prior to his time at Studer Group, Collard was a health system operator within Life Point Health.
Dan has always enjoyed the role of change agent within each organization he has led. In healthcare operations, Dan and his leadership teams helped their organizations attain best-in-class performance across a balanced set of metrics: quality, patient experience, physician and employee engagement, volume growth and financial performance.
His passion for improving healthcare led to Dan being asked to testify In June 2014 before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs in the run-up to the bill signed into law that August.
