Last week we talked about how inexperience impacts your organization. The next question becomes just as important: What are you doing to help those new…
A quiet truth sits beneath every workforce conversation in healthcare: Retention doesn’t begin when someone resigns, but in the everyday experience of work. I was…
Healthcare leaders are navigating unprecedented pressure: staffing shortages, burnout, rapid technological change, and rising expectations from patients and teams alike. In this environment, leadership…
In healthcare today, headlines often highlight workforce shortages, financial pressures, regulatory complexity, and the many stressors facing healthcare organizations—realities that are certainly present. When…
Healthcare doesn’t need a fresh start—it needs a thoughtful rewire. Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future brings together senior leaders to step back…
Building trust between leaders and employees (and vice versa) is an ongoing effort. Like all culture change, it doesn’t happen overnight. The work of trust building never “done.” Once earned, trust needs to be nurtured daily. However, there are encouraging signs that you’re on the right track. Here are some of the most noticeable: There’s a sense of belonging and camaraderie. People are welcoming to new hires. Coworker relationships seem friendly and people want to…
In my books and presentations, I often share the positive impact my third-grade teacher, Mrs. James, had as well as my high school soccer coach, Mr. King. I get asked if I ever thanked them. I never found Mrs. James, so the answer is no for her. Years ago, when I was speaking in Easley, South Carolina, they asked me to share my Coach King story from my book Hardwiring Excellence. As I finished my talk, Coach…
I’ve been diving deep into research on trust lately. When trust is present in an organization great things happen. There’s less anxiety. There’s more comfort in sharing concerns. This leads to people more freely sharing suggestions on how to make things better and staff are more likely to stay. Trust takes a long time to build and a short time to lose. Lots of factors are involved. In fact, there’s so much to say that Dr. Katherine…
Summer is dwindling away, and we can all feel the change in the air. I think of this as the tale of two seasons. Different people respond to this time very differently. Some people get really excited about the arrival of a new school year. They’re happy school is back in session. Fall sports are starting. They love the drives to see the changing leaves and cooler weather. These are the people whose social media…
In thriving healthcare organizations, trusting relationships are a foundational piece of the culture. Trust is mutual: we tend to trust people who also trust us. That’s why one of the best ways for leaders to build trust is to show trust. Here is an action that demonstrates trust: When working on a problem, ask employees for help. Share a situation or a challenge and ask employees “What do you think?” Some people will need more time. Ask them to think about the…
As school starts back, we often think about teachers and all the lives they touch. In a presentation at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, I showed photos of myself in third grade at Congress Park Elementary School in Brookfield, Illinois, and on the Lyons Township High School soccer team in La Grange, Illinois. I pointed out my third-grade teacher, Miss James, and my soccer coach, Coach King, and shared the impact they and other teachers…
Looking to spark a trust-building conversation with someone you lead? Start with a question. Asking (not telling) builds rapport, fosters psychological safety, and makes people feel heard and valued. It’s a great way to show them you care about their thoughts and ideas. In the book I wrote in collaboration with Dr. Katherine Meese–The Human Margin: Building the Foundations of Trust—we share a list of trust-building questions leaders can ask during rounding and at other…
We are all students. I love the statement, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Being “ready” in this context means being self-aware and coachable. As I was researching The Busy Leader’s Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive, I interviewed Harry Gruner. Harry is the managing partner of JMI, a growth equity firm. He shared that each year they are approached by and look at hundreds of companies seeking investment. They then…
We know good leader communication is a powerful trust builder. A point that sometimes gets missed is that, just like trust, communication is a two-way street. Recently we looked at what leaders can do to improve their odds of being heard …. but what can the employees do to make sure they hear and act on those messages? A few tips: Meet with employees and ask: “What does good communication look like?” Go around the room and…
Are you a “get to” person or a “got to/have to” person? In my presentations, I put up a PowerPoint slide that has the words “got to” and “have to” with a line through them. Then I feature the words “get to.” I tell the audience, “One of my goals for when we leave here is for each of us to use the words ‘get to’ more than ‘have to’ or ‘got to.’” There is a sense of gratitude and…