“Prove them right.” This was how Greg Hughes, Executive Vice President, Communications, NBC Sports responded when I asked him about his career success. Greg…
Healthcare leaders need a path forward, and they need it now. Workforce churn, AI acceleration, payer pressure, policy shifts and other factors are converging in…
How much impact does leadership inexperience have on your organization? I feel the sleeping giant today in terms of operational excellence is the number…
Healthcare feels different now—because it is. Workforces are smaller, demand is rising, and culture expectations have changed. In a recent episode of the Healthcare…
Emergency department volumes are up. Patient complexity is rising. And care teams are often newer, stretched, and carrying more emotional load than ever before.…
Healthcare doesn’t need a fresh start—it needs a thoughtful rewire. Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future brings together senior leaders to step back…
How we “show up” at work matters. It matters for everyone, but especially for leaders as we are in a position to influence so many others. Are we fully present and engaged…or distracted? Are we calm, centered, and focused…or scattered? Positive and optimistic…or skeptical? Open and accessible…or unapproachable? Energized and ready to work…or passive? As leaders, everything we do and say is amplified. Our words and actions have a tremendous impact on the daily experience…
It is hard to believe 2022 is half over already. Yet here we are in the middle of June. That means at Studer Family of Companies (SFOC), it is time for mid-year reviews. Many times, companies schedule annual performance reviews. They have one-on-one meetings, and they have department meetings. This column is about adding a mid-year conversation. Employees are hard to come by these days. We need to do everything possible to engage and retain…
My writings are based on experiences, either my own or those I hear about from others. Today I’d like to write about that ability one achieves to be able to not confuse effort with results. Yes, I admire effort. Yes, effort often leads to results. Effort can be a very good thing. However, it is possible to put forth a lot of effort and still fall short on the desired outcome. This does not mean…
All jobs have their good points and their moments of challenge. To me, one of the most challenging roles of all is done by those who work in middle management. A middle manager is not in the senior role and not in the hourly role. They are sandwiched in between and are expected to meet the needs of both groups. As discussed in this column a few years ago, the best organizations tend to be…
When can we start holding people accountable again? This is a question I frequently receive. It does not mean that there is no accountability. What it does mean is that due to staff shortages, leaders are tending to lower the bar on expectations and accountability. It makes sense. If there are not enough staff to provide service, the business may need to reduce hours. This can lead to not having enough revenue to keep the doors…
I read lots of research. That means I regularly see formulas like N=500 or N=600 or N=1,000. The N stands for number, and the number afterward stands for how many people are included in the data. In essence, for research purposes, the larger the number the better in most cases. Statistics is very interesting to me. For instance, there is a certain number at which the results are considered reliable. The higher the N, the better the…
We learn by doing. Recently a personal situation came up that I did not know how to handle. I called someone to ask for advice. The advice I received was to be compliant with the process that people with expertise were recommending. It seems the more experience I get, the easier it is to break what I once made complex down to simple steps. I believe that is true for many people. My father was…
This column is about how to lead change. I am starting with a story on traffic roundabouts. They are a great example of leading change due to people’s initial reaction to them. I live in Pensacola, Florida. I live close to 17th Street. It intersects with Main Street (Bayfront), which is a major thoroughfare for people going to and from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach. When a new bridge was announced, the plans included…
As some of you know, I have started a biweekly podcast in which I chat with leaders from all industries on how they’re tackling the many challenges we face today. Most recently I had the privilege of speaking with Mark Clement, who is the CEO and president of TriHealth, a $2.1 billion healthcare system in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Click here to listen.) This was an important conversation for several reasons. One, healthcare has been one of the hardest-hit industries during…