Month: June 2019

“I am a teacher. It’s how I define myself. A good teacher isn’t someone who gives answers out … but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed. That’s the way I see myself. So whatever it is that I will do eventually after politics, it’ll have a lot to do with teaching.” – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada Strong managers are great teachers. And great teachers are constant learners. Organizations seldom describe the role of an effective manager as “teacher.” But indeed, the philosophy described by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau captures the essence of what it means to lead a team in a way that nurtures staff engagement and maximizes results. That’s why the first and foundational

While the health care executives we work with universally agree on the benefits of leader rounding conversations with both patients and staff, theories vary widely on how to make these interactions most helpful and productive. Effectively choreographing these conversations depends much more on active listening to empathetically judge where to take the discussion than on inane scripts or lists of questions. A warm, sincere introduction and the right initial open-ended question can make or break the quality of the remainder of the encounter. One of the best initial questions I’ve ever heard came from a recent conversation with Peggy Frizzell, the director of patient experience for Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, VA. Peggy said that to open the conversation and really get to know