Month: December 2020

Healthcare Leadership Development Program

When staff feel they’ve lost control, involving them in decisions is even more critical

All of us have experienced a sense of powerlessness because of COVID-19. For health care professionals, that frustration has been magnified 10-fold. As a result, empowering staff in healthcare is even more important today. While leaders cannot magically reduce the problems caused by the pandemic, they can include staff members in problem-solving and decision-making. Especially now, empowering staff in healthcare by listening to their frustrations and their ideas for addressing them is essential to reduce burnout and turnoer. In this fourth installment in our series, Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus, we talk about the power of empowerment in healthcare in this short video:

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medical doctor holding a gift box

Leadership rounding should be a gift you give your staff … and yourself

It is Christmas Day as I’m writing this blog. This quiet afternoon took me back to a similar Christmas afternoon in 1998. I was the new CEO of Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and that afternoon I made one of the best spur-of-the-moment decisions I’ve ever made as a healthcare leader. It helped me better understand the real power in leadership rounding. Our kids were young at the time. Between the excitement of opening gifts that morning and our traditional holiday dinner, things were very quiet around the house. Out of the blue, I said to my wife Luanne, “I think I’m going to go down to the hospital for a little while.” “To work?!” she said. “It’s Christmas.” “No, just to walk around and tell the

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medical staff in a meeting at stamp & chase

A Forum for Team Conversation — and Venting — is Vital during COVID-19

“Are you crazy?!” That’s the reaction I might get from some leaders when insisting that staff meetings are more important now than ever. Yes, staff meetings take some thought and time to be effective. Leadership during COVID-19 is indeed challenging in many ways. But team meetings are the only place where staff have a chance to have a focused conversation with all their colleagues. That is, when we shut up and let them talk. At no time in recent memory have the demands on leaders been more exhausting and protracted than in 2020. This blog is installment #2 in our series, Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus, which takes a fresh look at our T.E.A.M. leadership model through a COVID-19 lens. With most meetings going

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Medical team reviewing patient vitals graphic from Stamp & Chase

Connecting with your team every day has never been more important

Among the many responsibilities of frontline health care leaders, activities that help the team work as a highly-functioning unit are critically important. Understanding the dynamics of the team as a whole is essential to nurturing the teamwork that improves quality, safety and patient experience. For over three decades, the health care industry has faced rapid change and unique operational, financial and market challenges. But at no time in recent memory have the demands on health care leaders  been more exhausting and protracted than in 2020. This blog is installment #1 in our series, Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus, which takes a fresh look at our T.E.A.M. leadership model through a COVID-19 lens. Each component of the T.E.A.M. leadership model – Teach, Empower, Align and

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