Advice Archives - Stamp & Chase

3 Tips for Dealing With Politics (or Other Touchy Subjects)

Sometimes, inspiration for my blog post comes from unexpected places – like a quiet, late-evening dinner on the road. After a successful day with a client, I arrived back at my hotel for a later-than-usual dinner. There were only a few people left in the restaurant, and I was seated near a table of three gentlemen. While I wasn’t interested in eavesdropping, it was impossible to not hear their conversation in the quiet room. From their discussion it was clear that they all worked for the same company and were traveling together on business. Two middle-aged men were obviously more senior managers, and they were accompanied by a junior colleague who appeared to be in his 20s. What surprised me was how their discussion turned

Burl Stamp November 21, 2023 No Comments

America’s favorite doctor offers remarkable insight into how to improve communication

Enlightening perspective on how to improve the care experience for patients sometimes comes from unexpected places. It might not surprise you to learn that one of America’s best-known, most-beloved doctors has authored a book that provides great insights into how to make communication in health care better – until you learn that that doctor is Hawkeye Pierce. Since he retired as the head surgeon in the 4077th M*A*S*H unit on the iconic 70s television series, Alan Alda has devoted his time and intellectual energy to more than just acting and directing. During the 11 years he spent interviewing scientists for the documentary series Scientific American Frontiers, he became fascinated with how people communicate effectively. The results of his subsequent research are shared in his new

Burl Stamp December 8, 2017 No Comments

medical staffers in meeting with stamp & chase

The Power of Empowerment: “The Village has it Handled!”

In a leadership workshop earlier this month at Summa Health in Akron, OH, a manager shared one of the most definitive, straightforward affirmations of true staff empowerment that I’ve ever heard. She explained that often when an issue or problem arises, by the time she becomes aware of it and approaches her team to work through a solution, she is confidently told, “Don’t worry; the village has it handled.”Empowerment is a frequently vaunted goal for high-functioning teams in today’s leadership literature. But while the term is commonly accepted, I’m not sure it best describes the true power of empowerment. When I clicked on the thesaurus feature in Microsoft Word while writing this post, I actually found a much better list of options: inspire, embolden, encourage,

Burl Stamp October 3, 2017 No Comments

Everyone Can Be a Caregiver (Even a CEO!)

Several years ago I was leading a management workshop at a very large health system. With over 200 people in the room, there was spirited discussion about the opportunities and obstacles to improving the patient experience in the system’s hospitals. I noticed one of the leaders patiently holding her hand up near the back of the room and made my way back to give her the microphone. She hesitantly started, “I’m the director of Environmental Services, and I know we don’t have a direct impact on patients’ care, but ….” While I hated to interrupt her, I just couldn’t let her opening statement stand without a polite challenge. “I’m really sorry, but I have to interrupt,” I respectfully said. “I have a list of stories

Burl Stamp September 5, 2017 No Comments

Why Real Empathy Has to Start with Real Listening

Visiting with patients during rounds is one of the things I love most about my work with health care providers across the country. I remember conversations with patients that cover the range of emotions – uplifting, sad, funny, disheartening, frustrating … and almost always humbling. But it is a conversation with a paraplegic patient at a HealthSouth acute rehabilitation hospital a few years ago that I still reflect on often because of the important lesson it taught me. The nurse manager for the unit explained that Mr. Jones (not his real name) was a frequent patient at HealthSouth and would appreciate a visit. I walked into the room and did everything by the book, just like I’ve explained hundreds of times to thousands of caregivers in

Burl Stamp August 15, 2017 No Comments

Five Ways to Keep Goal Achievement On Track

Part 6 in our Series: A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals In our six-part series, A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals, our first five posts have focused primarily on the front end of the goal setting process. Making sure your goals are specific enough to change behavior, meaningful so they engage the team, agreed-upon for shared success, and realistic enough to be achievable is a great start. Now you have to effectively implement. The final element of our model, “T,” stands for tracked and addresses how the implementation plan and monitoring of results are critical to success.How often are well-stated organizational goals developed and distributed at the start of a new year – then barely addressed by individual teams until 12 months later when we

Burl Stamp August 8, 2017 No Comments

astronaut on moon graphic from stamp & chase

Why B.H.A.G.s without B.H.A.R.s are Pipe Dreams

Part 5 in our Series: A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” That quote from President John F. Kennedy’s speech to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, is perhaps the most often cited example of the philosophy that when you set big goals, amazing things can happen. And who doesn’t want to accomplish amazing things.So the fact that the “R” in our smarter S.M.A.R.T. goals model stands for “realistic” may be surprising. Realistic sounds so safe … hum-drum … even boring. Don’t we want bigger, transformative, inspiring goals? Maybe even “B.H.A.G.s”?Even if

Burl Stamp July 31, 2017 No Comments

Yours, Mine or Ours — Whose Goal is it Anyway?

Part 4 in Our Series: A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals Even the best crafted, precisely-targeted organizational goals are ineffective unless they are embraced by the team responsible for implementing the tactics to achieve them. That’s why the “A” in our smarter S.M.A.R.T. goals model represents “agreed-upon.”The first, most important step in setting goals that are enthusiastically adopted by individuals and teams is to pay attention to two of the other components in our S.M.A.R.T. goals model: making goals meaningful and realistic. Tying a goal to the core purpose of the organization’s work – in health care, how it impacts patients’ care – helps make its achievement more meaningful. Even financial goals can be linked to the short- and long-term fiscal health of the organizations

Burl Stamp July 25, 2017 No Comments

Why should I care?

Part 3 in Our Series: A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals “Please help me connect the dots”In our work with frontline health care staff, this plea is one of the most common ones we hear. With new protocols, payer requirements and regulations shifting constantly, staff understandably struggle to make sense of all of these changes. To President Trump’s comment that “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated,” most frontline caregivers would tell you that they know providing care is more challenging and complex every day. That’s why setting and explaining goals that are meaningful is so important. Chasing the numbers can become all-consuming In today’s metrics-driven world, it is easy for even the most compassionate caregiver to quickly become obsessed with the numbers. Thirty-day

Burl Stamp July 17, 2017 No Comments

Are your goals specific enough to change behavior?

Part 2 in Our Series: A Smarter Approach to S.M.A.R.T. Goals In last week’s blog, I outlined a smarter way for managers to approach S.M.A.R.T. goals. Designed to boost results rather than just improve goal-writing, our model emphasizes how leaders can better use goals to focus their team’s efforts and deliver superior outcomes:While there are many variations on the original S.M.A.R.T. goals model, the “S” almost always stands for “specific.” Writing a SMART goal that is specific means that all aspects of the goal are clearly defined and that it answers the standard 5 W’s (who, what, when, where and why). But even when a well-written goal is specific, it still usually focuses on what you want the end result to be, not on how

Burl Stamp July 12, 2017 No Comments

Category: Advice

3 Tips for Dealing With Politics (or Other Touchy Subjects)

America’s favorite doctor offers remarkable insight into how to improve communication

The Power of Empowerment: “The Village has it Handled!”

Everyone Can Be a Caregiver (Even a CEO!)

Why Real Empathy Has to Start with Real Listening

Five Ways to Keep Goal Achievement On Track

Why B.H.A.G.s without B.H.A.R.s are Pipe Dreams

Yours, Mine or Ours — Whose Goal is it Anyway?

Why should I care?

Are your goals specific enough to change behavior?

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CORTEX Innovation District

20 S. Sarah St., St. Louis, MO 63108

314-299-9373

© 2020 Stamp & Chase

CORTEX Innovation District

20 S. Sarah St., St. Louis, MO 63108

314-299-9373