Leadership Lessons from COVID-19 Stephanie Lin1, Jonathan Guevara1, Arrianna Mohammed1, Fatimah Mozawalla1, Anise Diaz1, Tiffany Jordan1, Judith Brenner1 1Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Background •
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As the New York metropolitan area became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020, Northwell Health emerged as a leader in the crisis, managing more COVID-19 patients than any other NYC health system, and it has since returned to near normal operations.1 The pandemic presented unprecedented leadership challenges and offers opportunities for learning in preparation for future crises.2
Methods •
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In August 2020, 5 medical students of the Klar Leadership Development and Innovation Management program conducted 17 semistructured interviews of crossfunctional leaders across the Northwell Health system to identify lessons learned from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurrent themes and implications for medical students.
Results Challenge 1: Navigating the Unknown
Conclusions •
Solution: Establishing priorities for Northwell was key. These included ensuring staff safety and creating an environment of optimism, confidence, and teamwork. To this end, leadership recognized the unprecedented burden, provided mental / physical support, and ensured they were accessible and visible to those on the front lines. Lesson: People are your greatest asset -- lead through positivity to promote the best in them by providing the resources to support them and being present.
Challenge 2: Rapidly Changing Environment Solution: Central to Northwell’s response was the creation of small, cross-functional decision making groups, modeled on its existing emergency response infrastructure. This led to tight governance and quick decision-making to adapt to the evolving landscape. To augment this change, leadership ensured communication was transparent and frequently disseminated through multiple channels. Decisions were made based on information from every available source, and leadership sought feedback to ensure improvements were made. Lesson: Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Preparing for crises starts by exploring different leadership styles and building trust among your teams. Strong leaders are humble and challenge their own assumptions by keeping their minds open and constantly reevaluating their approach. Communication is critical to every situation and a skill that you can practice now.
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COVID-19, while an unprecedented stressor on the healthcare system, revealed that adaptability, teamwork, trust, and communication continue to be core leadership principles to navigate rapidly evolving situations. It is paramount to learn from and collaborate with other disciplines, both in and outside of medicine, especially with the increasing complexity of healthcare. Medical students actively seek out opportunities to exercise leadership and observe other leaders in action.
References
Challenge 3: Responding to the Scale of the Disaster Solution: Northwell leveraged the full breadth of its resources by responding as a true system. With centralized operations, resources were effectively redistributed among hospitals to match surges in demand. By drawing on expertise across disciplines, creative solutions were developed to increase capacity, including transferring patients between hospitals and creating new spaces for patient care. Lesson: Novel situations require innovative solutions; continue to foster relationships outside of your network and learn from disciplines outside of clinical medicine to broaden your thinking.
Additional Insights • Take care of yourself and set limits to protect your wellbeing; carefully choose where to invest your time. • Focus on doing well at the tasks at hand before seeking additional responsibilities. • Seek mentors to observe, listen, learn, and practice leadership.
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1
Dowling MJ, Kenney C. Leading Through a Pandemic: The Inside Story of Humanity, Innovation, and Lessons Learned during the COVID-19 Crisis. Skyhorse Publishing; 2020. 2 Spivack LB, Spivack M. Understanding and Adapting to Leadership Challenges: Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis in the Bronx. Am J Crit Care. 2020 Sep 21:e1-e3.