HEALT HCARE MANAGEMENT
Potential High
Low
Performance
High
DC Low
Figure 3
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A si a n H o s p i t a l & H ea lt hcar e M an age me n t
they were responsible, to talk about how they viewed them, and to discuss their plans for development. It was also an opportunity to get feedback from other senior leaders about how they saw the young leaders’ performance and potential from a different point of interaction. The nine-box sessions had two important values. First, leaders gained clearer and broader views of their staff, and second, it set a tone of everyone being responsible for the growth and development of every young leader in the organisation. You have to be completely clear about what you expect from leaders and give them the tools to deliver it to
Author BIO
make sure they have the right tools and adequate staffing, and to get a better understanding of the work. As we evaluate our leaders, we must understand the difference between doing things and accomplishing something of substance. If all we, as leaders, do is hold our staff accountable, to follow rules or checkboxes, the most talented staff become disillusioned, disengaged, and will not help you build forward. Holding staff accountable is always looking backward; being responsible for the success of your staff is looking forward. To deliver on excellence, young leaders will need to find a balance between the two. This is consistent with our theme that leadership is a responsibility to serve, not a license to rule. To build leaders, you need to be intentional and disciplined. A key tool we learned from General Electric was the nine-box matrix (Figure 3). Our senior-most leadership group would gather, and each would score the performance and potential of all their managers, supervisors, and directors. It was a chance for each to present the young leaders for whom
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the staff. Assuming that mid- or even upper-level leaders are all on board is a mistake. Make expectations, lines of communication, and performance as transparent as possible. This will build a culture and an ever-increasing level of performance from all staff. Maureen Bisognano from IHI said “You cannot give what you do not have. If the staff do not feel cared for they can't care, to embrace you have to been embraced, to respect you have to been respected. Do not be stunned by your staff’s lack of care, connection or respect if they have not through their eyes been cared for, connected with and respected.” I would argue that this applies not only to the frontline staff but across all levels in your organisation. To compete against the best, you have to aim to be the best. That starts with developing the best environment for your staff. To attract and retain the best young leaders, you have to know and be clear about why you're here (the purpose) where you're going (the mission, vision, and commitment) and what values will guide the culture in which they will be immersed. It takes courage to set bold goals and clear standards for all. It takes discipline to follow through on both systems and people building. And it takes durability to stay with your plan despite constant pressure to compromise your values in the interest of short-term gains. The path is not complicated, it is just very hard.
Jeffrey E Thompson, MD, is executive advisor and chief executive officer emeritus at Gundersen Health System. Dr. Thompson is a trained pediatric intensivist and neonatologist, and served as Gundersen’s chief executive officer from 2001 to 2015. After completing his professional training in 1984, Dr. Thompson came to Gundersen with a desire to care for patients and to teach. He was asked to serve on Gundersen’s boards beginning in 1992 and was chairman of the board from 2001 to 2014. Author “Lead True, Live your values, Build your people, Inspire your community”