I was recently asked what was the most important thing I’ve done to bring positive change to the Children\u2019s Hospital where I\u2019m a leader. I was surprised by the question because we’re early in the journey, what we\u2019ve accomplished so far certainly isn\u2019t just my doing, and it isn\u2019t just from one thing. \u00a0 I replied, \u201cRelentless alignment, disciplined improvement, and empowering accountability.\u201d \u00a0But I quickly realized it\u00a0didn\u2019t answer the question: “What’s the One Thing?”<\/p>\n
Is it Relentless Alignment? \u00a0<\/strong>This\u00a0does take the most effort and time. Alignment is important and one must be relentless in pursuing it. I started with the creation of a vision and plan, followed by formulating specific metrics and milestones. \u00a0And then came the constant consistent communication, which included clarity around priorities and transparency regarding results. \u00a0Alignment is about inspiring a shared vision and creating a renewed culture of excellence.<\/p>\n Is it Disciplined Improvement?<\/strong>\u00a0 Constancy of purpose around continuously improving quality is important, but without discipline, it doesn\u2019t happen. Consistent use of standard methods at all levels, and especially by the senior leaders, coupled with a culture of open communication, experimentation, and learning are required. It\u2019s about the 20-mile march. We are using Lean and the science of quality improvement to provide the needed discipline. \u00a0We manage our projects using a disciplined approach. \u00a0And we\u00a0prioritize our projects using decision support tools when possible. \u00a0Lean and CQI work well when used consistently with an unwavering discipline. \u00a0Standard work is a powerful tool. \u00a0Quality improvement is about optimizing outcomes while minimizing waste engaging everyone in the process using standard work to do so.<\/p>\n Is it Empowering Accountability?<\/strong>\u00a0 I call this Management by Leadership. \u00a0When things don\u2019t happen as expected or performance is less than desired, its often a systems issue, a communication problem, a structural misalignment, a talent and\/or resource issue. And often one of the root causes is a lack of staff engagement. Front-line management often isn\u2019t equipped or empowered to address these higher level issues. We\u2019ve been emphasizing leadership more than management and systems more then individuals when it comes to what needs to work better. \u00a0I will admit, however, that I’m a management fanatic underneath. \u00a0I have checklists for everything. \u00a0However, I consider myself a management disciple of W. Edwards Deming. \u00a0I follow his theory of profound knowledge: \u00a0appreciation of systems, theory of knowledge, the psychology of change, and understanding of variation.<\/p>\n In health care, superb leadership is a must-have. \u00a0Yes, management excellence is also needed, but its best when born from excellent leadership. \u00a0The Leadership Challenge articulated by Kouzes and Posner has been a useful frame for me. \u00a0Leaders 1) inspire a shared vision, 2) model the way, 3) challenge the process, 4) enable others to act, and 5) encourage the heart. I see these 5 things as enabling a leader to achieve relentless alignment, disciplined improvement, and empowering accountability.<\/p>\n So, to answer the question \u201cwhat is the most important thing?\u201d I would have to say leadership is the most important thing that has made a difference at our children\u2019s hospital.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was recently asked what was the most important thing I’ve done to bring positive change to the Children\u2019s Hospital where I\u2019m a leader. I was surprised by the question because we’re early in the journey, what we\u2019ve accomplished so far certainly isn\u2019t just my doing, and it isn\u2019t just from one thing. \u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions\/170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}