Jump-start Leadership Throughout Your Organization

Encourage all workers to become leaders by following these suggestions from a recent report issued by the Wharton School of Business and management consultants at McKinsey & Co.:

• Encourage employees to be CEOs of their positions. Provide specific examples of what types of initiatives you want them to take. In essence, desirable leadership in the ranks boils down to “a calling to help the organization go in the right direction, which means leading up,” says Michael Useem, director of Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management.

• Foster leadership development at all levels. Make this a focus of training and mentoring programs, and recognize workers who take initiative beyond their normal roles. Consider bringing them along to the next national conference you attend.

• Measure everyone’s leadership actions. For workers with no direct reports, make sure managers assess their “horizontal” leadership skills — their ability to enlist colleagues in working for positive change — during performance evaluations. That can mean everything from helping prioritize departmental projects to stepping in to resolve coworker conflict, suggests Anne Cummings, a Wharton management professor.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re on the front line or the top line,” says Useem. “If you are given an office with the powers of that office, what do you add to the office above and beyond those powers? Do you excite and motivate people? Do you bring excellence and vision to what ultimately is the objective of that office or even the whole company? Everybody should be good at leading, whatever their level in the hierarchy.”

Adapted from Security Director’s Report.

 

Six Essential Leadership Traits If you wish to inspire employees to greatness, make sure to emulate the following traits: Keep your word. “No one will follow you unless they first trust and like you,” says leadership consultant Joe Martin. Leverage strengths. Know your strong points and those of your team and always play to them. Solicit different perspectives. Encourage staffers to engage in spirited work debates. Be visionary. Outline a clear vision for yourself, your team, and your organization. Let that vision guide your actions. Keep the details in focus. In addition to vision, develop strong hands-on management abilities. Set a fine example. “Do as I say, not as I do” leadership is doomed to failure. Adapted from “Effective Leadership Comes Down to a Few Basics,” by Carol J. Carter, for the Microsoft bCentral Web site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Matters
The Middle Manager as Retention Officer:
Feeding a Hungry Work Force
By Stephen O’Connor

One of my favorite stories about organizational pathology is the one about the two ferocious tigers that escaped from the zoo. Concerned about being recaptured, they decided to split up but agreed to meet again two months later.

When the time comes for the meeting, one tiger is fat and sassy, the other frail and sickly. “Good heavens,” Sassy exclaims, “You look dreadful. What happened?”

“It’s been terrible,” says Sickly. “I wandered into a small computer company and ate one little technology worker. Apparently, they’re hard to come by, and the people just went crazy. They started chasing me, and I haven’t had a minute’s peace since.”

“That’s awful,” Sassy says. “Well you seem to be doing okay,” Sickly notes. “What’s your secret?” “Oh, I found a big corporation to hide in. I’ve been eating a manager a week and nobody seems to notice.”

While some organizations may implicitly regard the middle and front line manager as “consumable,” it is becoming increasing clear that they are a pivotal player as it relates to employee retention. As Debra Stock, vice president of Member Relations at the American Hospital Association (AHA), puts it, they are “first level retention officers” for the organization. As Buckingham and Coffman tell us in First Break All the Rules, “People don’t leave organizations, they leave managers.” New hires and promotions into first-level management positions need to be based on those demonstrated skills that facilitate subordinate employee growth and a sense of personal accomplishment.

In a recent publication by the AHA Commission on Workforce for Hospitals and Health Systems called In Our Hands: How Hospital Leaders Can Build a Thriving Workforce (April 2002), the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration lists 10 key middle management competencies that are linked to the retention of satisfied, long-term employees.

• Results Orientation — A leader who is a business driver able to manage for results in key areas such as clinical quality, service excellence, people management and financial management.

• Skilled Communicator — A leader who creates an environment of mutual trust, respect and two-way communication.

• Team Builder — A leader who hires, retains, develops and promotes talented people and builds team spirit.

• Agent for Change — A leader who challenges traditional practices and actively pursues positive change.

• Commitment to Service — A leader who demonstrates a willingness to serve key constituents, including patients, coworkers, physicians, the community and the organization.

• Collaborative Relationships — A leader who is able to work in interdisciplinary teams for the benefit of the organization as a whole.

• Resource Management — A leader who is able to manage effectively the organization’s human, financial, technological and other key resources.

• Analytical Thinking — A leader who is able to organize the parts of a problem or situation by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, making systematic comparisons of different features or aspects and taking a step-by-step approach.

• Personal Integrity — A leader whose actions are consistent with what she or he says, who communicates ideas and feelings openly and directly, and who welcomes openness and honesty from others.

• Talent Development — A leader who has a genuine commitment to foster the growth and development of others.

• Leadership Effectiveness — A leader with the ability to create a shared mission and vision.

• Inadequate training. Successful management is about so much more than being good at your job. If you want to keep climbing the ladder, invest in training that will help you boost productivity, build teams, resolve conflicts, satisfy customers, and handle all the human dramas likely to unfold before you.

• People pleasing. You cannot lead workers and be their bosom buddies. Sooner or later you’ll be forced to choose between being popular or doing the right thing for your department and organization.

• Selective listening. Poor leaders hear only what they want to hear. Strong leaders are willing to accept and respond to bad news — without killing the messengers.

• Over indulging. What’s the surest way to destroy staff morale, alienate customers, and disappoint senior managers? Promise them anything. Good leaders know when and how to say no.

• Poor planning. True leaders think strategically. You must have a vision and develop and communicate clear, measurable goals for reaching your objective.

• Compulsive counting. Numbers tell only part of the story. While it’s important to use quantitative data to gauge progress, leaders must also be willing to address emotional issues such as employee satisfaction and community goodwill.

• Broaden your mind. Management consultant Peter Drucker studies a new subject each summer ranging from science in Ancient China to Russian literature. Inspire out-of-the-box thinking and recapture the job of learning by taking a class in an off-the-wall subject.

• Toot your horn. You don’t need to become a braggart but you do need to be able to describe your strengths to others who might help further your career. Review your training and experience and pick out the traits you feel are most valuable. You’ll find it easier to get the hand of touting your attributes without embarrassment if you practice describing them as if you were talking about a third person.

• Make a stretch. Rather than waiting for opportunity to knock, ask your supervisor what you should do to prepare for a job two grades above your current position. Be honest in explaining that you’re ambitious and want to build skills for a long-range future.

• Face the music. You’ll never be a strong leader until you conquer the fear of giving presentations. Take a public speaking course or join a local Toastmasters chapter. Once you get into the habit of speaking in a non-threatening environment, it will be easier to take the stage when it really counts.

• Find an example. Look for leadership models in your company, your industry, in public life or even in works of fiction. Learn all you can about these individuals and emulate their styles or incorporate some of their strong traits into your own style. After all, it’s easier to lead if others think you fit the part.

• Take a chance. Find projects that will take you out of your comfort zone. As First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”

Adapted from “7 Ways to Lead,” by Harriet Rubin, on the iVillage Web site.

 

 

Professional Services Health Care Management Recruiting Large national pool of candidates for management and executive positions. Low contingency fee. Internet recruiting at www.mhaservicecorp.com Steven O' Connor, SPHR Senior Director 6215 West St. Joseph Highway Lansing, Michigan 48917 (517) 663-5755 Fax: (517) 663-5897 E-mail: soconnor@mha.org Jennifer Marshall Bobbie Sauvain MHA Account Managers 3000 Lava Ridge Ct. Roseville, CA 95661 (800) 943-2589 • (636) 586-2204

 

 

 

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When you need a healthcare management recruiter, call Steve O’Connor at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association in (517) 663-5755. He’s the recruiter who produces this monthly newsletter and has hundreds of management candidates currently registered with his service. Most are open to relocation. You are also invited to browse his web site for more information on Professional Search Services at www.mhaservicecorp.com.
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For more information contact:
Stephen O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director
MHA Service Corporation
Professional Search Service

Corporate Office:
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Lansing, MI 48917
(517) 663-5755
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