Inclusive Leadership

I've worked for more health care organizations than I care to remember or admit to. But while the traditional world of "gold watch" retirement scoffs at the notion of changing employers, I have found it as instructive to my professional and personal life as anything I've done including graduate school. This has been most instructive in the area of leadership and management of those organizations; The ones ostensibly directed at taking care of people. As long as those people aren't employees.

Now I certainly don't want to dismiss all health care organizations as insensitive to the people who work for them, they aren't. But there are many in the ranks of healthcare who are. And more importantly, those who believe that such treatment should be the norm. This is particularly true of larger organizations who become too large for management to comfortably adjust sensitivity into the mix. In many cases it seems that such management is part of the training of healthcare managers who see employees as little more than worker ants in their "hill", or line-up.

Every once in awhile I run into an organization that breaks the mold. One that specifically addresses the gap between employer and employee in an active, specific and dynamic way. I'm so relieved to have experienced Inclusive Management and Leadership - A type of management that deliberately includes all members of the team in the evaluation of the past, execution of the present, and planning for the future. Wow! What a concept!!

So what does that look like? I was standing at the physician's desk, working up a patient's chart and the lead physician walked over, called everyone over and created an "instant meeting" over a particular issue he needed immediate input on. I likened it to a soccer team huddle right before kick off (flashback to my goal-keeper days). An instant meeting, including everyone (including the clean up crew) to address a specific situation, and plan for the future. Can't get any more inclusive than that. Everyone had input, and everyone walked away from those few minutes feeling like they had a voice and part of the organization.

This was just the tip of the iceberg. The management has made specific (not accidental) and deliberate (with intention) efforts to include everyone. This has made created a loyalty to the organization and management that I can't even describe in this short essay.

This is a really enjoyable place to work. Everyone knows the failures and shares in the successes. Opposing points of view are appreciated and encouraged and never end up in contention, firings or retribution. Everyone has value in the working of the practice and becomes an "expert" to consult in their area. There are meetings and huddles, with the time and space to be sure that all elements of opinion are worked out and implemented as necessary. Management is about finding the resources to implement ideas not about creating top-down decisions. The lead physicians and managers are always available for drop in meetings and problem solving.

I can't tell you how refreshing this type of health care environment is and how happy the sick patients seem to be as a result. They really enjoy coming here.