Today’s healthcare environment demands brilliant execution. More than ever, organizations must operate with purpose and intention to ensure consistency in both clinical and business performance.
The most effective leaders maintain a high degree of focus and discipline in their approach to winning in business, with many following simple yet specific steps to ensure that their medical groups, hospitals, clinical divisions, and health systems achieve critical objectives.
A formula that I’ve seen work time and time again from proven leaders in the healthcare space is this:
• Clearly define success
• Document your plan
• Set measurable milestones
• Adjust and adapt
• Celebrate
• Learn and apply
Six simple steps, but when executed intentionally, consistently and with purpose, they are the building blocks for a high-performing, resilient organization. Below, I break down each step in more detail.
1. Clearly Define What Winning Looks Like
Effective leaders always start by defining what success looks like. Doing so allows for effective vision casting, providing clarity in expectations and ease in establishing execution plans. Paint a picture of the outcome you seek that will be clear and understandable to anyone who may be participating in the process of execution. Set yourself up for success from day one by envisioning the outcome you seek.
2. Document the Plan
Once a vision has been established, plan to win – literally. Anything of organizational relevance is worthy of an effective gameplan. Document the necessary tactics, associated timelines, and required roles in the form of a clear roadmap. Engage your team in the planning process to establish ownership. Prepare to win by creating a path that you and others can understand and follow.
3. Set Measurable Milestones
A good plan is only effective when we measure our progress. Don’t wait until the game is over to look at the scoreboard. Effectively monitor progress by establishing practical milestones. Measure to ensure appropriate pacing and interim outcomes that are critical to the overall objective. Meet in regular operating rhythms to discuss the status of initiatives, and avoid the temptations of rationalization and distraction. Use milestone measures to ensure that you and your team stay on course.
4. Adjust and Adapt
Given the complexities of the healthcare environment in which we operate, you should anticipate challenges, obstacles, delays, and even dead ends. What’s important is that you recognize these roadblocks early and take the appropriate measures to react and, if needed, change course. But this is not a solo effort. Demand honest and objective feedback from your team, and empower them to “speak up” and advise when things get off track. By being inclusive and fostering a culture of organizational resilience and innovation, you are setting your organization up for success, regardless of the circumstances you encounter along the way.
5. Celebrate
Effective leaders recognize progress and purposefully encourage those who turn effort into outcomes. Find and celebrate the small wins that will aggregate into major accomplishments. Acknowledge and reward the team members who showcase the behaviors and outcomes that represent success, in alignment with the value of their contributions. Strong leaders know that appreciation fuels engagement, and high engagement results in performance traction.
6. Learn and Apply
To ensure long-term success, never end a project or initiative without looking back for the sake of learnings. Always be humble in asking yourself and your team what might or should have been done differently. Accept mistakes (and even failures) as lessons to be applied in future endeavors. Make constant learning the foundation for a culture of continuous improvement.
Proven healthcare leaders know that winning on a consistent basis never happens by accident. Always be intentional and “Win on Purpose” by establishing clarity in objective, including your teams, documenting your plans, driving disciplined execution, and intentionally maintaining focus.
Jerry L. Kelsheimer is President and CEO of Medic Management Group and MMG Healthcare Solutions. His background includes extensive work in areas including leadership development, strategic planning, process improvement, and capital markets / financial management. MMG is a national provider of advisory and consulting competencies, transaction support services, and back office administrative support to independent and system owned physician practice groups.