Leading with Optimism in 2024

Modeling calm, respect and listening, promotes awareness, optimism.

Effective leaders share their expertise, experiences and ideas — especially when it comes to encouraging others to evolve as leaders themselves. It’s something we can all look at closely in the new year.

A great example of that at Northwell Health comes from a leadership workshop led by Jon Sendach, FACHE , executive director of North Shore University Hospital. Jon, also deputy regional executive director of Northwell's central region, shares a list of workplace “don’ts” adapted from author Marshall Goldsmith ’s book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, with workshop participants. As a healthcare optimist, I’d like to reframe those tips into “dos” for 2024.

Goldsmith says:

• Sometimes we may have an overwhelming desire to add our “two cents” to work discussions — but that need doesn’t always elevate efforts. Instead, we can let our actions and support do the talking.
• Anger and emotional volatility are not inspiring management tools; they’re intimidating and can stifle ideas and communication. Instead, we should hold off expressing any frustration we may feel and take a few moments to cool off, setting aside hostility and rudeness in favor of addressing a problem with respect.
• Phrases like, “Let me explain why that won’t work,” are negative and often unwelcome. Instead, we can lead with optimism by asking questions to uncover and propose alternatives.
• ?Not listening is passive aggressive — a form of disrespect toward colleagues. Instead, we can give colleagues a chance to share knowledge, learning from each other and using those perspectives to innovate and tackle challenges.

Goldsmith’s list also taps into optimism: it can be harmful to cling to the past, he notes, using it as a way to “deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past.” While it is important to reflect, clinging to the past is not helpful. More important is learning from past experiences and changing our behavior based on what we have learned. Especially in the world of health care, it is critical that we evaluate past errors or missteps to avoid them and move forward together to tackle new challenges.

Lifelong learning is ingrained in the culture of Northwell and is something we can all embrace this year. It goes beyond developing new technical skills or pursuing new career opportunities; developing or advancing interpersonal skills enhances us personally and brings out the best in our colleagues.