Oh and...Overlooking the Obvious

Recently I was reading an article on what it takes to be the “model healthcare system”. Now, before I lose your attention, if you aren’t in healthcare – you can substitute any business into this title. The point that I am making is not specific to healthcare.

The article outlines 3 key points of what a CEO did on their journey to becoming a model healthcare system. These 3 things, at a high-level, consisted of: clinical reorganization, developing an innovative insurance product, and a digitally powered patient experience. You can read the article referenced here.

Now…if you’re not familiar with the healthcare environment, let me help enlighten you on these concepts. These are not just 3 ideas you see a model organization implement and then simply implement on your own. It takes years of transformation, significant monetary and resource investment, and a pretty high level of risk tolerance, to name only a few.

That’s because changing an organization is really, really hard work. Changing a team is really, really hard work.  Transforming ideas into reality through other people is really, really, REALLY hard work. This is what we call leadership – influencing a group to meet a goal.

What this article skimmed over, is a little nicety at the end that says the CEO is:

"without question, a highly capable and humble servant leader."

Ooooohhhhh….look at that little nugget of gold stuck at the tail end of these complex ideas of success.

This is just one example of what we do every single day in real life.

We view leadership skills as a little extra bonus, what I like to call an “Oh, and…”.

Oh, and….they are also a good leader. We view the complex, innovative ideas from whatever our specific industry is as the “golden ticket” to success.  However, without strong leadership these ideas turn into failure and bankruptcy. On a smaller scale, when we are looking at a conference or education to go to, we tend to look for growing our knowledge and technical industry skills, and consider leadership knowledge as secondary, or even tertiary. 

The fact is, with this example above, the reason why this CEO was able to successfully execute a full clinical reorganization, develop an innovative insurance product, and create a digitally powered patient experience is not because he is a healthcare genius, but because he is a “highly capable and humble servant leader.”

You can have great ideas, but if you can’t lead a team of people to turn your ideas into reality….success and results are simply not possible.

The problem is….leadership is a broad and often misunderstood term, defined differently by many various sources, and can be construed as entirely too complex in nature to absorb. I’ll bring this one to a close and take that as my next topic.

Until then, Heather

Turning innovative ideas into successful solutions requires leadership and project management. Lead Strong 414 can assist your organizational leaders in both of these areas, increasing your chances of success and providing strong, sustainable results. Click here for more info on how.

About author, Heather Casey:

Heather is a John Maxwell Team Certified Trainer, Speaker, and Coach with over 20+ years of experience in leadership and project management, in multiple industries.

Heather has a Bachelors of Science degree in Decision Science from Berry College and is pursuing her Masters in Psychology of Leadership from Penn State University.  

Project management certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP), Program Management Professional (PgMP), and Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP), making her one of less than 500 world wide with the triple PMI (Project Management Institute) certifications.  

Heather's experience in leadership and project management equips her to quickly identify problem areas and work with your organization on solutions, ultimately leading to stronger results for individuals, teams, and organizations.  

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