Paralyzing Fear, Decision-Making and Sexual Harassment... How would you choose?

“Why did you go to HR? You should have just dealt with it! Never go to HR, is that clear? That employee is a good employee, he’s been here a long time and now he may lose his job...”

This was said to me by a past boss (senior exec) in response to finding out I had launched an investigation into a claim of sexual harassment, intimidation, and the striking of another employee by a thrown object 2 months in to my new tenure.

My response: “And if he did this, he should...”

How many times have you been hesitant to step in to a problem or situation because fear has gripped your professional career? The scenario above seems that it should have been cut and dry for the path I chose and yet it garnered disdain. Why are Leaders fearful of partnership? Where did relationships perceivably degrade? Why has professional respect and trust for those that should be there to assist you through difficulties dissipated?

Throughout my career I have stepped in to situations where I knew calmer heads were needed to prevail, where detail and investigation would be essential to finding resolution. A lesson I have learned working with educated and driven individual contributors lands squarely in the pain those contributors have experienced. It could be malpractice lawsuit, targeting by other professionals, a mistake that shaped their medical career in a way that defensive medicine became second nature. I am not passing blame and when you see two highly educated (MD, multiple residencies and fellowships) end up having seemingly petty arguments like two 5 year olds in a sandbox, there is this “What the ***?” moment.

We are shaped by the experiences we have; the death of a patient, loss of a spouse, malicious attacks, and sometimes a medical or professional mistake that steals away our DRIVE.

We are equally shaped by the lives we transform; the patients’ lives saved, marrying the love of your life, seeing others we have mentored exceed our skills and sometimes leading a transformative change process that impacts the lives of countless individuals.

In healthcare decisions made by Physicians in the heat of saving a life are made instantaneously with the information on hand at that moment in time; often a decision of odds determined by the skill and knowledge level of the Physician making it.

Administrators I personally know actually work from this vantage as well. To my example above, my decision to involve HR immediately was three fold; protect the victim, protect the accused and protect the patients. I had investigated as far as I felt was prudent and then engaged our legal counsel, termination was on the table, within 4 hours of the reported incident.

The victim has rights, the innocent until proven guilty accused has rights and our patients have rights. It is well established what these rights are so I will not jump in to them save for the patients.

Our patients’ care is impacted in so many ways also well documented. In this case, the victim worked directly with patients, hands on, in a medium risk setting and while this individual was extremely high functioning, in retrospect it was clear that over the course of 12 months of intimidation had impacted performance, attention to detail, and interpersonal relationships.

The accused, on the other hand, was an exemplary employee, receiving the highest ratings in patient satisfaction, job performance and was held in high regard throughout the organization.

When Administrators and Physicians come together in an effort to solve complex problems impacting patient care it is essential to understand the drivers each group is facing in the decision making process. Process redesign tools will work as we lay out step-by-step what the current workflow is and then agree on what the new process will be. These changes can be implemented quickly and measured and watched until success is defined. In the end though, the culture that lives under the surface, the drivers of what is not being said and still exists must be addressed not only with the Leaders in the room, but with the staff and other direct care providers.  When lack of trust or fear of speaking up exists decision making and buy in is impacted in turn placing the patients at risk.

People enter the healthcare field because they want one thing; to help people. Doctors, Nurses, Administrators, Technologists, Ancillary Staff, they all want to add value to the lives of people.

How often are you empowering those you lead without second-guessing all of their decisions? What are you doing as a Leader to sow growth and root out those scenarios that lead to paralyzing fear and mistrust? How often do you take credit for things your subordinates actually did and how often are you owning your own missteps and correcting instead of scapegoating a colleague?

There are many amazing people and organizations working to solve these issues and build strong positive cultures. Take a look at what Bruce Schroeffel started at the University of Colorado Hospital in the late 2000’s; from last ranked UHC hospital to first in less than 7 years. It was leadership coupled with partnership and allowing professionals to be professionals, work together and lead all to the benefit of the patients and the organization. I was there in the beginning and saw in retrospect the vision.

Data driven decisions will make strategic moves more successful. Dig in, learn and understand what is going on and then be decisively certain and move forward. Remember that people are people with the same needs, wants, desires and fears. When you do this your success rate improves.

The employee was allowed to resign...

This was a pivotal lesson for me as a professional. When you have the ball, when it is your call, you must do three things:

Treat everyone involved with empathy, respect and protect their privacy.

Investigate fully without prejudice – get the data, interpret it, ask for help if you need to (move quickly)

When you have made your decision, deliver the message and follow through.

In all decisions I work through I think about the impact to the patient and how the decision, process change, etc., will impact the ability of the patient to receive care, get answers they need and move through our system with minimal friction.

If you aren’t the one making the call, be clear who is and work together to move the ball the direction it needs to go, without compromising. If you don’t agree, speak up.

Speak up... Your voice carries your message. Your message carries your impact. Your impact will be felt whether you speak up, or not. Your staff watches you, your patients watch, everyone is always paying attention. Do the right thing... Own it.

Would you like my help in your organization moving through a change process? Contact me today and lets discuss where I can jump in and help reengage your team.

Dean

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Dean Hobson holds an MBA from the University of Colorado Business school double majoring in Health Administration and Pharmaceutical Management. He started his healthcare career in 1991 as a Navy Corpsman. An experienced change agent and operational leader that thinks strategically with a patient centered lens, Dean can work with your team to uncover friction, unravel complex challenges and implement positive practices for the benefit of the Service Line, Patient and Organization.

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