The Incorrect Map
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Over 2 years ago, the folks over at the athenahealth kindly invited me to submit columns to their Health Leadership Forum, in addition to I cause got done hence on an occasional footing since them. As I late reviewed the columns, I realized that my ain thoughts on the topics of leadership in addition to coaching cause got evolved a bit, in addition to I idea my readers over hither at Not Running A Hospital powerfulness taste witnessing the transition. So for several days, I volition live reprinting the posts from the Forum over here. Comments are welcome at the master copy site in addition to here. Today's reprint is from a post dated Feb 7, 2014, "The Wrong Map."
My proficient friend in addition to negotiation guru Michael Wheeler includes an anecdote inwards his novel book, The Art of Negotiation: “Many years ago, a military machine patrol was caught inwards a violent blizzard inwards the Swiss Alps. The soldiers were lost in addition to frightened, exactly 1 of them institute a map tucked inwards his pocket. After consulting it, the men built a shelter, planned their route, in addition to and then waited out the storm. When the weather condition cleared 3 days later, they made their agency dorsum to the base of operations camp.”
Wheeler continues, “Their commanding officer, relieved that his men had survived the ordeal, asked how they made their agency out. A immature soldier produced the life-saving map, in addition to the officeholder studied it carefully. He was shocked to run into that it was a map of the Pyrenees Mountains that edge Kingdom of Spain in addition to France, non the Alps.”
He suggests 3 reasons how the incorrect map could help preserve climbers lost inwards the Alps: it rekindled the soldiers’ confidence, provided an impetus to acquire moving, in addition to sharpened the soldiers’ awareness.
While Mike uses the anecdote to describe lessons for negotiators, maybe it also offers suggestions to leaders inwards wellness care. Their institutions appear upward formidable challenges, in addition to the agency forrad is non ever clear. They know that standing nonetheless — failing to deed — is to a greater extent than unsafe than going inwards slightly the incorrect direction. But how practice yous motivate your staff to cause got activity in addition to bargain alongside the ambiguity of the situation?
The traditional wisdom is that yous cause got to “create a burning platform.” Such an approach uses the threat of imminent fiscal disaster or major loss of marketplace portion equally an incentive to those inwards the organization. Well, maybe. But the work alongside a burning platform is that your people fright that the exclusively agency to acquire equally they pace off the platform is down.
Few people desire to cause got accountability for inaugural inwards that situation. Frankly, most people are risk-averse, in addition to telling them that the globe depends on them for decisive activity is non highly motivational.
So, how practice nosotros acquire people past times their natural risk-averse tendency? How practice nosotros advise to them that whatever (thoughtful) activity is improve than sitting dorsum in addition to waiting? How practice nosotros acquire them moving inwards a management that has some probability of beingness correct? How practice nosotros help them sharpen their awareness hence they are warning to the demand for mid-course corrections if the master copy path proves to live off target?
What map of the Alps tin nosotros offering our staff?
The traditional 1 is a strategic plan: We engage inwards a long procedure to survey our strengths, weakness, opportunities, in addition to threats. We fan out through the organisation in addition to practice working groups to lift buy-in of our analysis in addition to the alternatives nosotros choose. We overlay the procedure alongside neat charts in addition to graphs, careful to include the “levers” that volition brand a deviation inwards our fiscal province of affairs or competitive posture. Then nosotros assign the strategic initiatives to diverse inter-disciplinary groups in addition to practice key performance indicators for each segmentation of the fellowship to mensurate our progress inwards carrying out the plan.
It is difficult to imagine a less inspirational rootage to a journeying of modify than this sort of centralized, highly numerical, in addition to bureaucratic approach. Here’s a secret. Every strategic innovation I cause got seen inwards the wellness attention globe says the same thing: “Let’s focus on what nosotros are proficient at that pays us well, where nosotros tin gain marketplace share, in addition to practice to a greater extent than of that. For the things nosotros don’t practice equally well, or where payment is non good, it’s okay non to grow or fifty-fifty to shrink.”
I’m non suggesting that an organisation should avoid a strategic vision. Indeed, having such a vision is a key purpose of senior management. I am suggesting that the agency to laissez passer on your “soldiers” the confidence to acquire out the campsite, engage inwards experiments, cause got risks, in addition to live creative does non come upward from an externally generated strategic process. Instead, nosotros demand to allow confidence-building measures to grow organically from inside the organization.
In previous columns, I’ve talked almost the value of the Lean procedure improvement philosophy inwards reducing waste, i.e., improving the operating efficiency inwards an organization. With the Lean approach, the front-line staff is empowered, expected in addition to encouraged to telephone vociferation upward out problems inwards the run place. Management is expected to swarm roughly those identified problems—in existent time—and invent experiments to exam out countermeasures to improve the delivery of goods or services to the customer.
Well, it turns out that Lean also provides that “map of the Alps” inwards an uncertain environment. The “map” hither is a full general philosophy, approach, in addition to gear upward of tools that is independent of the actual physical in addition to competitive run environment. It maintains in addition to enhances our confidence equally a team. The “every individual every day” theme of Lean provides ongoing impetus to maintain moving. Finally, knowing that the organisation expects in addition to encourages the staff to telephone vociferation upward out workplace waste materials sharpens their awareness.
The “map” for dealing alongside the challenges of a wellness attention establishment is beingness held past times every staff individual inwards our organizations. Our project is to practice an surroundings inwards which they tin experience the map inwards their pockets in addition to gear upward off each twenty-four hr menstruum inwards the right management — to cut waste, improve efficiency, in addition to deliver improve service to patients in addition to families.
My proficient friend in addition to negotiation guru Michael Wheeler includes an anecdote inwards his novel book, The Art of Negotiation: “Many years ago, a military machine patrol was caught inwards a violent blizzard inwards the Swiss Alps. The soldiers were lost in addition to frightened, exactly 1 of them institute a map tucked inwards his pocket. After consulting it, the men built a shelter, planned their route, in addition to and then waited out the storm. When the weather condition cleared 3 days later, they made their agency dorsum to the base of operations camp.”
Wheeler continues, “Their commanding officer, relieved that his men had survived the ordeal, asked how they made their agency out. A immature soldier produced the life-saving map, in addition to the officeholder studied it carefully. He was shocked to run into that it was a map of the Pyrenees Mountains that edge Kingdom of Spain in addition to France, non the Alps.”
He suggests 3 reasons how the incorrect map could help preserve climbers lost inwards the Alps: it rekindled the soldiers’ confidence, provided an impetus to acquire moving, in addition to sharpened the soldiers’ awareness.
While Mike uses the anecdote to describe lessons for negotiators, maybe it also offers suggestions to leaders inwards wellness care. Their institutions appear upward formidable challenges, in addition to the agency forrad is non ever clear. They know that standing nonetheless — failing to deed — is to a greater extent than unsafe than going inwards slightly the incorrect direction. But how practice yous motivate your staff to cause got activity in addition to bargain alongside the ambiguity of the situation?
The traditional wisdom is that yous cause got to “create a burning platform.” Such an approach uses the threat of imminent fiscal disaster or major loss of marketplace portion equally an incentive to those inwards the organization. Well, maybe. But the work alongside a burning platform is that your people fright that the exclusively agency to acquire equally they pace off the platform is down.
Few people desire to cause got accountability for inaugural inwards that situation. Frankly, most people are risk-averse, in addition to telling them that the globe depends on them for decisive activity is non highly motivational.
So, how practice nosotros acquire people past times their natural risk-averse tendency? How practice nosotros advise to them that whatever (thoughtful) activity is improve than sitting dorsum in addition to waiting? How practice nosotros acquire them moving inwards a management that has some probability of beingness correct? How practice nosotros help them sharpen their awareness hence they are warning to the demand for mid-course corrections if the master copy path proves to live off target?
What map of the Alps tin nosotros offering our staff?
The traditional 1 is a strategic plan: We engage inwards a long procedure to survey our strengths, weakness, opportunities, in addition to threats. We fan out through the organisation in addition to practice working groups to lift buy-in of our analysis in addition to the alternatives nosotros choose. We overlay the procedure alongside neat charts in addition to graphs, careful to include the “levers” that volition brand a deviation inwards our fiscal province of affairs or competitive posture. Then nosotros assign the strategic initiatives to diverse inter-disciplinary groups in addition to practice key performance indicators for each segmentation of the fellowship to mensurate our progress inwards carrying out the plan.
It is difficult to imagine a less inspirational rootage to a journeying of modify than this sort of centralized, highly numerical, in addition to bureaucratic approach. Here’s a secret. Every strategic innovation I cause got seen inwards the wellness attention globe says the same thing: “Let’s focus on what nosotros are proficient at that pays us well, where nosotros tin gain marketplace share, in addition to practice to a greater extent than of that. For the things nosotros don’t practice equally well, or where payment is non good, it’s okay non to grow or fifty-fifty to shrink.”
I’m non suggesting that an organisation should avoid a strategic vision. Indeed, having such a vision is a key purpose of senior management. I am suggesting that the agency to laissez passer on your “soldiers” the confidence to acquire out the campsite, engage inwards experiments, cause got risks, in addition to live creative does non come upward from an externally generated strategic process. Instead, nosotros demand to allow confidence-building measures to grow organically from inside the organization.
In previous columns, I’ve talked almost the value of the Lean procedure improvement philosophy inwards reducing waste, i.e., improving the operating efficiency inwards an organization. With the Lean approach, the front-line staff is empowered, expected in addition to encouraged to telephone vociferation upward out problems inwards the run place. Management is expected to swarm roughly those identified problems—in existent time—and invent experiments to exam out countermeasures to improve the delivery of goods or services to the customer.
Well, it turns out that Lean also provides that “map of the Alps” inwards an uncertain environment. The “map” hither is a full general philosophy, approach, in addition to gear upward of tools that is independent of the actual physical in addition to competitive run environment. It maintains in addition to enhances our confidence equally a team. The “every individual every day” theme of Lean provides ongoing impetus to maintain moving. Finally, knowing that the organisation expects in addition to encourages the staff to telephone vociferation upward out workplace waste materials sharpens their awareness.
The “map” for dealing alongside the challenges of a wellness attention establishment is beingness held past times every staff individual inwards our organizations. Our project is to practice an surroundings inwards which they tin experience the map inwards their pockets in addition to gear upward off each twenty-four hr menstruum inwards the right management — to cut waste, improve efficiency, in addition to deliver improve service to patients in addition to families.