May 19, 2020

Finding Your Way Forward

Leadership

In healthcare, people have been watching their leaders over the course of this crisis. And, they are taking measure.

How are you showing up in the storm?

As coaches who come from careers as healthcare leaders, we’ve been talking with our clients and their teams nationwide during the COVID-19 Crisis.  Of all the insights we’ve gleaned from them, a sobering truth emerges:

Healthcare will never be the same after COVID-19.

Just as airline travel was never the same after 9/11, we will never be the same after this. Yet the lessons from this storm can make the future better than the past.

Let’s be clear, this time there’s no “bouncing back” to the way we were before.

Instead, there’s a panorama of novel ways for leaders to “bounce forward” to create a better future for their organizations.

We are hearing tales of the best and the worst of leadership. Some leaders are rising to the challenge with wisdom, courage and hope and have inspired their teams to do what they’ve never done before. Sadly, other leaders are being observed to stumble, dither or over-control in the face of this storm.

The impact of leadership cannot be overstated – – for good or bad.

And just as healthcare will forever be changed, it’s important to note that healthcare leadership also must change.

As veteran healthcare leaders, we understand first-hand how challenging it will be for institutions to recover from the lost revenues, the furloughs and the fear that could keep patients away from the care they need in the months to come.

This isn’t the first storm we’ve weathered.

But, this time, as a leader you need to draw upon more than your usual turnaround skills.  You will need to add new ways of thinking and behaving to lead in an era when facts are painfully slow to emerge.

More than ever, it will require teams, working within conflict, to discern the right path forward.

MEDI Leadership has a point of view on how to lead in times just such as this.

It’s based in the science of complex adaptive systems that has been applied in many industries as well as healthcare. It helps leaders understand how the mindset that made them successful in the past needs to be supplemented by new behaviors that this increasingly complex world demands.

Today, we are partnering with our clients to custom-design new executive coaching solutions for individuals, teams and cohorts of rising leaders. We’re customizing plans that fit the pressing needs, social distancing and stressed budgets of each institution.

There has never been a time when building effective leaders – – quickly – – has been more urgently needed in healthcare. We know how to do it. Let us help.

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About the author

Eric Norwood

Eric Norwood is a trusted, experienced advisor to C-Suite leaders, helping them improve their performance individually and corporately. He is a catalyst for change for his clients.

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