Forbes Leadership Leadership Strategy Building Resilience In Healthcare: The Power Of Organizational Culture Glenn Llopis Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Leadership in the Age of Personalization Following May 23, 2023, 01:00pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to
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Twitter Share to Linkedin Resilient Healthcare: Where Culture Meets Collaboration. Diverse team discussing, planning, and ... [+] analyzing data, showcasing the power of organizational culture and teamwork PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock Last time I wrote about the challenges within the U.S. healthcare system and the predictions of its impending collapse . I discussed how the balance of power is shifting away from traditional institutions into the hands of individuals, why this shift matters in healthcare, and how you can tap into it to boost the resilience of your organization, your workforce, your patients and your communities. No matter our industry or organization, we’re all chasing resilience. We all look into the future and see volatility and uncertainty. We’re all looking for ways to make sure our organizational culture is set up to help us not just survive what’s coming – but thrive. We know deep down that it’s not the volatility that makes us vulnerable. It’s an inability to respond to the volatility. But how do you create a culture that’s able to respond? You must first acknowledge that culture flows in (at least) two directions. There’s the culture of the organization that you create for employees. Then there’s the culture that each individual brings to the organization. Both are important when it comes to resilience, but we usually fall short on both fronts. Organizational culture: Just 1 in 5 U.S. employees feel connected to their company’s culture, according to Gallup . Individual culture: My own research shows that people don’t feel like their own individual culture is seen or acknowledged. While 74% of leaders see themselves as mindful of individual differences among the people they lead, 80% of employees say their leaders are rarely aware of those differences. MORE FOR YOU XO Kitty Immediately Dethroned In
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Apple s Disappointing Decision Dodgers Reverse Decision Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence Included In LGBTQ Pride Night Over Objections If we design our organizational cultures with intention, we can set ourselves up to be more able to adapt and respond to what’s happening around us. In addition, if we honor and make room for the individual cultures that we all bring to the workplace, we create a place where individuals are empowered to be and share themselves. I spoke with three leaders who shared their own perspectives on how to create a culture of purpose for an organization, and the importance of honoring the culture of individuals. Transforming Healthcare Culture: Fostering Purpose and Engagement Among Caregivers Marty Sargeant is CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC, comprised of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris
cancer Hospital. He talked about some pandemic-related mindset shifts within the organization, and how they are responding to that by creating a culture of purpose. He said the end of the pandemic state of emergency does not signal a return to business as usual for their most valuable resources – their caregivers. “While we all seek a level of ‘normalcy’ in our business and personal lives, our lives are moving with a much different intentionality than before. During the pandemic our caregivers deserved, and demanded, we keep them safe, we keep them well, and that we keep them informed. We did this over several years of uncertainty, ups and downs with variants, patient surges, supply constraints, and caregiver quarantines.” He said caregiver mindsets have shifted: what matters to them has changed and taken on varying aspects of importance. “Our leaders must shift, as well, to ensure we keep and attract the best and brightest. No organization can afford high turnover, contract labor, or wage wars. Our leadership imperative must be to invest in fostering cultures of purpose for our caregivers, enabling them to engage in the day-to-day work with sense of purpose, value, and impact.” That might sound lofty. So, what does that mean for a large, academic medical center? For Keck Medical Center of USC, Sargeant said developing a culture of purpose meant a comprehensive top-down re-focus on investing in and developing leaders so that they engage caregivers in new, meaningful and purposeful ways. “This effort to transform our culture starts with the C-suite and cascades through directors and to managers, establishing the expectation, space and tools for front-line managers to impact the lives of many.” He said it would be foolish to expect to move the needle without personal involvement of every leader in the medical center. “We’ve laid out a framework for manager engagement and are backing it up with development work focused on creating a tool set that empowers caregivers to personalize why they come to work. This includes unlocking the power of inquiry in problem solving, leveraging inclusion and the value of diversity of people and thought, as well as developing continuous feedback mechanisms to assess our progress.” How do you measure something like a culture of purpose? “A successful effort toward building a culture of purpose should move every indicator: recruitment, retention, caregiver engagement survey, patient experience scores, and of course outcomes. We follow our progress through PULSE and feedback surveys, retention metrics, and rounding/coffee talks. We have made great progress so far, and I’m encouraged as our turnover continues to improve. Our leaders respond positively through surveys and listening sessions, and we are seeing engaged faces as the facemasks of the pandemic transition away.” Marty Sargeant, CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC, shared his valuable insights as a panelist alongside other healthcare leaders during the Healthcare in the Age of Personalization Summit. Click here to watch the summit OnDemand. Another healthcare leader shared similar goals. Gulden Mesara serves as the chief communications, culture and experience officer at City of Hope. Mesara said that as healthcare transforms, they are leading City of Hope through significant change as part of their journey to becoming a national system focused on expanding their reach to communities and patients across the country. “More than 100 years ago, City of Hope was built on a culture of patient-centricity, care, and inclusivity and it is essential that we continue to ensure this culture is preserved as we grow,” said Mesara. “At the center of our transformation is a dedicated culture initiative aimed at inviting all of our people to embrace our shared commitment and vision and creating a shared sense of identity for the City of Hope System.” Mesara said they are being intentional about the engagement of key constituents and constituencies across the organization and beyond. “Every stakeholder matters. Our inclusive approach lays the foundation for the culture we want to create.” Addressing Disparities in Mental Health: Nurturing Individual Cultural Respect Tony Ortiz, Ph.D., is a researcher who has studied mental health issues extensively. He is founder, principal investigator and scientific director at NRC Research Institute. We know that culture is important in healthcare overall but how important is it for mental health? Dr. Ortiz said there is a lot of discussion of people of color who are disproportionately affected by chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. But there are also co-morbid mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. He said this creates a large disparity not only for medical conditions but for psychiatric ones, as well. “This large disparity creates not only health inequities in the medical sector for people of color to gain access, but the disparity is also just as present in the mental health setting for people of color to gain access,” he said. “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) encourages ‘Cultural Respect’ as a method to reduce disparities in health access and outcomes.” Just as with the previously mentioned culture of purpose, something called “cultural respect” seems like a lofty goal that’s hard to measure. So, how can “Cultural Respect” be implemented in the mental health setting? “As in the medical sector, not only is it important to be respectful of different cultures but in mental health it is essential to be culturally competent as well,” said Dr. Ortiz. “Your culture influences your linguistics, your behaviors, your diet, your spirituality, your way of dress, your method of socialization, your way of thinking. Essentially, your culture creates the framework on how you see yourself and the world. As a mental health clinician, it is necessary to be culturally competent to address the needs of a multi-cultural demographic of patients in order to see their views from their lens.” How can you implement cultural training to ensure cultural competency in mental health? “One way is to hire a percentage of your workforce from the area where the work setting is located. Use those individuals as team leaders to train the workforce staff in the cultural differences and similarities to the primary culture. A second way is to discuss culture on a daily basis to ensure immersion. Cultural discussions can lead to increase of diversity and inclusion acceptance in the workplace and thus make patients feel accepted in your workplace. A third way is engaging the community with mental health advocacy to reduce cultural stigma of mental illness.” Enhancing Corporate Culture by Recognizing Individuality: Cultural Diversity for Inclusive Workplaces I like Dr. Ortiz’s advice to discuss culture on a daily basis. This is an actionable nugget of wisdom that leaders in any industry can use to increase inclusion and resilience in their workplaces and within their teams. When we make it clear that it’s not only safe – but also beneficial – for individuals to talk about how their own culture has shaped them, that’s when people start to feel like their individuality is seen and honored. Once we feel seen and honored for the individuals we are, then we feel safer to embrace and connect with the corporate culture without fear of losing ourselves. Be intentional about culture – the culture you create for others, and the way you honor the culture of individuals. Ageofpersonalization Healthcare in the Age of Personalization - Virtual Conference May 3-4 Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website or some of my other work here . Glenn Llopis Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions