Blog

October 6, 2020October 4, 2020

Employee Expectation and Thank-You’s

It was 2018, and my New Year’s goal was to write thank-you notes to every one of our 2000 employees. It is my belief they each employee has two choices. A choice to continue working for the organization or to move to a different organization. While it may be true that some people need to find their happy place someplace else, the majority of people we want to continually re-recruit. It is with people that our goals are met or not. As leaders, you have a responsibility to your employees and should be able to answer the following.

What can our employees expect of you
Do you know their goals and can help them reach their goals
What is the highest potential they can achieve by working for you
Can they trust you with their future
Will, you be honest with them
Do you trust them to do their job

As a leader, you are responsible for making the future promising and making promises for the future. You are also responsible for letting your people know how much you appreciate them and thanking them for choosing your organization.

I did reach my goal of writing each person a handwritten individualized thank-you note. About 25% of the employees emailed me that they received the message at home and saying wonderful words in return. One went so far to say she framed it as she had never received a thank-you note before.

October 4, 2020October 4, 2020

Fragile Part of Leadership

To be a successful leader, you inherently put yourself in a fragile position. As you become a true leader, the fragility of your job becomes more pronounced. Now is a time to assess your effectiveness and inclusive leadership. It is also the time to build stronger relationships.

In a way, leadership is like a delicate car engine. The power exists, and it does not. It is available once you turn the key, but it means nothing until driven. Much of its effect depends on the type of engine. The best leaders, like the best engines, inspire us to see new possibilities.

December 9, 2022February 26, 2023

From Director to Executive

When asked how someone moves from director to executive. As a leader, your goal:

Become the organization that your mission calls you to grow.
Expand your footprint into new communities.
Be known as an organization with exceptionally high quality and tremendous experience.
Be sought after by your community to partner with them because you transform communities.
Rise to the challenge to get your department’s performance where it needs to be.

So, what are your department’s results? Results matter if we are to change the lives of our community. Results matter as they are visible predictors of implementing the needed results and changes.

December 6, 2022December 4, 2022

Leadership Responsibility

We have an important responsibility –to care for people who are sick. To invest in the lives of people who work for us and those who live in our communities. The journey of which you are on is beautiful. It’s powerful.

Here’s a scary thought: Do you give more of yourself beyond your comfort level? Are you willing to step up and take the leadership journey? Would you try to explain it away or dismiss it as impractical? And in the process, would you miss out on the abundance of opportunity?

December 4, 2022

Misson

What is the mission of your organization? Are you the person who wakes up every day determined to live that mission? Your mission represents your culture, and this should be sacred.

Leaders who put other people first inspire me. Leaders who put the organization’s purpose first inspires me. Leaders who stretch, stretch outside their comfort zone and live on the edge of fear inspire me. Fear not knowing if they can be successful. Fear of failure and not understanding how their ideas will be perceived. Leaders who take a chance on crucial conversations. Those are the qualities that inspire me.

Its growth, it’s expansive thinking, it’s risk-taking not just for the sake of taking a risk but aligned to a purpose. Living on the edge makes your organization stand head and shoulders above other organizations who are doing great work in your community.

There is a quote by Andy Stanley that says God has the opportunity to work between that gap being in control and out of control.

As a leader, who you decide to be and how you decide to lead drives organizational success. It doesn’t matter what you say, and it matters who you are and will do.

June 1, 2021May 30, 2021

Letter to Diagnostic Imaging Hero’s

I am curious when you knew you wanted to work in diagnostic imaging and what drove your decision to join the profession. My introduction to diagnostic imaging was in middle school, the day my brother, Ed, and I found two bullets and decided that hitting the bullets with a hammer was a good idea (not our brightest moment). The outcome as we bent over the shell, pounding it time after time with the hammer, is obvious—it went off. It missed important body parts but struck my brother in the arm and sent my mother flying out of the house to see what the noise was all about. While Ed didn’t have to have X-rays, a portable machine stood tall in the corner of the room, and the nurse answered question after question and showed us the film of a shoulder. From the days of film to the technology we have today, diagnostic imaging remains doctors’ go-to tool to examine a patient thoroughly.

You are so crucial to the treatment of our patients. X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds have become clear in a much safer and less invasive way. It gives me a genuine appreciation for modern technology and causes me to reflect on how physicians depend on the work you do.

I am sure you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 forced you to do more with less, work hard while adapting to new circumstances, provide results with challenging procedure standards, and save lives while risking your own You had no option to work from home. You are always essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your genuinely heroic actions. You were there before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our patients.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and image after image. The healthcare profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means so much to our physicians, team members, patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever. Thank you for being there for the child in middle school who broke a limb or pounded a bullet with a hammer.

Thank you for choosing to work at Kettering Medical Center.

Warmly,

May 31, 2021May 30, 2021

Letter to Phlebotomist Hero’s

When I think of phlebotomists, my mind instantly goes back the what seems like the late 1800s when I first made the jump into health care. Oh, the stories we tell of “the old days.” I have worked with phlebotomists working in their field for more than 50 years and always enjoyed hearing stories about their experiences: the days without computers, old methodologies, outdated lab equipment, and manual testing. Listening to these stories always makes me think about just how far we have come. It gives me a genuine appreciation for modern technology and causes me to reflect on how physician depends on the work you do.

I am sure that, as a phlebotomist, you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 pushed you to the limits as you learned to do more with less, work hard while adapting to new circumstances, provide results with challenging procedure standards, and save lives while risking your own. No option allowed you to work from home. It is good to be essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your truly heroic actions. You were there before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our patients.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and draw after draw. The health care profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our physicians, team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever.

Thank your for choosing to work at Kettering Medical Center.

Warmly,

May 30, 2021May 30, 2021

Letter to Respiratory Care Hero’s

The news is all about respiratory care. And while the information is about COVID-19, we understand that, at its most basic level, COVID-19 is a respiratory issue. Over the last year, you have played a crucial role in our response to the pandemic, with the influx of patients experiencing breathing problems. You are the guardians of a crucial piece of equipment: the ventilators that help our patients battling COVID-19. You have intervened countless times for the patient with chronic conditions, flu-like symptoms, or COVID-19, preserving their ability to breathe.

Not only are you called to treat their disease, but you are also there to give them a hand and someone to talk to—even holding the hand of someone who’s going through the end of life. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve had respiratory therapists help patients FaceTime their families when they couldn’t come in and see them. Despite challenging circumstances, you find ways to support not just the physical, but the emotional needs of our patients.

From high-risk deliveries to cardiac arrests and traumas, the cases you respond to are often during the scariest time in a patient life: when they can’t breathe. I sleep better at night knowing that you are on the front lines as a highly trained professional, helping patients overcome their respiratory illnesses.

I am sure you faced many challenges throughout 2020. Still, you persevered in each situation while maintaining and improving your high-quality service to our patients. COVID-19 pushed you to the limits as you worked hard while adapting to new circumstances, provided results with challenging procedure standards, and saved lives while risking your own. No option allowed you to work from home. It is good to be essential, but COVID-19 brought new meaning to that word. Thank you for your truly heroic actions. You were caring for patients before COVID-19 and excelled during the pandemic—and I’m so grateful that you will be there tomorrow to continue serving our community.

Thank you for your unfailing commitment day after day and treatment after treatment. The healthcare profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. I want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our physicians, team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever. Thank you for being there for the mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers who needed help catching their next breath.

Thank you for choosing to work at Kettering Health. Thank you for keeping our patients breathing easier.

With gratitude,

May 30, 2021

Letter to Laboratory Hero’s

I love the ability to write letters of thanks to our hero’s within the hospital. I am offended ask how I come up with what is within the letters. It comes from the heart. I will include some notes that I have written to different staff hero’s.

While COVID-19 may have put a damper on gatherings, the Laboratory has reason to have a whole-house celebration, with the remodeling completed and new automated equipment installed. Today, the lab is humming with professionals and machines working together, producing diagnostic results faster than ever to better serve our patients and our teams.

There is a sense of solidarity in bringing answers that drive patient treatments. While you work behind the scenes, you are a vital member of the Kettering Medical Center family; you are essential to the course of treatment and length of stay. You are indispensable to our patients, nursing teams, and physicians. You are the unsung heroes of clinical laboratories. You are called to work against the clock, underground and under pressure.You understand that every yes and no, every positive and negative, truly every result can change a life. You know that good is never good enough, so you check your work and ensure that accurate results are delivered.

Although it can be a tiring job, you do with an unfailing commitment day after day and test after test, because you know just how much is riding on your work. The health care profession is challenging, and there’s more to it than most people could ever imagine. We want to say thank you for all your hard work; it means a lot to our team members, our patients, and their families. Thank you for the sacrifices that you make. Thank you for doing the work that is now more important than ever.