Becker's Hospital Review

86 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Becker's Speaker Series: 6 questions with executives from Cleveland Clinic, Yale New Haven Health and Sutter Health I n a special Speaker Series, Becker's Healthcare caught up with three executives speaking at the Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Rev- enue Cycle Conference Sept. 19-22 to talk team motiva- tion, innovation and recommended reading. Edward Marx, CIO of Cleveland Clinic, will give a key- note speech Sept. 20. Lisa Stump, senior vice president and CIO of Yale New Haven Health and Yale School of Medicine in Connecti- cut, will speak on a keynote panel Sept. 21 titled, "Pop- ulation Health, Consumerism, Digital Health and More." Patrick McDermott, vice president of revenue cycle at Sutter Health in Sacramento, Calif., will speak on a panel Sept. 19 titled, "Transforming Revenue Cycle Culture with Analytics, Automation and Training Working Together." Question: Can you share best advice for motivating your team? Edward Marx: Showcase the vision of the organization and how your team's work aligns to it. When you can help connect the dots for teams, people begin to see that what they do day in and day out really makes a dif- ference. That is motivation. Lisa Stump: I start by focusing my team on why we are here: to enhance the lives of those we serve, our patients, our communities and the caregivers who support them. Motivating my teams is much easier when that focus is clear. Then, we focus on what is possible: defining what it will take to get it done. The focus on what it will take to get it done balances what is possible with a realistic focus on the resources — such as time, people, training, dollars, technology — we need to be successful. By identifying the positive actions we can take, setting real milestones and tracking progress to those milestones, we channel our en- ergy into action rather than getting stuck in all the reasons why we can't. Patrick McDermott: People are intrinsically motivated, but "bosses" get in the way because they unintentionally dis- courage or diminish people. This lowers confidence, initia- tive taking and overall morale or energy at work. So the key is for "leaders" — not bosses — to become more self-aware, present and intentional on how they are motivating or the opposite. Now, on occasion, when we [goof] up, we need to apologize and humble ourselves to restore trust. Q: How do you promote innovation within your or- ganization? EM: I am fortunate to serve in an organization whose culture is rooted in innovation. We actively encourage innovation by example, highlighting our successes. We have an innovations focused division that assists care- givers with great ideas to help bring them to market. We encourage caregivers to take calculated risks, thinking of new ways of doing things and not accepting status quo. I always say that innovation begins with self-reflec- tion and asking yourself how you model and encourage innovation and build from there. Q: What is your No. 1 deal breaker when it comes to evaluating vendor partnerships? LS: Vendor partnerships are critical to achieving our goals. Not every vendor is a partner and I don't use the term vendor-partner lightly. A vendor who can't be trust- ed is our biggest deal breaker. Using dishonest tactics to get an audience, pricing models that don't reflect a partnership in achieving our goals, or misrepresenting experience with us or with others are just a few of the things that make it clear that the vendor doesn't share our values — and that's a big dealbreaker. Q: In the past 12 months, how have you adapted to new patient experience expectations in the age of consumerism? PM: [We have been] rethinking our patient facing pro- cesses to be more like Uber [and] Amazon [by] using a "design with empathy" approach. Q: What's the best thing you've read lately? EM: As a leadership team we read the same books and then compare insights. The last two included "Team of Teams" by General Stanley McChrystal and "Measure What Matters" by John Doerr. I highly recommend both. LS: Gender equity is a crucially important issue, and I dedicate time and energy to understanding its impact on women in our workforce, on the quality of our busi- ness and on my own impact and influence. One of the best things I've read recently is a book called "The In- fluence Effect: A New Path to Power for Women Lead- ers." With the majority of our healthcare workforce com- prised of women, and the majority of health decisions made by women in our society, enhancing the number of women leaders in healthcare is an important mission. And the book is not just for women — men can gain some real insights into workplace dynamics that will serve our organizations and our communities well. PM: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon Mackenzie. n

• Cover