Becker's Hospital Review

34 POPULATION HEALTH 34 CEO/STRATEGY Rest, journaling and listening: The habits hospital leaders developed this year By Kelly Gooch A s hospital and health system leaders evolve in their roles, they oen pick up new habits that stick with them. Becker's Hospital Review asked some of these leaders to share a leadership habit they've de- veloped in 2019 and why it is important to them. Read their responses below, presented alphabetically. Note: e following responses were lightly edit- ed for length and clarity. Vanessa Benavides Chief compliance and privacy officer at Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.) As a leader, your response to situations that don't go as planned can help others transcend disappointments. When you remove blame, you help others to grow and to see a path for- ward following a setback. is year has deep- ened my appreciation of grace and introspec- tion as a path to renewal. Joseph R. Betancourt, MD Chief equity and inclusion officer at Massa- chusetts General Hospital (Boston) I listen carefully to the language and terms people use. I've been fascinated by how, through subtle communication strategies, we can rebrand efforts to energize them, or dodge tough issues by obscuring them with carefully placed words and terms. For exam- ple, leaders in healthcare have always known about the impact of public health on health outcomes, yet the term "social determinants of health" has reenergized this effort; same issue, different term, newfound energy. Sim- ilarly, whereas there was great attention to racial and ethnic disparities in health in re- cent years, the emergence of the term social determinants of health has become a broader bucket term that creates the opportunity to avoid discussing directly the impact of race and ethnicity on healthcare and health out- comes. As I try to advance work in equity and inclusion, being a student of language and communication has become a key leadership habit I've honed over the last year. Tricia Smith-Edris Chief strategy officer of AdventHealth — Central Florida Division (Orlando) One of the leadership habits I have been working on developing this year is being a better listener. Empathic and active listening to understand not just what is being said, but the deeper messages and meaning behind the words. I find listening is an undervalued lead- ership skill — most communication classes and workshops focus on how to make one's point, and the use of language to inform and inspire, but don't mention listening. And I think most of us believe we are naturally good listeners. In reality, I can remember only a handful of leaders I have worked with who were really good at listening. As I've been in- tentionally working on being a better listener, I have found it is not easy. Like all things, it requires discipline and practice in order to become a habit. It requires me to set my agen- da aside to hear what others are really saying. I am learning the quality of my listening directly correlates to the quality of my rela- tionships. And relationships are central to everything I do — whether that is in creating new partnerships, developing consumer ex- periences to deliver on our brand promise, or engaging with our community. As an orga- nization, AdventHealth has also been grow- ing and expanding our consumer listening skills with positive results. We are putting the consumer at the center of everything we do. Having effective and intentional processes to listen ensures we are meeting people's needs, providing solutions and driving value. Chris Ghaemmaghami, MD CMO of University of Virginia Medical Center (Charlottesville) I have learned to be more appreciative of the hard work of the teams and to promote more gratitude by thanking people whenever there is an opportunity. A handwritten thank you note to a team member goes a long way to improve engagement and build relationships. Kelly Jo Golson Chief marketing officer of Advocate Aurora Health (Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee) In today's "always-on" culture, more and more of our team members — whether clinical staff or corporate professionals — struggle with burnout. Over the past year, I've focused on cultivating resilience both personally and throughout my team to fight burnout, adapt to change and hone a growth mindset as we tack- le the challenge of transforming healthcare. On a practical level, this has meant relent- lessly pursuing clarity around priorities and expectations so that we avoid feeling overwhelmed, as well as taking the time to celebrate small wins as we chip away at big goals. Most importantly, building resilience has required establishing psychological safe- ty by demonstrating a willingness to make mistakes and take risks. I make clear that no one who reports to me will be penalized for speaking up or broaching what seems like a crazy idea. e trust that this attitude en- genders creates meaningful workplace rela- tionships and gives us the courage to pursue transformative ideas. I can't change the world's technology-fueled sense of immediacy or our industry's increas- ing complexity. I can, however, control how I respond to stress and how I encourage my team to respond. By creating a workplace cul- ture that champions people's whole selves and builds resiliency, I like to think I'm demon- strating to tomorrow's leaders that profes- sional success and personal fulfillment need not be mutually exclusive. Richard Helmers, MD Vice president of Mayo Clinic Health Sys- tem's northwest Wisconsin region e leadership habit I have tried to develop this year is to consciously try to get more/ enough sleep every night. I read this in a business leadership journal. It pointed out that you make the best decisions when con- sistently rested, and that is better than not getting enough sleep due to reading every de- tailed email and every report, and those you lead are better off when you are better rested but less well-read! Kecia M. Kelly, DNP, RN CNO of CommonSpirit Health's Northern California division I have become more intentional in practicing self-care. As a busy healthcare executive who also hap- pens to be a nurse, caring for others first comes natural to me. Not only am I caring for those I serve at work, but also my family and oth- er loved ones. It is easy to place myself on the back burner. We nurses are very guilty of this. I have always started my day with exer- cise. For me, exercise is as routine as eating breakfast or driving to work. It is just who I am and what I do. I am able to dive into my day knowing that I have placed myself first. I have always considered this a lifestyle choice to keep me healthy and provide longevity so that I can one day play with my grandchil- dren. is year, however, I have begun to view it more in the context of leadership. My role and responsibilities have expanded this year; therefore, health and wellness have

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