Q: Any words of wisdom for a new leader?
After 25 years as a front-line healthcare worker, I made the move to leadership. As Clinical Manager in a home healthcare agency, I now lead three supervisors and nearly 60 field staff. We serve roughly 350 patients across three counties. Here's what I learned.
Be humble. Arrogance has no place in leadership. I don't know everything (in fact, the more I learn the more I realize how little I know); I don't have all the answers; and I'm not always right. I make mistakes, and when I do I need to admit it, apologize, and seek to make it right.
Be curious. There is much to learn and much to explore. Ask questions. Seek answers. Dig deep into both the numbers and the people. Look for motivations and intentions. Probe for thoughts and opinions.
Be open-minded. Inflexibility and close-mindedness breeds more of the same. If I want to be heard and understood, I need to do the same for those around me. It's a good practice to learn to put your preconceived ideas and opinions on hold and listen to what others have to say. Respectfully. And consider their point of view.
Test ideas before acting on them. I've learned to talk things through before forming a solid opinion. Sometimes, just hearing myself verbalize an idea is beneficial. Getting feedback from others and allowing them to pick apart my idea is priceless. Ideas grow and evolve (or die a sudden death) when they are introduced to others for examination.
Be honest and transparent. There's no need to pretend to be something I'm not. If I have no answer, I need to be okay with admitting it. If I messed up, I need to be okay with owning it. If I have an issue with someone's behavior, I need to talk frankly with them. Honesty, tempered with gentleness, is one of the greatest tools a leader has.
Focus on the "why." Educate and explain. I learned from my time in the field that people respond much better if they know the "why" behind a directive. Also, it allows others to see my heart and motivation and intent behind what I'm asking.
Be fair. Don't have favorites. Treat everyone equally. People are watching for this, and one show of unfairness or preferential treatment can break trust. Everyone should be held to the same expectations.
Be respectful. Treat people as if they are invaluable because they are. Everyone carries with them an intrinsic worth and purpose simply by being human. Regardless of how I feel about their attitude, opinions, or behavior I am called to treat them with respect. They deserve that.
Relationships with those you lead is a covenant, not a contract. A contract is a legal document stating the responsibilities of two parties. It is cold and lifeless; a statement of expectations and consequences. A covenant is a relationship between two people where they agree to participate equally. It is affirming and worthy of investing in. I remind myself of this often.
Be encouraging and appreciative. Don't let appreciation go unexpressed. People need to be reminded that what they do is meaningful and worthwhile, and even life changing. They need to hear that often and in various ways. I don't believe you can over-encourage someone. Healthcare is a tough calling and those in the trenches need to know they are seen and appreciated.
Be consistent and predictable. I have a code of conduct I live by and a moral compass. Everyone around me has learned where that compass points and what kind of behavior stems from it. They expect that of me. To behave outside of my code and be unpredictable is to break the trust of those around me.
Be positive but grounded in reality. Positivity is a choice and can turn the mood of a meeting, a conversation, or an interaction. But unrealistic positivity is a facade and can have devastating consequences. Recognize the reality of a situation but find some positive to focus on. There is always hope, always light. It may be dim or even just a spark, but it's there if you look for it.
Look for the whole story . . . and find it in the numbers and the people. They tell us, "Numbers don't lie." And they don't. But they also don't tell the whole story. The rest of the story is found in people. To be an effective leader I need to spend time with and talk to the people doing the work. They often have a much different point of view than I do.
It's okay to make mistakes. I'm learning to not be afraid of failing. Failure and mistakes are a necessary part of the learning process. Life is a road that stretches from foolishness to wisdom. Every time I fail or make a mistake and learn from it, I take one step farther away from foolishness and one step closer to wisdom.
I've kept my ears, eyes, and mind open and have learned much, but I haven't learned everything. I've taken a few steps closer to wisdom, but I've not yet arrived. In fact, I'm still a long way off. But I've discovered that the more I keep my mind open and my heart pliable, the more I learn. And the more I learn the better I lead and serve those around me.
Lowering the risk of mother's sepsis or death after childbirth
NIH: Research found that infusions of the antibiotic azithromycin significantly reduced the risk of infections among women who had a cesarean delivery. Experts now recommend that women receive the antibiotic during cesarean delivery. To test if the drug would have similar effects among mothers planning a vaginal birth, a research team enrolled more than 29,000 women. The trial was conducted in seven low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Participants were randomly assigned to received either a single azithromycin pill or a similar-looking placebo pill during labor in this double-blinded study. Among the 14,526 participants who received azithromycin, 227 (1.6%) either died or developed sepsis within six weeks after delivery. In contrast, 344 of 14,637 (2.4%) who'd received the placebo died or developed sepsis. Azithromycin reduced the risk of maternal death or sepsis by about a third. Deaths were rare in both groups, occurring in 0.1% of participants overall. Sepsis arose in only 1.5% of those who got the antibiotic, compared with 2.3% in the placebo group. The participants in the antibiotic group had fewer hospital readmissions and unscheduled health care visits as well. The study was originally designed to enroll up to 34,000 women. But the maternal benefits of azithromycin were so clear that the study was stopped early.