By Beth Allen
Recently, our team was tasked with a high-profile project that would occur over the course of 5 days. The project could impact the reputation of our entire company. We planned for it, tried to have prepared solutions for any obstacles that we may encounter, and provided extra resources to be available during the event. Then the day came for us to give it our best shot. Ready or not, here we go!
On the last day of the event, I got a call from the facilitator of this project. She had one word to describe her impression of our team, “Flawless.” I was thrilled and deeply proud of our team. It was Friday afternoon and that seems like a perfect way to start the weekend. Better quit while we were ahead!
We did strategize our plan, adjusted as we went, and kept our eyes focused on the goal to complete the week successfully and safely. Extra bonus points awarded if we were also able to impress the client. Score! I think the most important key to our success was having the right people in place, ready to succeed. From reception to the assistants, technologists, managers and coordinators, this could not have gone better.
As leaders, we need to find the right person for the job, but we also need to find the right job for the person. Sometimes that may take a few tweaks.
Our directors practice intentional rounding. The goal is to listen to our team members to determine what we can do to help them do their jobs well, but we are also learning about what would make a difference so they can love where they work. We communicate things we want them to know and ask questions to ensure they are understanding quality and safety projects we have underway. We want to demonstrate that we truly care about each of them and the work they do, which is not easy in these challenging times.
Leader training go-to Simon Sinek mentioned something in a video that really resonated with me. He said that working hard for something you don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something you love is called passion. People that have a passion for taking care of our patients in a safe, efficient and empathetic way is who we need to hire. This is true for every single position within our company.
This is not always easy to identify. Many people know what to say in an interview to secure a position, only to find out they are not who they said they were. We need to manage those people off our teams. “Promote them to customer,” as a previous CEO used to say. It is a hard thing to do and the worst part of leadership, but it is how we support the rest of our team of people whose performance aligns with our values.
If we do hire someone that is a perfect match for our team but not a good fit for the position they hold, it is important that we help them find the spot that they are able to use their talents more naturally. We need to identify their strengths and help them nurture the skills that prepares them for a role that allows them to love their job.
I credit our successful completion of this project to the people that we had on our team, who had common goals, incredible communication, and creative solutions.
“The right people” is the secret sauce to making patients feel empathy, but also allowing patients to witness that those providing their care love what they do and where they work.
It starts from the top. As a leader it should be our number one priority. The rest will fall in line, if you choose the best people to be on your team. Once chosen, keep them by demonstrating how important they are to our overall success and our understanding of how deeply personal a position in healthcare can be.
I am so proud of our amazing team, grateful for the opportunities I have been given and I love where I work. That will continue to be true by being intentional about who we hire.
Thanks for all you do.
Beth Allen, RT(R)(CT), CRA, is the director, clinical operations at Banner Imaging
