HEALTHCARE CEO ROUNDTABLE INSIGHTS

On April 1 and 2, 2019, several healthcare CEOs from around the US gathered to discuss challenging issues. A record of the two days discussion was captured “visually” by Root artist, Victor Zhang. Using the visual created in the CEO conversations and presentations, we created the “top 12” insights – and questions – that arose on the picture. It’s essential to not only think about the observations and conclusions made, but also to ask what might be done to address them by engaging others in the conversation. We do this because we believe that while your leaders and team members will likely tolerate your directives and perspectives, they will ultimately act and align on their own conclusions. Ideally, they need to be actively involved in both the discussions and the solutions. So how might you help others to see what you see, and by the same token, ask these questions in order to discover future answers that incorporate shared vision, shared purpose, and shared meaning through the process?

Top 12 Insights and Provocations

Engagement and feedback across our organizations is not the same for each role or person – we must act accordingly.

Question: Might we think about engagement as a multifaceted approach with different audiences and needs? What will that require that we are not doing today?

The shift from the old to future health care delivery system is taking away autonomy and control from those who used to lead it (physicians in particular).

Question: How do we create a better team culture and processes to allow physicians to lead change while still being held accountable for defined, shared goals?

The imperative for profit (and productivity) and its use as a driver of physician behavior often outweighs our ability to focus on quality and experience.

Question: How might we reverse this dynamic by leveraging patient safety, quality, and experience to drive higher value and profit? And, are physicians truly that motivated by money?

Our patient population and our channels our changing, and new generations value convenience and ease of care more than the relationships or clinical quality we have provided in the past.

Question: How might we consider these new “retail” customers as a bottom line (more profitable) opportunity versus an effort to expand the top line with these smaller services?

The role of CEO is rife with its own constraints and pressures, from “getting the job” to keeping it, and few understand this besides other CEOs.

Question: How might I better prepare upcoming leaders with CEO potential to step into their role with their “eyes wide open”?

Identifying, educating, and guiding future leaders is critical for building a foundation of next-generation leadership potential, including the role of CEO itself.

Question: How might I better design succession plans for the role of CEO as well as broaden our perspectives on who has that potential?

The two best ways to solidify legal and compliance integrity is to 1) maintain strong third-party partnerships, and 2) welcome internal transparency and communication.

Question: How might we create environments that welcome voices of transparency and truth-telling, and prevent the organization’s natural tendency to vilify them?

The overarching need for true physician engagement is to first create shared purpose, shared vision, and shared meaning – from all sides.

Question: How might we rethink the way that we are inviting physicians to the table and communicating how we want to mutually engage rather than how we want them to be engaged with our own directives or conclusions?

Navigating change in today’s world is further complicated by outsiders coming in to disrupt our systems with new ways of thinking and delivery care.

Question: How might we be our own disruptors rather than waiting to be disrupted by new entrants into our industry?

Traditional methods of communication are falling on deaf ears – or in other words, death by PowerPoint.

Question: How might we rethink the traditional techniques and approaches we use when communicating with our physicians, leaders, and team members?

Physician leadership has changed from a singular role in the organization to multiple roles and functions, requiring many different leadership types.

Question: How might we prepare for integrating physician leaders into every aspect of leading health care in our organization tomorrow?

Physician leadership is one “golden bullet” against physician burnout – and it’s not just a job description.

Question: How might we connect the dots between leadership and burnout, and use the opportunity of intentional engagement to solve this pressing problem?