Tag Archives: Courage

NEARLY 50% OF UPPER-LEVEL MANAGERS AVOID HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE

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Nearly 50% of Upper-Level Managers Avoid Holding People Accountable

 

46% of upper-level managers are rated “too little” on the item, “Holds people accountable … .” (HBR)

You missed the point if accountability is:

  1. Coercing reluctance to do things it isn’t committed to do.
  2. Expecting performance from weakness. Accountability won’t help squirrels lay eggs.
  3. Punishment.

Accountability:

  1. Says we are responsible to each other.
  2. Expresses commitment. Those who aren’t willing to be accountable haven’t committed.
  3. Defines dependability. What’s more insulting than one unprepared person on a team filled with talent?
  4. Demonstrates confidence and self-respect.
  5. Sets the ground rules for respect and trust.

Accountability recognizes strength and honors performance.

Mutual accountability:

I’ve never been asked to lead a workshop on how to hold ourselves accountable. It’s always about others. That is the heart of the problem.

Accountability is something to work on together, not mandate from on high.

One-sided accountability:

  1. Leverages fear.
  2. Depends on carrots and sticks.
  3. Promotes disconnection and arrogance. Relationships disintegrate when leaders stand aloof.
  4. Invites resentment and disengagement.
  5. Dis-empowers those who need to feel powerful.

Mutual accountability:

  1. Requires leaders to go first.
  2. Demands respect-based interactions.
  3. Strengthens connection and relationship. We are responsible to help the people around us succeed.
  4. Honors integrity and courage.
  5. Gives opportunity for humility.

Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat, said, “Go into every interaction with those who work for you believing that you are as accountable to them for your performance as they are to you for their performance.”, and author of, “The Open Organization.”

Practice accountability:

Blurry responsibility leads to vague accountability. Vague accountability is no accountability.

  1. Who owns the project or initiative?
  2. Who makes decisions? The group. A project leader. Someone who isn’t in the room.
  3. What are the deliverables?
  4. What are the milestones and deadlines?
  5. What happens when deadlines are missed?

Complexity is like fog to accountability.

What might mutual accountability look like in your organization?

How might leaders lift accountability out of the category of punishment?

Courage: Critical Leadership Characteristic

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http://johngself.com/self-perspective/2013/01/courage-critical-leadership-characteristic/#.WbggUciGMdU

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Our new year is bringing ample challenges to the healthcare industry, from strategies to deal with the Affordable Care Act, to the realities that deficit reduction will require additional cuts in Medicare reimbursement to providers.

Congress is still in denial about the biggest problem with deficit spending – Medicare, but healthcare executives should not draw any hope that they will somehow escape the pain.

Cuts in payments inevitably will spark conflict on a national basis, as various healthcare groups bicker over how to divide the smaller financial pie.  These “who wins and who loses financial conflicts” will almost certainly “trickle down” to local relationships between hospitals, physicians, and other providers.  When money is involved, there will always be tension, and tension will lead to conflict.

This tension, and the conflicts that surface, will be the second biggest contributor to CEO turnover during the next five years, after the Baby Boomer retirement effect.  Today, annual hospital CEO turnover is about 17 percent.  I predict that will escalate to more than 20 percent in that five-year timeframe.

As I considered these probable developments, I began to rethink my beliefs regarding the competencies and ideal characteristics of the senior leaders who run hospitals.

As I thought about this over the holidays, I realized that the leadership characteristic that kept moving to the top of my list was courage.  Yes, communication and relationship management, industry knowledge and business skills are all critical, as is integrity, but I think courage is very important.

These next several years will produce unprecedented change.  This change, in addition to concerns about finances, will produce enormous unrest as we redefine how healthcare must be delivered.  Hard choices, very hard choices, will be the norm.

These tumultuous times will require leaders who are smart, who possess a deep understanding of healthcare operations who are proven performers, and who are excellent communicators.  But more importantly, these men and women must have the courage, the courage to promote innovation and change.  They must possess the courage to do the right thing when, career-wise, it would be easier to take the easy way out.

University Hospital boss talks changes after nurse arrest, says ‘this will not happen again’

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http://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2017/09/04/live-university-hospital-officials-discuss-arrest-of-nurse-who-refused-to-draw-blood/

University Hospital boss talks changes after nurse arrest, says ‘this will not happen again’

Administrators at University Hospital said Monday they have already changed policies so nurses, like the one who was arrested earlier this summer for refusing to draw a patient’s blood, no longer interact with police.

At a news conference Monday, Gordon Crabtree, the interim chief executive officer of University Hospital, said the nurse, Alex Wubbels, upheld hospital policy and patient privacy despite her July 26 arrest.

“Her actions are nothing less than exemplary,” Crabtree said. ”She handled the situation with utmost courage and integrity.”

The Labor Day news conference occurred on the same day Wubbels spoke on the ”TODAY Show.” She said while the discussions she’s had with the Salt Lake City Police Department have been progressive, she released the police body camera video Thursday because she felt University Hospital and the campus police force had not appropriately responded to the episode.

Crabtree took time Monday to praise Wubbels and to describe changes that have been implemented. Crabtree also said the University of Utah’s attorneys are considering whether to take action against Salt Lake City police and Jeff Payne, the detective who arrested Wubbels. Crabtree didn’t elaborate.

“His actions were out of line,” Crabtree said of Payne. “There’s absolutely no tolerance for that kind of behavior in our hospital.”

On July 26, Payne wanted Wubbels to draw the blood of 43-year-old William Gray, who was unconscious after being involved in a fiery crash earlier in the day in Logan. Wubbels refused, citing hospital policy against drawing the blood of someone without that person’s consent or without a warrant for arrest.

Thursday, bodycam video was released of Payne shouting at Wubbels and handcuffing and arresting her on suspicion of obstruction of justice. Police released her after about 20 minutes.

The video went viral and was picked up by many national news outlets. It drew nationwide criticism last week.

Payne has been placed on leave pending an internal investigation by Salt Lake City police and the city’s Civilian Review Board. Salt Lake County’s Unified Police Department has opened a criminal investigation at the request of District Attorney Sim Gill.

Crabtree said the hospital staffers are doing everything in their power to support Wubbels in the aftermath of the arrest.

“We have a traumatized nurse and a traumatized team,” Crabtree said referring to the burn unit.

Wubbels returned to the burn unit about a week-and-a-half after the arrest, said Margaret Pearce, chief of nursing. But her schedule is flexible so that she can take as much time as she needs.

“Alex took the time she needed,” Pearce said. “We’ve been playing it by ear with her.”

Nurses will no longer interact with police, Pearce said. That will be left to hospital administrators.

“We have to make sure this never, ever happens again,” Pearce said. “I was appalled at the events of July 26. She was advocating for the rights of her patient. She did this beautifully.”

The new policy, which was implemented in mid-August, will require police to interact with the hospital supervisor. It also will prevent law enforcement officials from entering the emergency room, burn unit or other patient areas in the hospital.

Crabtree and Pearce said the new policy began to be developed within hours of Wubbels’ arrest.

“As the CEO of this hospital, I take this very seriously,” Crabtree said. “We must stand together and make sure this is what it should be, a place for healing and a place for safety.”

Wubbels and her attorney, Karra Porter, said they released the video because police were not taking the event seriously. Porter has said her client does not necessarily want to file a lawsuit, but wants changes from both the Salt Lake City police force and police and security forces at the University of Utah.

University of Utah Police Chief Dale Brophy took an apologetic tone when he said he didn’t understand the gravity of the incident until he saw the body camera video.

“My reaction changed after viewing the video,” he said. “She shouldn’t have been hauled off in handcuffs.”

Apparently following protocol, two university police or security officers stood by during the arrest. Brophy said all of his officers will get training in de-escalation techniques. It remains unclear, however, whether university police will engage Salt Lake City officers differently in the future.

Nonetheless, Crabtree said that when it comes to University Hospital and its new policy, such an incident cannot take place again.

 

3 WAYS TO LEAD IN PRESERVING OUR INDEPENDENCE

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3 Ways to Lead in Preserving Our Independence

Amidst the social gatherings and backyard barbecues of the Independence Day celebrations that we have each year, there are many important and dramatic stories about the sacrifices of our founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Some of them are inflated, but what is true is they knew that it was a bold, courageous step that would prompt a strong response from the mother country. What they expected was brutal military action against them by the best organized and equipped army in the world. There were personal and professional risks for those leaders.

The Price of Freedom in the POW Camps

The same challenges were true for our senior leaders in the Vietnam POW camps. There was a lot at stake as they wrestled to set an example for the rest of us to serve with honor in difficult times.

As POWs, we battled daily to have the freedoms that we enjoy in the U.S. We know what it’s like to live without freedom, and we don’t take it for granted. I know it can sound a bit trite, but it’s true—Freedom is not Free.

“FREEDOM IS THE BURNING DESIRE OF EVERY HUMAN BEING, BUT IT COMES WITH A RESPONSIBILITY.”

It can only be maintained by what my organization calls the core of courageous accountability – Character, Courage, and Commitment.

courageous accountability

The Courageous Accountability Model(tm) is featured in Lee’s book, Engage with Honor: Building a Culture of Courageous Accountability.

The Internal Battle

Human nature naturally goes toward the easy way out. The truth is that honor, character, courage, and commitment do not have many easy days.

“LIVING AND LEADING WITH HONOR REQUIRES SACRIFICE, AND IT’S MAINLY LETTING GO OF OUR EGO AND SELF-INTEREST.”

We’re always bound to self-interest, yet we must learn to periodically rise above it and that takes sacrifice to put the good of others first. That’s what our founders did, what the military does, and what our elected representatives are supposed to do.

In fact, we all play a role in preserving our freedom and national security.

Safeguarding our Freedom and Independence

As we reflect this month on our national independence and individual liberty, it’s a good time to reflect on our individual responsibilities for preserving these liberties that we can so easily take for granted.

So you might ask, “What can I do to help safeguard our independence and freedom?”Playing off our brand and mission at Leading with Honor®, we are engaged in a battle to be leaders who live with honor.

Here are three important points:

  1. Lead and manage yourself. Live as a person of honor. If you need some guidance, download the Honor Code.
  2. Set the example. Influence the next generation and help them understand that freedom requires responsibility.
  3. Hold your elected leaders accountable. Make sure that they’re serving with honorable behavior that serves the best interest of freedom and our country’s founding principles rather than themselves.

The Sacrificial Payoff

This mindset is not easy. It takes courageous, character, and commitment that’s supported by self-awareness and discipline. To be frank, living and leading with honor doesn’t come easy. It requires an ongoing battle with the dark and lazy side of human nature. it’s easy to just settle, drift and become indifferent and apathetic about our greatest treasures as a nation.

So as you gathered with your family and friends, I hope that you paused to remember your responsibilities as a citizen and as a protector of our freedoms.

It’s very clear that our founders understood that when they signed off on the Declaration of Independence and closed with these words:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Please share your comments and experiences below, too.

PROTECT YOUR FREEDOM BY ENGAGING WITH HONOR

The foundational pillars of Character, Courage, and Commitment form the bedrock to lead with a model of courageous accountability shown in the article. Want to learn the full model to continue growing as an honorable leader? 

For a limited time, we’re offering the Engage with Honor Launch Package when you purchase a copy this award-winning book.

“BEYOND COMPETENCY – WHY CHARACTER, COURAGE, AND COMMITMENT SETS YOU APART”

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Watch this clip – “Beyond competency – why character, courage, and commitment sets you apart”

Rather than having fear and trepidation about the concept of accountability, Lee briefly explains the positive aspects of courageous accountability as a means to achieving your goals.

The key is to establish an authentic foundation of character, courage, and commitment so you can build consistency and trust with yourself and others. Please watch and share your comments – thank you

THE PEOPLE WHO LEAD THE BEST TRY THE LEAST

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The People Who Lead the Best Try the Least

Genuine leadership:

Real leaders change us effortlessly. Who they are influences us more than what they do. Comfort with themselves and their belief in us gives us courage to open our hearts to their influence.

Authentic leaders give us courage to see strength in ourselves because they don’t need us to affirm their worth. Phony leaders fear power in others and work to control rather than release.

Jim Parker, former CEO of Southwest Airlines said his favorite word of advice to leaders is, “Be yourself.” Warren Bennis said, “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself.”

The leader on a white horse is a myth propagated by our own fears and neediness.

Finding genuine leadership:

Jot down memories of people and events. Who comes to mind when you think of your past? How are they living in you today?

Authenticity consists of your responses to influential individuals and formative circumstances combined with your genetic code. You can’t change genetics. You can interpret and assimilate circumstances and relationships.

Say what you really think. “Candor says, ‘Here’s what I think. What do you think?’” Kim Scott, author of, Radical Candor. The courage to say what you think is formative. Our words impact who we become.

If you can’t say what you think, you can’t become who you were meant to be.

Abandon yourself to a grand idea and live it in small ways everyday. Don’t dabble on the edges of purposeful work. There is no authority except in submission to something meaningful that lies outside ourselves – a calling that finds expression in a cause.

I mentioned that our responses to circumstances and people combined with genetics constitutes authenticity. What other components of authenticity do you see?

How might leaders become themselves?

The Top 4 Challenges Facing Leaders Today

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