Real Leaders Don't Boss (30 page)
Read Real Leaders Don't Boss Online
Authors: Ritch K. Eich
Develop numerous ways that younger talent can have increasing responsibilities.
Executives and other leaders should be required to spend quality time identifying and developing talent deep within the organization. Top executives are more successful, too, if they regularly provide learning opportunities for young managers.
Develop the human resources function.
Its responsibilities should include oversight of an in-house leadership development curriculum, which is essential to provide added value to the organization. A unified, systematic leadership development approach is far more effective than unrelated, episodic efforts by various departments.
Develop the moral fiber, values, and ethical standards that often are lacking in today's leaders.
When aspiring leaders are given real-world challenges that involve right and wrong, they learn lasting lessons. Core values and ethical principles are more quickly ingrained when learned early in a career.
Selection of personnel and leadership development are two of the most important responsibilities of an executive. In my nine years as head of marketing, public relations, physician outreach, and hospital affiliations at Indiana University Medical Center, I had the best team of professionals one could assemble for healthcare. At that time, IU Medical Center consisted of Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Indiana University Hospital. Our function was called Medical Center Relations, and it consisted of the following subdivisions: physician and consumer referral systems; publications; media relations; outreach to practicing physicians across Indiana and beyond; hospital affiliations; speakers bureau; and marketing, including a substantial commitment to market research, wayfinding, and other tasks.
As I reflect back on those turbulent years of hospital alignment, merger frenzy, and cost containment, I remember superb leadersâmembers of my team, including Mary Minix, Kathryn Alexander, Lynaire White, Jan Michelson, Karen Alter, Kathleen Hopper, Brian Kelley, Suzie Mathis, Kim Harper, Barbara McElroy, Barbara Hollingsworth, and others. Their leadership was characterized by being very approachable, excellent listeners and writers, gifted researchers, and able to develop deep trust with the community as well as academic physicians and hospital staffs. Their communication styles were open, consultative, clear,
and persuasive. Each had a stellar work ethic and believed that passion was fundamental to their success, because if you do not put your heart into your work, you will not succeed. They loved their work and they had very high standards. I've never worked with a more dedicated group of outstanding professionals. Most important, though, each was highly ethical and fully dedicated to our mission, which was to help all who had a connection with our medical centers, be it the very sick child in Riley or adult patient in University Hospital and the medical and health professionals attending to them, the referring physician who needed to be connected quickly with the attending faculty physician, the hospital executive in an outlying Indiana hospital who needed assistance, the consumer trying to navigate the complexities of the healthcare environment, or the businessperson in need of a speaker.
Alden B. Dow, noted architect and son of Dow Chemical Company founder Herbert Dow, once said that “an artist in pursuit of his profession should exhibit a balance of honesty, humility, and enthusiasm. Honesty, more than sincerity; humility, the ability to give and take gracefully; and enthusiasm, the ardent pursuit of expression.” Dow's employees often referred to this statement as “HH&E.”
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Beyond colleges and universities, leadership training is not the sole purview or responsibility of corporations and businesses. Many community and business organizations, as well as regional groups, colleges, and universities, offer insightful and valuable leadership education experiences. Some of the
programs best positioned to identify and develop future leaders often are associated with local chambers of commerce. I have participated in several of these myself, including Leadership San Francisco, and Stanley K. Lacy's Executive Leadership Program Opportunity Indianapolis.
The issues and topics of these kinds of leadership programs vary depending on the level of sophistication and economic health of the specific community or region. Nonetheless, the programs generally share important leadership development goals, including:
Becoming better informed about pressing community issues and needs.
Getting to know business and civic leaders who have been instrumental in shaping the community.
Acquiring the knowledge and resources to become effective change agents in the community.
Determining each class member's specific passion, connecting with others, and broadening horizons.
Building an extended network of community contacts, friends, and mentors.