Just like many industries, healthcare is facing many challenges. Increasing demands to do more with less; the influx of Millennials into the workforce, rapid advances in technology and evolving expectations of staff and patients. The rapid pace of change is creating a sense of urgency among leaders and managers to find new and better ways of leading their organizations.
But, managers and leaders no longer have the luxury of time. They must find new training and development tools and techniques that are easy to implement and produce sustainable results. Gone are the days of bringing in a new consultant each year to train on yet a different approach – only to see disappointing results.
One approach that has staying power and is having great success in healthcare organizations is that of taking a coach approach to leadership. Coaching brings out the best whether it is in performance, communications, relationships or team building. Individuals at all levels throughout the organization can learn coaching skills. Coaching can be done on the fly, during a conversation in the hallway or over a coffee. When done right it becomes a new way of thinking, communicating and leading that becomes an integral part of every interaction.
We’ve implemented our coaching programs in a number of healthcare organizations and continue to get reports of real and exciting success. Here is just one example; in this case there were many positive results including an unexpected trickle-down effect.
A children’s hospital specializing in brain injury contracted with us to build coaching skills in their organization. What started as a program to bring coaching skills to leaders and managers went viral. Staff at all levels started noticing a difference and seeing results. They wanted to go through the training. An unexpected benefit was the use of coaching skills not only in employee communications but also in communicating with patients and families. Staff saw that the coach approach was a better way to communicate clearly, improve understanding and comprehension and support the achievement of optimal outcomes.
We think there is much to be learned from these success stories and we’ve put together a webinar to share this information including the Nuts and Bolts of how these successes are being achieved. We’ll also discuss how these can apply to your organization whether you are in healthcare or any industry facing similar challenges.
