All posts by Nicholas Missler

99-Applying business intelligence

Healthcare & Business Intelligence

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I took a sociology class in undergrad that focused on the healthcare industry, specifically evaluating the efficiency and quality of delivering services. Most of what we focused on was from the patient perspective and how the system either did or didn’t support patient needs. This article focuses on applying business strategy and intelligence to the healthcare industry from the perspective of the supplier/organization.

With the mounting scrutiny on healthcare costs and quality, especially with the implementation of the ACA, it will become increasingly important for innovative leaders to bring business savvy to the industry. I think it’s the moral debate at the heart of healthcare and whether it’s a human right vs. a service rendered that makes the issue even more interesting. Leaders who effectively balance business acumen with responsible decision-making (keeping patient needs in mind) to turn hospitals profitable, or at least sustainable, are in short supply.

With the vacuum of innovative leadership, the industry is in drastic need of smart reform so it’s nice to see the skills we’ve already been practicing in class outlined in tangible ways within healthcare. I wonder, as places like Emory start to merge their business schools and schools of public health or medicine, if the right solutions will tend to arise more prominently out of public policy initiatives or business practices? Systems like the National Health Service in the UK arose out of necessity through public policy after WWII. Without a national crisis such as that, the transition of our system to predominately government-based organizations rather than private will be far more gradual. In that time, the application of the cited business intelligence will hopefully highlight the best parts of competition and business practices while embracing the benefits of greater access.

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/TEC-90944/Applying-Business-Intelligence-to-the-Needs-of-Healthcare-Organizations.html##

feedback, team dynamics, team roles, work plans

Effective Leadership & Knowing Your Team

1 Comment

I’ve been able to work in a small office over the past 5 years, and one of the things I’ve really come to appreciate is the flexibility provided to our employees in terms of their work roles and job descriptions. Oftentimes, we hire someone with the intent they’ll complete a specific job or task in our office but then find their skill-set or personality lends itself better to a completely different role. We’ve had the ability to frequently re-organize and assign people to new areas with their specific strengths in mind, oftentimes leading to an increase of quality work output.

This seems to support the phrase “you should hire for personality and train for skill,” which I’ve heard on occasion. Given my experience, and within reason, this seems to make sense. If your employee fits into the office culture and has the basic intelligence level needed to succeed after a period of training, how can you go wrong? To effectively do this, a manager undoubtedly needs to know their team well. Good leaders need to understand their employee’s strengths and weaknesses, their goals and professional aspirations, as well as how each member interacts with the others.

I’ve copied two excerpts below that highlight these points. You have to know your employees well and then help them assume the role that not only makes them most happy at work, but will ultimately benefit the organization as whole:

2. Know Their Stories – Take time to get to know the people you work with, especially your direct reports. Have coffee or a meal with them. Ask questions to learn about their lives and what’s important to them. Questions unrelated to work might include “so you were born and then what happened?”; “what are your interests outside of work?”; and “where did you grow up?” These questions typically open the door for you to ask follow-up questions. This will give you insights into how the people you work with are wired, including what they value at work and in their lives outside of work.

3. Help People Get Into the “Right Role” – Help your direct reports get into the right role that fits their interests and strengths, and provides the right degree of challenge. If you are not able to get them a role that is a good fit, consider responsibilities or projects you can assign them that fit well with their wiring.

 

What I’m most curious about, is whether the flexibility and real-world practice of these two traits carry over into larger corporations or organizational structures. Do those of you who work in larger environments experience this type of management style and job responsibility flexibility?

See the full article here: http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2014/07/10/7-best-practices-to-boost-employee-engagement/