Serious Healthcare Leaders Build Systems that Deliver Results

At the end of the day, the healthcare leader’s job is to get results. And it’s a hard job. Leaders have many demands, pulling them in different directions. Many leaders work in systems that are not designed to help them get results.

Results = Strategy x Execution

Fundamentally, results are a product of strategy and execution. The better either is the better the results. In my experience, execution is really the differentiator in most cases, especially in a regulated environment such as the healthcare industry. The companies who have developed the organizational capability to execute generally get good results year after year.

The Serious Leader is Serious about Execution

So, it stands to reason that if leaders are serious about getting results, then they need to be serious about execution. Leaders must not only understand the fundamental principles of execution but then apply them systemically in their organizations.

The Leader’s Challenge

Most leaders in healthcare have not been deeply educated in the science of execution. Most healthcare leaders become leaders by getting results through excellent firefighting and by brute force. As a result, getting results is dependent on people. Leaders burn out, leaders turn over. Results vary and lack sustainability let alone year-over-year improvement.

In the face of the challenges, some leaders seek a better way, turning to the world’s habitually excellent companies for answers. But even to leaders who see so-called lean or other management systems as a better way, it can feel like a hill too big to climb. And many of the leaders with whom I have worked complain that they don’t have time or energy to “learn a new language” or “join a cult” called “lean.”

A Simple System for Getting Results

How do we make learning and deploying an effective execution system simple? How do we lower the barriers to entry?

We go back to the fundamentals. The fundamental principle common to habitually excellent companies is basic scientific thinking, Plan-Do-Check-Act. PDCA is ubiquitous to these organizations. It is the underlying principle of their system of execution, or their operating system.

The operating system is designed to do four basic things that enable organizations to get the results they want:

1. Establish clarity and alignment on the results we want
2. Perform the work with intention of getting the results we want
3. Check the work for gaps or barriers in getting the results we want
4. Close the gaps or remove the barriers in the work so it can get the results we want.

The operating system consists of sub-systems (practices, tools, and habits) to accomplish these four things:

The practices, tools, and habits of these four elements of the operating system can be learned, applied, and developed over time. The leader’s role is to develop these sub-systems and the capability of the people to utilize them. When they do, they will get (and continuously improve) results.

And, of course, this operating system is just PDCA at the macro level. We PLAN by creating clarity and alignment on the results we want between leadership and those in the work system. This starts with the flywheel of getting results. We DO the work with intention to get the intended results. We CHECK the work to make sure it is getting the intended results, and we make visible any gaps or barriers. And then we ADJUST the work as needed to close the gaps and remove the barriers we see. As a result, we are continuously checking and adjusting the work to continuously improve it. We are also always learning, creating a learning organization.

Leaders who are serious about getting results are serious about deploying PDCA as the way to execute, as the way to continuously improve, as the way to develop a learning organization, as the operating system. These leaders are relentless about developing, owning, improving, and fostering the operating system in their organizations. These are Serious Leaders.