On Leadership

Paying it forward with career advice

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I get a lot of calls, emails, and LinkedIn messages asking for career advice. Knowing that people have been very supportive of me over my career, I try to pay it forward. I do a short call, find out where the person is at in their job search and career transition, ask some key questions, and give whatever advice makes sense for their situation. For people I know well and keep in touch with during their search, I often share useful articles that I find. These may include resume writing and layout, prepping for the interview, how to follow-up after the interview, dealing with rejection, how to identify red flags, or building your personal brand.

Many of the resources I have found and shared are from LinkedIn which as we all know is the “go to” for professional networking and content.

A Fortune article by Jennifer Mizgata in March of this year addresses a key question many people are faced with – “Should I take a fancy new career opportunity or stick with the old job I still like?”.  In it she references a great HBR piece, “A Scorecard to Help You Compare Two Jobs”, written in 2017 by a former colleague of mine from Mass General, Allison Rimm. It includes a scorecard tool similar to one I have used when doing career coaching.

I’ve written a lot on career management over the years. My post, “Career advice revisited” from May 2021 has links to most of them. Check it out and share with anyone you know who might find it helpful. In other words, let’s pay it forward!

Note – I am taking a short break from writing new posts over the next month. With all the blog posts I’ve written over the past 8 years, I’m using this break to share some of my “classics”. Thank you for being a subscriber – I hope you will encourage your colleagues to subscribe in the coming year.

Best employers for women – is your organization on the list?

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It’s Getting Harder to be a Woman in America by Claire Suddath, senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, is a powerful, must-read piece for anyone concerned about what is happening to women in this country.

I have long been a champion for women and a proud feminist. Doing what I can while in leadership roles to support women, not being afraid to speak out on women’s issues, and voting for candidates who are truly pro-women’s rights. I encourage you to do the same.

It was good to see the recent Becker’s story “30 hospitals, health systems and biomedical companies on Forbes’ top 100 list of best employers for women” that listed all 30 and their rank within the top 100. According to the Forbes article, “America’s Best Employers for Women”, the survey respondents were asked to rate their organizations on criteria such as working conditions, diversity and how likely they’d be to recommend their employer to others. These responses were reviewed for potential gender gaps. Female respondents were then asked to rate their employers on factors such as parental leave, discrimination and pay equity, and to nominate organizations in industries outside their own. Representation at the executive and board levels were also factored into the final score.

If your organization didn’t make the list, ask yourself what you can do. Are you in an HR leadership position and able to directly influence employee policies and benefits? Are you an IT leader who consistently creates a supportive culture and values diversity? Regardless of your position, do you help create a supportive work environment?

We’re all in this together – at home, at work, and in our communities.

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Generational differences at work

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A recent Becker’s article got me thinking about generational differences at work. Scott Becker wrote the article, “Working with younger generations – 7 thoughts”, focusing on millennials and Gen-Z. He acknowledged that if you label entire generations with broad cliches you may not understand any real differences or similarities between generations. He noted that the state of the economy when you graduate can influence your view on work and career the rest of your life. He goes on to comment on work-life balance, social consciousness, job hopping, tech savviness, and mental health. I encourage you to check out the article.

I am passionate about developing next generation leaders and spend a lot of time informally mentoring and advising people as well as providing both leadership and career coaching services. As a baby boomer, the “next generation” for me includes Gen X (born 1965-1980), Millennials (born 1981-1996), and Gen Z (born 1997-2012). And then there is that micro-generation called Xennials born in the late 1970s or early 1980s. That is where my two daughters and their husbands fall – I can see how they aren’t quite Gen X or Millennials when I think about the general labels. Xennials are described as having an analog childhood and a digital young adulthood.

I have decades of experience to draw on in leading and teaching others, but I also consider myself a continual learner and learn every day from the generations coming behind me. The book “Wisdom @ Work, The Making of a Modern Elder” by Chip Conley is an excellent resource. As the description says, “The secret to thriving as a midlife worker: learning to marry wisdom and experience with curiosity, a beginner’s mind, and a willingness to evolve, all hallmarks of the “Modern Elder.” Continue reading →

Leadership lessons from Nana Camp 2022

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My husband and I recently had the joy of our first ever “Nana Camp” – four days with our four grandkids ages 6-9 at our house. One family is two girls ages 9 and 7. The other family is a 7 year old girl and 6 year old boy. I have been talking with my daughters about doing nana camp since I reduced my work hours this year making more time for family.

We now live in a townhouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with a couple swimming pools in our development, nearby beaches, and history rich field trip opportunities. A perfect setting for nana camp! Not until we were on our field trips (Plimouth Patuxet Museums including the Patuxet Homesite, 17th-Century English Village, Mayflower II and Plimoth Grist Mill) did I realize they have missed school field trips the past few years due to the pandemic which made these outings even more special.

After the four cousins spent July 4th together, my two daughters and I came up with the framework for nana camp rules which started a few days later. The first night they were all here, I had the kids write out the rules and post them on the refrigerator door. Just the act of writing them together tested some of the rules. It was their idea to each sign the rules like a contract.

Don’t get me wrong, all four of them are awesome and well behaved but get them all together and there’s bound to be what we later described as “silly fights”. So much so that on the last day we joked about making silly fight badges for them and how many they would all get.

Siblings have their day-to-day routines at home, but all four cousins together can disrupt that. Arguing and jostling over who takes the first shower at night, which row they get in the mini-van, who gets to walk the dogs first – you get the idea. The oldest had an astute observation a few days later when we had just her and her sister here for a short mini-camp. With just two of them they didn’t need to have silly fights – there were two showers to use so both could be first, there were only two kid seats in our car so front vs back row wasn’t a fight, and there were two dogs to walk.

These were the rules we agreed on with “be safe and have fun” underlying them:

  1. Be kind
  2. Be inclusive
  3. Respect privacy
  4. Work it out
  5. Clean up after yourself
  6. Let others sleep

Kindness should go without saying but in a period where we see so much bullying in our society, we must emphasize it. For these kids it was ensuring silly fights didn’t turn into mean words. Inclusiveness is critical to teach on so many levels. For these kids it was about taking turns and not excluding someone from a game or activity. Respect privacy meant if someone needed alone time, let them have it. Work it out meant don’t come tattling to us – try to work it out themselves. We learned over the days that these rules could conflict with one another and that there were times when they needed adults to help them work things out together. Continue reading →

Ready to share your story?

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Last week I shared that going forward I plan to use this blog to also highlight the great work that so many of you are doing. I got a lot of positive reactions to that idea. The next step is to connect with those of you ready to talk with me and start lifting up the work you are doing for others to learn from.

In articles and podcasts, it is often senior leaders who are interviewed. I have worked with many awesome staff and management folks over the years. I know many of you subscribe to this blog or read it when I share on social media. Consider this a more direct appeal to you to share your stories.

If you have a particular project that you are proud of, an important initiative that you are driving, or key lessons you want to share with others, I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me a note describing what you want to talk about and I’ll follow-up to learn more. Be ready to share what you did and why, key challenges, results, and any lessons learned that will help others.

How best to reach me? If you don’t already have my email, send me a message on LinkedIn.

Together we’ll keep learning, sharing, and making a difference!

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When is enough enough?

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We are all asking when is it enough? Parents of young children are struggling with how to talk to their children, how to keep them safe. The mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde are the latest horrific examples of gun violence and hate in this country.

I have been struggling to find the right words. There are none. Yes, thoughts and prayers for all the victims, their families, and communities are needed. May they find the strength to carry on in the very difficult days ahead. But what’s needed in this country is action and policy change, not just more thoughts and prayers.

I read two pieces that have helped me to express what I’m feeling.

Michael Dowling, President and CEO of Northwell Health, is a progressive voice amongst healthcare executives. He doesn’t shy away from taking a stand on difficult issues and very clearly names gun violence as a public health issue. Under his leadership, Northwell established The Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative for Health Systems and Hospitals, a grassroots initiative that gives healthcare professionals the space to have open dialogue about the impact of gun violence, share best practices and collectively take action. This piece in Becker’s Hospital Review describes his call to action – “Michael Dowling: ‘Every single US hospital leader should be screaming about what an abomination this is’”.

Arika Lycan posted on LinkedIn a piece that frames not just the murder of innocent elementary school children but all the ways that our rights are under attack – “Who is going to do something about this?!” I am, You are, We are.” Arika is a consistent voice for social justice. I am grateful to be collaborating with them and the entire CHIME Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to continue to educate and raise awareness with our health IT colleagues.

We can’t let Buffalo and Uvalde move out of the news cycle and be forgotten. We need to speak up, show up, donate our time and money, and vote for candidates at all levels of government who support our values. The 2022 mid-term elections are consequential. Know what candidates stand for and vote your values. And consider volunteering some of your time to do phone / text banks for critical House and Senate races in other states.

I admit that I don’t have anything truly new to say today. I have written numerous posts after similar events rocked us to the core, and I have said it all before. So, I’m sharing my “Hate has no place” post again. If you don’t want to read it again or even for the first time – here’s my bottom-line message:

We must speak up for love and justice every chance we can. We must challenge those who hate and divide us as a people. And we must vote for the kind of leaders that we are willing to trust the future of our children and grandchildren to. Please join me.

Hate has no place (written August, 2019)

The most recent horrific mass shootings are not due to video games, the Internet, nor mental illness. There are more guns in the United States than people. Let that sink in.

Hate speech, racism, and white supremacy exist and are tolerated by some of our elected leaders who are supposed to keep us all safe. Let that sink in.

This is not who we want to be as a country. It is time for responsible, moral leaders to act. Continue reading →

Celebrating, collaborating with, and learning from HTM – part 2

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This week is Health Technology Management (HTM) Week celebrating and honoring all those who work in the HTM/Clinical Engineering/Biomedical department at provider organizations across the country. Regardless of the department name, you know who they are. If you are a nurse, you know the HTM staff by name. HTM professionals make a difference every day ensuring safe patient care.

Over the past 9 years as an AAMI board member, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for this critical part of our health ecosystem and all the players involved. From HTM leaders to clinicians to educators to device manufacturers and government representatives. AAMI is an organization that brings all of them to the table. As described on their website, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation® (AAMI), a nonprofit organization founded in 1967, is a diverse community of more than 10,000 professionals united by one important mission—the development, management, and use of safe and effective health technology. AAMI is the primary source of consensus standards, both national and international, for the medical device industry, as well as practical information, support, and guidance for healthcare technology and sterilization professionals.

The timing of my first This Week Health Townhall interview published last week was perfect. I spoke with Pamela Arora, AAMI’s new President and CEO. I have gotten to know Pamela as a CIO colleague and fellow AAMI board member the past 6 years. She will bring new perspectives and experiences to AAMI. Not the least will be a recognition that HTM and IT teams need to work more closely together at the micro level in provider organizations and at the macro level with professional health IT organizations. Closer collaboration will have a positive impact for the patients and communities we collectively serve. Continue reading →

Know someone interested in a nursing career?

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As National Nurses Week comes to an end, let’s continue to recognize the work nurses do in so many different settings each and every day. The theme for International Nurses Day 2022 is “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health”. And let’s encourage young people who are interested in a nursing career to learn more about the many paths they could take. I’m hoping my readers who are already established in their own careers will share this post with the young people they know who may be considering a nursing career.

I’ve worked in healthcare IT for 40 years now. During that time, I have been fortunate to work with amazing nurses in both leadership and staff roles. There are so many different paths a nurse can take in their career. Here are the stories of a few nurses I know well.

My favorite nurse and the one I am most proud of is my oldest daughter, Katie Killinger. She decided to go into nursing after she graduated from college with a degree in Hospitality Administration / Management. When she first mentioned that she was thinking of nursing, I was very supportive and told her she’d have many potential paths as her career progressed. She went to Regis College in the Boston area in a combined undergrad/grad program. After two years she earned her Bachelor of Nursing degree and sat for the nursing boards. After the third year she had her master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Her early nursing experience included staff nurse positions on the cardiac surgery step-down unit and then the cardiac surgery ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). One of her first nurse practitioner (NP) positions was supporting two division chiefs as the NP and Coordinator of the Atrial Fibrillation Program at Mass General Hospital. For the past 10 years she has been the Chief NP of the Orthopedic/Spine Surgery Service at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Who knows what her future holds – I know from our many conversations that maintaining a balance between clinical and administrative time is something she considers for the long-term.

My second favorite nurse is my sister, Mary Sheehan. She and her husband, Tim, both attended a two-year associate degree nursing program and then went on to get their bachelors and advanced degrees. Continue reading →

Health IT conference season via podcast

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I didn’t attend either of the two big March in-person health IT industry events – ViVE (CHIME+HLTH) and HIMSS22. But I’ve heard a lot of positives about both events from colleagues. Just seeing people in person after two years was a highlight for many. I admit, I miss the in-person connections as well! And I do look forward to attending the CHIME Fall Forum this year celebrating CHIME’s 30th anniversary.

Like my blog post in November after the CHIME Fall Forum, I’m going to point you to what I consider one of the best resources to hear what health IT leaders from provider organizations and vendors had to say about the conferences and what’s on their mind these days.

Bill Russell has continued his Today in Health IT podcast series he calls “Interviews in Action” – interviewing 50 health IT leaders at ViVE and HIMSS22.  Each interview is no more than 10-15 minutes long. After having family in town visiting this week, I’m behind on my daily dog walk podcast listening but I’ve heard almost all the ones that had been dropped through last week. That includes these CIOs among others: Michael Pfeffer at Stanford Medicine, Cara Babachicos at South Shore Health, Cletis Earle at Penn State Health, Andrew Rosenberg at Michigan Medicine, Nassar Nizami at Jefferson Health, Andy Crowder at Atrium Health, and Jamie Nelson at Hospital for Special Surgery. While there are common themes such as staffing and talent, clinician burnout, and cybersecurity, you will also learn about the top focus areas for each organization. You can hear from these CIOs and many other IT leaders and vendors on the Newsroom channel.

Whether you attended these events or not, you’ll find the interviews insightful. And if you are looking for more ways to learn and keep current, check out the other new channels that Bill and his team at This Week in Health IT launched as of January – Academy, Community, and Conference which includes both keynotes and solution showcase podcasts.

You may also want to check out the podcast series from CHIME, HealthsystemCIO.com, and CIO Podcast by Healthcare IT Today.

Happy listening!

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Mentoring, role models and sometimes a little nudge

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What a pleasant surprise to be tagged in a LinkedIn post by my daughter as she shared with her network some great professional news. She just completed her Leadership & Management Certificate Program at Wharton online. I’m super proud of her! She tagged me to thank me for the “nudge”.

I remember well our “nudge” conversation back in August. I remember it more as a conversation where she asked for advice on how best to pursue her education given her current work and how her career is evolving. She has been at the same company for the past 8 years and been promoted several times – she is now Sr. Manager, Executive Communications and Administration, partnering with the CEO and executive leadership team. I would call it more of an ask for advice and get ideas/encouragement conversation.

Her discipline and persistence to get started and finish it in just 6 months is impressive – all while working full-time and as a mother of two young children. It reminds me of when I decided to get my MBA many years ago when she and her sister were young and I had a full-time management job.

I’ve talked about my two daughters in previous posts. I try to be a role model for them professionally.  I’ve given them advice as their careers have advanced and am proud to see their accomplishments. They both have a passion for their work and have received awards for leadership and innovation. As I counsel people early in their career – find your passion, be open to the possibilities, and never stop learning.

Many women describe their mothers and grandmothers as inspiring role models. Today would be my mother’s birthday. She died just shy of her 68th birthday after a short battle with cancer. She was only 42 when my father died, leaving her to raise four young children on her own. My mother was a role model for me – a strong and independent woman. Continue reading →