IT matters – why I work in healthcare

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42,000 steps later and HIMSS19 is behind me. Heard insightful and moving speakers at the CHIME CIO Forum. Co-presented with Pam Arora on the relationship between IT and HTM. Sponsored the networking breakfast at the career fair. Facilitated a roundtable at the mentor meetup. Interviewed by Bill Russell for his This Week in Health IT podcast HIMSS series. Walked the exhibit hall. Had many great conversations with new and old colleagues. And promoted our new StarBridge Advisors service, C-change, receiving lot of positive feedback and enthusiasm.

Did I meet my HIMSS19 goals? Yes. Now it’s time for all the follow-up.

In the first two days I was reminded numerous times why I work in healthcare. The CIO Forum planning committee made some bold speaker decisions this year and I applaud them for it. The day included some very personal and touching stories. Continue reading →

Develop women leaders, transform leadership

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I am passionate about developing the next generation of leaders, in particular helping to develop women leaders in health IT. I have joined with Gale Thompson, a renowned leadership coach, to offer a new c change key image li REVISIONservice through StarBridge Advisors called C-change. Our goal is to equip female leaders in health IT with the perspectives, knowledge, skills and support to be an effective leader – her way.

Why are we doing this? We see a world in which female IT professionals hold up half the world in healthcare at all levels.  They are seen, supported, and expected to be leaders.  They are equally as successful and effective as their male colleagues and enabled to be leaders each in their own unique way, drawing on their strengths, values, and personal qualities.  They can effectively bring to leadership both their head and heart.

We want to support the development of female leaders at all stages of their career such that they enter, evolve, and attain leadership positions at a rate equal to their male peers and in a way that fully utilizes their strengths.

To start with, C-change will offer two unique online courses beginning in March:

Preparing Emerging Leaders for Success

This course is aimed at women early in their health IT career who are looking to develop their leadership skills. I will conduct a 6-month online series of participative group webinars for aspiring women leaders. Each series will be limited to 20 participants and include 6 one-hour monthly sessions, each with a presentation and small group breakouts for discussion on the following topics:

Building Confidence – Developing Your Inner Strength and Voice

Finding Your Passion – How to Know When to Make a Move

Negotiating for Success – Negotiation Skills and Crucial Conversations

Building Your Network and Personal Brand – Leveraging Social Media

Making the Right Choices for You – Life/Work Balance

Through this custom-tailored series, you will gain valuable insight and make lasting connections with other aspiring women leaders. Continue reading →

Polar vortex – yet hospitals remain open

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10 states in the Midwest cancelled postal service. Schools were closed for days. Transportation was slowed due to the bitter cold. The frigid cold was blamed for at least 9 deaths. If you live in one of theopen states that had temperatures as cold as -25 or -35 with windchills lower than -50 and you could stay inside or work from home, you probably did. But hospital employees in all those states did what they do every day. They somehow made it into work and cared for others. Because hospitals never close. People need them even more at times of extreme weather conditions.

I grew up in Minnesota and except for a few years in the 1990’s, I have always lived in the north. Growing up, we had many bitter cold days and many feet of snow every winter. I remember back then trying to get my head around the concept of windchill when I first heard a number like -60. Growing up in Minnesota you learned to deal with cold and snow. But this is different. With global warming (yes, I believe it is real and we must address) we now see very extreme temperatures in both summer and winter and more frequent, more dangerous and disastrous storms.

I’ve written about every day heroes in previous posts. Hospital employees are certainly on that list! In appreciation of all they do every day, even on the coldest of winter days, I share again a post I wrote a few years ago while serving as a CIO in Michigan after a major blizzard.

Snow days and everyday heroes

If you live in the north, you know about snow days. Your kids feel cheated if there aren’t a few each winter. Parents juggle to find backup plans when school closings are announced. If your employer is quick to close when there is a major storm or tells you to work from home you may breathe a sigh of relief.  You’re just glad that you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to shovel out your driveway and try to get down your unplowed street.

But hospitals never close, nor can they or should they. The everyday heroes I want to recognize are everywhere at the University of Michigan Health System. The nurses who pulled a double shift because their colleagues couldn’t make it in to relieve them. The support staff throughout the hospital who ensure patients are cared for, in a safe, clean environment. The diligent teams who ensure there are meals for patients and staff.  There are too many to mention but just think about all the hospital staff you see on a normal day – they all keep the hospital operating like nothing happened.
Continue reading →

#HIMSS19 – are you ready?

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If you work in health IT, you know that the annual HIMSS conference is the biggest annual industry event whether you are headed to Orlando in two weeks or not. The number of emails, blog posts, social media image001 (003) HIMSS19posts, and articles providing guidance and recommendations on HIMSS19 grows with each passing day. And to this year’s theme – yes, we are all champions transforming healthcare through technology!

With so much info out there and so many scheduling choices to make, here are a few more resources and recommendations that might help in your final preparation.

Whether you are attending in person or following the happenings from a distance, the Official HIMSS19 Hashtag Guide will help you focus in on your areas of interest. And of course, you’ll want to follow all the social media ambassadors.

Check out the StarBridge Advisors blog post from principal, David Muntz – “Prepare to visit HIMSS2019 – Health IT’s Magic Kingdom”. David gives his advice for optimal prep and shares our principals’ top picks for this year – mine are #WomenInHIT, #HITventure and #Engage4Health.

At the Career Development Seminar on February 11, David will be presenting “Opportunities in the Rapidly Changing HIT Environment” at Session #4 from 1:00PM-2:00PM and hosting a mentor roundtable on “Future of the Industry” at 3:15PM.

The career fair on Wednesday from 8:30AM-3:30PM is something to consider checking out if you are early in your HIT career, looking for a change, or just want to get some tips from the experts. There is no fee, but separate registration is required.

I’m looking forward to hearing the panel at the #WomeninHIT Meetup – Changing the Scales to #BalanceforBetter on February 12 from 3:00PM-3:45PM at the HIMSS Spot. StarBridge Advisors will be launching a new initiative focused on developing women leaders prior to HIMSS19 – more on this in an upcoming blog. Continue reading →

Just how dependent are we?

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You’ve probably been there. That feeling when you have to relinquish your smart phone for repair; you suddenly feel cut off from everyone and everything. You’re not on vacation, intentionally going off the grid. canstockphoto14698935 (1) smart phoneIt’s a work day. You need to stay connected. You have work to get done.

Tuesday was that day for me. The battery on my iPhone 6 Plus had been draining way too quickly. The battery setting said it needed service and I should bring it in. I made my appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple Store about 15 minutes from my house. I blocked a two-hour window door to door. Seemed reasonable. I took some work with me to do while they were replacing the battery, but I didn’t think to bring my laptop.

I had a 12:30PM appointment. It was around 1:15 when they took the phone; they said it would be an hour before I would get it back. So much for my two-hour window. I headed to the food court for a quick lunch and did my other work – paper I’d brought with that I needed to review. I suddenly felt incredibly out of touch without my iPhone.

It took only about 15 minutes to review the papers with me. Now what? Well there was one purchase I needed so I headed to a store. I got back to the Apple Store at 2:15 and they weren’t done. The greeter told me it would be another 20 minutes. I thought of one other item I needed and headed to another nearby store.

I returned after 20 minutes. iPhone still not ready. I somewhat jokingly (though I was getting increasingly frustrated) told them this was costing me money since I hadn’t planned to shop that day. More importantly, I had a conference call at 3PM that I needed to do from home on my laptop. So much for thinking a two-hour window door-to-door was enough.

I got my iPhone back at 2:50PM. As it turns out, when they replaced the battery, the display wouldn’t work, and they couldn’t resolve it. So, I ended up with a brand-new iPhone 6 Plus for the price they were going to charge me for the battery. A good but unexpected ending in many respects.

As I ran out of time, they got me set up for phone and text. I quickly called one of the two people for the 3PM scheduled call and said I hadn’t been able to review the prep document that had been sent during this offline window and wouldn’t be able to do the call until 3:30PM.

I headed home with a phone with bare bones phone functionality. Not until I could take time later that day to do the iCloud restore would I be back to normal functioning. Continue reading →

7 Ways to develop the next generation of leaders

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One of the primary responsibilities we have as leaders is to develop our people. As leaders we can’t lose sight of the fact that our people are our greatest asset. And we can’t say we’re too busy. It must be a canstockphoto21415598 (1) development compassfoundational part of how we work and lead.

Succession planning may be a formal program at your organization. Or it may be something informal that you just know you needs your attention.  After all, you won’t be there forever. You owe it to your organization and your team to have some form of a succession plan.

As leaders, we didn’t get to where we are without the support and investment of others who came before us. It’s up to us to develop the next generation of leaders. Here are 7 actionable ways to support your commitment to the next generation of leaders.

Find out what their goals are – This is especially important if you have come from outside the organization and one of your direct reports applied for your position. Don’t pretend this didn’t happen or you don’t know about it. Be proactive and discuss it with the individual(s). Find out their long-term goals, figure out their gaps so they will be ready next time an opportunity comes up, and agree on a specific development plan.

Provide them exposure at executive and senior leader meetings – Technology is pervasive in most organizations. CIOs are routinely being asked to join one more committee or leadership group so IT is involved and represented. Be selective about what you need to attend. For everything else, identify leaders on your team who can add value but also gain experience by being the IT leader involved. Be explicit about what you are doing with the committee or group leader and make sure you have their support.

Assign a department wide initiative – There are always initiatives that cut across the entire IT organization. They may involve new processes with a heavy dose of culture change.  Identify a leader who can lead the initiative and develop new skills by leading it. It beats the usual “voluntold” approach. Continue reading →

The evolving role of the CIO

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At the beginning of 2019, is your role as a Chief Information Officer what it was a year or two ago? Is that even still your title? Chances are the answers are no. Your role is possibly broader and more strategic canstockphoto2442956 (1) changing role of CIOthan it was.

Much has been written about the changing role of the CIO. There is talk about CIO 3.0. Some CIOs may feel pressure to take on new responsibilities, so they aren’t overshadowed by other new CXO leaders. But many more want to broaden their role as healthcare and technology evolves.

As John Glaser summarized so well in his article, “The Evolution of the Health Care Chief Information Officer”, many new CXO roles now interplay with the CIO role.

He talked about the five factors shaping the CIO 3.0:  the transformation of the health care business model; relentless innovation in information technology; shift in strategic emphasis; stepping up your skills; and IT leadership becoming a team sport. This last one is critical. The CIO and other evolving roles must play well with one another in the interest of the organization.

One of our StarBridge Advisors blogs in 2018 was by Avery Cloud, a former advisor and now CIO at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLH).  The title of his blog post was “The C-Double I-O”, adding a second “I” in the CIO title for innovation. He challenged CIOs to become as conversant in innovation principles as they are in ITIL.

David Chou, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Children’s Mercy Hospital, suggests that CIO also must mean “chief influence officer”. In his article he emphasizes the importance of creating a strong culture that supports transformation, and thinking like a CEO.

In the most recent StarBridge Advisors blog, “10 Steps to Prepare for 2019 – Big Challenges – Bigger Opportunities”, David Muntz had some advice for CIOs in the coming year. In step #3 he encourages CIOs to do a self-assessment. Continue reading →

2018 Countdown – top 10 blog posts

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It’s the time of year for top 10 lists and countdowns so I’m adding mine to the mix. These are my most read blog posts from 2018. If you missed any of them first time around now is your chance to check them Top10out.

I cover a range of topics and it looks like readers appreciate the variety. Here are the top 10 as measured by total views with a countdown from number 10:

#10 – Find your voice, a mentor and be bold – Career advice is always a popular topic whether you are early or late in your career.

#9 – What does a high value conference look like? – There are many ways to spend time and money on professional development, some conferences provide unique value.

#8 – Family ties – we all have a story – It’s important to know where we come from to understand who we are.

#7 – Technology making a difference at scale – One of my personal favorites! The power of technology takes many forms. In Africa, drones can be lifesaving.

#6 – 8 Signs of a strong security culture – Security is always a topic of interest as threats continue to increase and organizations are challenged to keep up. Continue reading →

Holiday stress? Remember your big rocks

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It’s holiday season. Are you stressing or relaxing? Are you hosting or bringing a dish to someone’s house? Are you braving the highways or airports? Are you questioning whether you bought the right gifts canstockphoto11846362 (1) holiday stressfor all the right people? Or trying to figure out when you can possibly take time to do gift shopping. Are you arguing with family over something that later you’ll decide was stupid? So many ways to be stressed at this time of year.

And so many ways to be with people we love. On business calls this week I’ve talked with people anxiously waiting for their college age kids to return home for their holiday break, people getting ready to have housefuls of out of town relatives with them for the next week, and others who are taking their family on a ski trip for the holidays.

For me, it’s all about being with loved ones. There will be the annual Schade Family Christmas Sleepover this weekend with my two daughters and their husbands and what I fondly call the “Fab Four” – my four grandkids who range in ages from 2 to 6 years old. Yes, it will be chaotic, but fun.

There will be the Christmas day dinner at my daughter’s house an hour away with her in-law’s family. It is her first time hosting everyone on Christmas and her stress is building. 15 adults and 6 kids for dinner. She works a 12-hour shift as a nurse practitioner on Christmas Eve so she’s trying to figure out when she will get everything done and ready. We’ll get there in time to help before everyone else arrives and she and her husband can delegate any task to us that they want to.

My holiday gift shopping is done. I subscribe to the “keep it simple” approach. It’s too easy to go overboard. For each grandkid, there will be one big present to unwrap. Then each pair of siblings will get an “experience”. Choice of more gymnastics or swim lessons for one family. Annual zoo membership for the other. As one of my daughters said to me a few years ago – get them experiences, they have plenty of toys.

The stockings hung at our house will be from nana and papa, not Santa. Continue reading →

Give the gift of girl power

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Every day is a good day to encourage reading and learning. And every day is a good day to buy books for kids. The holiday season is a time when many of us are looking for book recommendations for the young canstockphoto20702129 (1) girl power booksones in our lives.

With four grandkids and six grand nieces and nephews, I buy a lot of kid’s books. Of these ten young people, six are girls. When looking at books for the girls, I’m particularly interested in finding ones that will inspire them and teach them to be strong, smart girls who can be and do anything they aspire to. And, of course, I like to encourage an interest in STEM fields.

A few of the books I’m looking forward to buying for my granddaughters when they are a little older:

  • Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World, by Rachel Ignotofsky, highlights the contributions of women to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
  • Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World, by Katherine Halligan, celebrates inspiring women who have changed the world.
  • Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, by Francesca Cavallo, is a collection of bedtime stories of extraordinary women both past and present, each told as a fairy tale.
  • She Persisted and She Persisted Around the World, by Chelsea Clinton, describe the struggles of 26 remarkable, diverse and tenacious women.

There is a great series by Andrea Beaty that I’ve already introduced to my oldest granddaughter who just turned six. I gave her Rosie Revere, Engineer last Christmas. The other two books in the series are Ada Twist, Scientist and Iggy Peck, Architect.  Rosie, Ada, and Iggy are friends who pursue their passions with persistence while celebrating and learning from their failures.

If you have young girls to shop for this holiday season, I hope you will consider one of these books. And if you are looking for organizations to support as you consider your year-end charitable contributions, take a look at Girls Inc. With local organizations in cities across the country they inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Their message couldn’t be any clearer.

Related Posts:

STEM gift ideas for 2017

WANTED: STEM gift ideas for kids

STEM for the holidays

Yes you can: encouraging girls to pursue IT careers