Tag Archives: professional development

Leaders as mentors

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Since late May, I’ve had the chance to work with a new group of talented and committed IT professionals at the University of Vermont Health Network. Everyone is working hard towards a common goal with our canstockphoto13471338 (1) mentorupcoming Epic go live. I am impressed every day with the depth of knowledge, flexibility, resilience, and dedication of so many.

I’ve learned much from all of them and would like to think they have learned from me as well. I try to be a good role model in all my words and actions. But no one is perfect! With the pace we are all working these days, it’s a very dynamic environment. We’re heads down addressing issues and getting final tasks done.

If we really believe as leaders that our people are our greatest asset, then in spite of being in crunch time, we need to ensure we are modeling the right behaviors and fostering the kind of culture that people can thrive in. Hard as that may be on our busiest of days, we owe it to our teams.

In a few weeks, we’ll be working long shifts together in the 24/7 command center. There will be many issues to address and problems to fix. The stress will be high. But we will also be sharing the joy of having crossed the finish line together. I have been with this team on their Epic journey for only a few months. Most of them have been on this journey together for a few years. 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 →

Investing in you: continuous learning

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What was the last webinar you participated in? What was the last podcast you listened to? What was the last book or in-depth article you read to learn something new? The bigger question is do you have a canstockphoto14781905 (1) learningcontinuous learning plan?

One of the things I love about working in healthcare and technology is the pace of change and that there is always something new to learn. But that is also one of the challenges. So how do we keep up?

Don’t doubt that having a continuous learning plan is important for your career. The most recent This Week in Health IT podcast was interviews with six CIOs. Bill Russell asked them each the same five questions. The last question was what did they wish they knew or had done before they started their current role. A theme in the answers was around staff development – needing their staff to develop new skills and developing their leadership teams.

There are many different options and formats for ongoing training and learning to consider. You may prefer reading or webinars or podcasts or classroom training. Most likely you need a combination of all.

A few observations and tips from my own experience:

Reading: What used to be a stack of publications piled up in my office to read has now become a lot of bookmarked articles to read online. I read a lot of articles each week and add more to my list, even though I may not get to them. Having a few good “go to” resources and knowing your key areas of interest help manage and filter out the noise.

Webinars: You could spend several hours a week just doing webinars. Focus on a few “go to” resources and register for the ones that are most relevant to what you need to know. Or register for something new that you want to learn about. Once you put it on your calendar, consider it like any meeting. Continue reading →

Investing in you, the value of a coach

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I was fortunate to work with an excellent executive coach several years ago. He helped me gain new insight into who I am and how I lead. I am a much better leader as a result of our year-long work together. canstockphoto32422551And I periodically reconnect with him now to bounce around ideas when going through major transitions.

Deciding to work with a coach can be unsettling.

I told myself, “sure there are things on my performance evaluation I could work on but mostly I’m fine and don’t need any help; after all no one is perfect”.

And I also told myself, “ok, I admit I could use some help but how much do I really have to expose and what will people think if they know I’m using a coach”.

So yes, I had those kinds of thoughts when I started and expect you might as well.

But my coach put me at ease. He got to know me and started helping me look critically at my leadership style and areas I needed to improve. He was not there to judge me or make me feel inadequate. He took me where I was at.

A good coach doesn’t have all the answers but knows how to ask the right questions. Continue reading →