December 2024 Edition: Building stronger teams, smarter strategies and better outcomes

Your go-to guide for practical insights, reflection, and team development

Welcome to this month's edition of the Human Leadership Pulse newsletter! This month, we explored the invisible forces shaping healthcare teams, the power of cognitive diversity, and the lessons we can borrow from unexpected places (like kitchens and puzzles) to build better leadership practices. Let’s dive into the highlights, key lessons learned, and practical actions you can take today.

Fractional Leadership: A New Way Forward

Modern healthcare needs agility and fractional leadership offers just that. This approach brings senior-level expertise without the cost of a full-time executive, making it ideal for addressing specific challenges like improving patient care strategies or implementing new technologies.

Lesson Learned: Fractional leadership thrives when supported by psychological safety, cognitive diversity, and intrinsic motivation. Leaders must ensure clear communication and trust-building to integrate part-time executives into team dynamics seamlessly.

Actionable Tip: Align fractional leaders with your mission and values early on, and define measurable outcomes to track their impact.

Dusting Off Mission, Vision, and Values

Are your organizational values guiding daily decisions, or are they gathering dust on a wall? This month, we emphasized the need to live and breathe these principles.

Lesson Learned: Vision, mission, and values are more than words—they're tools for decision-making, building trust, and inspiring autonomy.

Actionable Tip: Hold quarterly team check-ins to evaluate whether actions align with values and use these principles to empower decision-making.

Cognitive Diversity Blind Spots (60%): Are We Okay with That?

Over the past two years, my research has revealed that most healthcare teams operate with only 40% cognitive diversity, leaving a 60% blind spot in decision-making and innovation.

Lesson Learned: Blind spots lead to missed insights, overlooked risks, and reduced efficiency. Measuring and addressing cognitive diversity can transform teams from disconnected to cohesive.

Actionable Tip: Conduct team assessments to measure cognitive diversity and implement training to address gaps.

Baking Lessons in Leadership

What do cookies and leadership have in common? Both need preparation, patience, adaptability, and the right ingredients to succeed. Mistakes (or burnt cookies) aren’t failures—they’re learning moments.

Lesson Learned: Effective leaders embrace imperfections, focus on collaboration, and create environments where teams rise together.

Actionable Tip: Celebrate small wins and share stories of failures turned into growth moments during team meetings.

Leadership is a Puzzle

Working on a Christmas puzzle inspired reflections on how each piece in a team contributes to the bigger picture. Gaps or misalignment in healthcare teams can create breakdowns in communication and care.

Lesson Learned: Patience, perspective, and diversity are key to solving puzzles—and building high-functioning teams. Every piece matters.

Actionable Tip: Host team-building activities that highlight collaboration and problem-solving to emphasize the importance of each member's role.

Stop Leading Like It’s 2010: Leadership Has Evolved

Leadership methods that worked a decade ago may fall flat today. Teams need psychological safety, adaptability, and empowerment to thrive in modern environments.

Lesson Learned: Flexibility, trust, and empowerment replace control as key drivers of effective leadership.

Actionable Tip: Foster psychological safety by encouraging open communication and ensuring all voices are heard.

Great Leaders Develop Thinkers, Not Just Problem-Solvers

Jumping in with answers can stifle growth. Leaders should focus on guiding their teams to think critically and independently.

Lesson Learned: Empowerment through questions builds confidence, resilience, and adaptability.

Actionable Tip: Ask your team, "What do you think we should do?" to encourage ownership and collaborative problem-solving.

3 Reflection Questions for Leaders

1. Is my team’s vision clear, and are we living it daily?
2. Have I created an environment where psychological safety allows ideas to flourish?
3. Am I addressing blind spots in my team’s diversity of thought and approach?

3 Concrete Actions for Immediate Impact

1. Measure Cognitive Diversity – Use tools to assess and identify gaps in your team’s thinking styles.
2. Build Psychological Safety – Start meetings with check-ins to build trust and encourage openness.
3. Live Your Values – Connect every team goal back to your mission and celebrate actions that reflect core values.

Let’s Continue the Conversation! How is your team embracing diversity, adaptability, and psychological safety? Share your thoughts and let’s shape a stronger healthcare environment together.

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