SHELDR #16-2018: A Rallying Cry and Request For All SHLDERs Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) Thought Leadership Series

Call to Action

Our nation is facing an unprecedented healthcare crisis along multiple dimensions. Health, not healthcare, must become a national strategic imperative. By most reports America ranks 37th in the world for health outcomes. When a sector consumes upward of 20% of the nation’s gross national product, 20% of that figure is attributed to waste and inefficiency, and another 20% could have been avoided through better fitness it’s time to call time out! Worse, when a nation loses about 10% national productivity per year as a result of healthcare issues and the nation spends about twice as much on healthcare than most nations it’s time to step back and assess the signals and patterns of a seemingly untamable and wicked system—the healthcare system has become unsustainable. It is undermining national security and prosperity. 

As such, America has never had a greater need for strong Strategic Health Leaders (SHELDR), especially at the enterprise or multi-health system level. The healthcare environment is transforming at exponential rates—it is more complex, volatile, uncertain, and ambiguous (VUCA)—in some cases for the good, in others for not so good. Health care is constantly changing, and the inherent complexity of the system is becoming more apparent. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) stated the pressing and well-established concerns common to all health care sectors impacting quality are rising costs, limited resources, system inefficiencies, increasing complexity, and an ever-expanding evidence gap. Maybe, just maybe, leadership and the development of SHELDRs is a contributing factor. 

Rallying Cry for Strategic Health Leaders

Current and future leaders must aspire to create a healthier nation and take an abundant series of actions to make health a national strategic imperative!  First, at the heart of any set of solutions is the need for leadership and strong leader development programs. Leaders with the right skills can tame the wicked health system and transform it to a system that produces better health, better care, and affordability. Fortunately, leadership skills can be taught and learned. Even healthcare executives with years of experience need to refresh or update their skill sets. Anyone working in a management or administrative position in healthcare should be conscientious about their leadership practices. The skills needed—ability to address complexity, anticipate change, work across organization boundaries, generate creativity and innovation, and employ adaptive thinking especially at the enterprise or multi-health system level. Unfortunately, these skills have not been given the appropriate level of attention. Current leadership theories and methods being used to develop health leaders have not changed (much). They may be contributing to the current health system’s malaise. Current leadership theories describes a role rather than a set of behaviors. It places power in the position rather than in relationships.27 Further, they do not address the VUCA driven nature of the environment and interconnected world of healthcare.28 This needs to change through dialogue, assessment, and knowledge sharing.

Second, implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a great start, but it must go further. There is wide recognition high healthcare expenditures in the United States have not resulted in improved outcomes, quality of life, or access to health services. Scientific and technological advances are transforming our understanding of health factors, leading to the realization the nation must shift its focus from healthcare delivery to health by improving community health. Health, not healthcare must be the focus. Health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”29 Imagine, if the nation reduced is spending on healthcare by 10-12% it could pay down the debt, pay for the defense budget, and cover the insured currently receiving subsidies under the ACA. The health of the community is supported by complex overlapping local, state, federal, private, and non-profit health, healthcare and non-healthcare disciplines organizations and groups. This requires a new breed of leadership. Through strategic health leadership, the national conversation must transition from “fixing the health insurance industry and medical system” to “collaboration, focus on value based care, and better health’ for the whole-of-the nation. Leading by example and influencing others to take personal responsibility for their health and fitness is vital.

Third, national leadership must fully admit (maybe they have?) to the problem and work to fix it. Starting with reflective self-assessment and knowledge sharing is a critical first start. Open, honest, and transparent conversations must be heightened. Healthcare organizations can no longer manage this rising complexity with outdated linear thinking and medical care system only solutions. They must be a learning organization and leaders must be quick learners.30 Challenging the status quo with visual and triple loop learning starts with finding, digesting, connecting, and sharing knowledge without shackles and chains. Anyone who thinks they have a “lock” on the healthcare thought leadership and solutions corner is fooling themselves. It takes a creative team, community, and nation. It’s time to open up, let go to, grow and help others do the same! Knowledge sharing as well as a central source of knowledge is paramount. A community generated movement and systems thinking approach to health policy development toward better health will improve wealth and health is paramount.

Finally, remember, it’s a “flat world” out there where nano-second futuring, strategy and decision making are done on the back of napkins or in airport lounges. Today, your laptop, blackberry, and cell phone are the tools of choice in today’s “flat world.” Wading into the Internet e-Jungle for that “critical piece of information” can be frustrating. While the quantity of information is fast becoming a non-issue, knowing where to go, tailoring it to your needs, and assuring timeliness and quality can be. We need to be armed and have access to up-to-date and relevant information. There are many professional organizations, consultants, and individuals working to promote best practices, leadership and management skills, and administrative techniques vital in healthcare organizations. However, many do not know about them. 

My Request

Access to information to generate knowledge for instant ideas, answers, and sources is critical!  Being able to learn faster and share it is critical. I challenge you share sites of interest, subscription services, reports, and useful information so seasoned professionals, recent graduates, and current students, consultants, and futurists can work to improve their knowledge, be more agile in their thinking, and build on their leadership competencies. It will be a diversified compilation of information to meet needs at every point on the education, experience, research, leadership, and knowledge sharing spectrum. We will grow together as SHELDRs! Share it—pay it forward! Decide, commit, and succeed! Send comments, links and suggestion to douglas.e.anderson57@gmail.com and I will post them in upcoming articles and posts. Promise.

Resources: Send comments, links and suggestion to douglas.e.anderson57@gmail.com and I will post them in upcoming articles and posts. Promise.

About the Author: Douglas E. Anderson, DHA, MSS, MBA, FACHE is an independent healthcare consultant and adjunct professor--coach, facilitator, educator, author, speaker--with over 30 years’ healthcare experience in leadership and corporate staff positions. He specializes in health futuring, strategy development, strategic and systems thinking, continuous quality improvement, strategic communication, and leader development. He coaches senior health executives, designs or facilitates small team activities, and delivers customized leader development programs. He curates an E-Zine: Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) – www.bit.ly/drqd_sheldr_ezine.  Follow him on Twitter: @Doug_Anderson57 or contact him at douglas.e.anderson57@gmail.com for more information.

Disclosure and Disclaimer:  Douglas E. Anderson have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose. The author’s opinions are his own and do not represent an official position of any organization including those he consulted. Any publications, commercial products or services mentioned in his publications are for recommendations only and do not indicate an endorsement.

References: All references or citations will be provided upon request.

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