Blog

We’re following the leader wherever he may go…”

Share this Post:

“Following the leader, the leader, the leader, We’re following the leader wherever he may go...” (for better or for worse)
You will no doubt remember the song the Lost Boys were singing as they followed Peter Pan around Neverland. Peter was a charismatic leader, although I am not sure whether he was a good or bad leader; he was certainly entertaining and the Lost Boys had great fun.
In my career I have had the privilege of working with and for many excellent leaders and also, unfortunately, have had the calamity of working with and for several very poor leaders. I have learned a lot from these experiences and in some instances, have learned even more from observing the characteristics and behaviours of deficient leaders. Observing poor outcomes and harm done to patients, often the consequence in part of poor leadership, has enhanced my own skills considerably.
The Consequences of Failed Leadership:
I was at a quality and safety conference awhile back and after giving a presentation on the importance of developing and sustaining a strong safety culture, I was approached by a doctor who wanted to know just what I meant. I found his comment perplexing and, frankly, a little insulting. Hadn’t he paid attention to what I had been discussing for the past 45 minutes?
The doctor commented that he knew all about this “safety stuff” and that if the nurses would just pay attention to details, then “all the errors would go away”. I asked him about his role in his hospital and he told me that he had retired from active practice a couple of years ago and that his friend, the hospital CEO, had asked him to take over the hospital’s quality and safety program on a part time basis. As we discussed this position and his interest in taking on these responsibilities, it became apparent to me that he had received no formal training or meaningful experience in quality improvement science or personnel management. Nor did he have an understanding of human factors affecting individual performance, teaming and teamwork, or any of the other mosaic tiles that should reveal an image of higher quality and safety. Not only that, the tone of his queries was arrogant, suggesting an unwillingness to recognize the need to learn about these important matters despite his responsibility for safety and quality in his institution.
When I discussed this with some colleagues later that evening, one of them mentioned that she was familiar with the hospital where this doctor was working. The hospital had recently received dismal marks on both accreditation and regulatory compliance inspections, the chief nurse had resigned three months before the inspection after voicing concerns about human resource management, and poor patient care, and many of the experienced clinical staff in various disciplines also were resigning in droves. Hiring the retired doctor for the position of “part time” quality and safety leader was an attempt by the CEO to demonstrate his commitment to improvement and “satisfy the inspectors”, a poor attempt by any standard.
It struck me that the CEO didn’t really understand, first and foremost, what the mission of his hospital must be. He seemed to have lost focus, assuming he ever had one, on providing highest quality, safest healthcare services in deference to other aspects of hospital performance, presumably financial. As a result, patients were likely to suffer and be harmed. Providing highest quality, medically necessary and appropriate healthcare services improves safety and protects an institution’s financial bottom line, but he didn’t seem to “get it”. His strategy for rectifying crucial findings of the inspection teams was simply to apply a bandage, a soiled bandage in my view, instead of delving deeply for the correct diagnosis of his institution’s problems. He was content to hire someone with no real qualifications for a position of great importance, a quintessential pillar supporting the ethical foundation of his hospital.
His institution was failing because he was failing to acknowledge his key responsibilities and to respond appropriately to develop and sustain a culture of quality and safety and to provide resources for improving quality and safety, including appointing a full time, qualified leader with appropriate skills for the job. By default, the hospital’s board of directors was deficient in not holding the CEO accountable and conceivably not even understanding what really matters. Short-sighted, misdirected leadership was pervasive and, sadly, was likely to continue. Patients could continue to be harmed. The hospital needed its leaders to change their outlook and perspectives, to focus on what matters most to patients.
There was a solution at hand. “Sometimes, if you can’t get the people to change, then you may have to change the people.”2
References
  • 1. Following the Leader. From Walt Disney’s Peter Pan (1953); Music by Oliver Wallace, Lyrics by Ted Sears and Winston Hibler.
  • 2. Anon (would like to attribute this but cannot find the correct reference)
GO BACK

0 Comments

Leave a Comment

Terms of use
 
 

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Health Matrix’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.
The term Health Matrix or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is Al Taown Business Center, Office 17, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.
The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:


• The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
• This website uses cookies to monitor browsing preferences. If you do allow cookies to be used, the following personal information may be stored by us for use by third parties.
•  Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
•  Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
•  This website contains material that is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
•  All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.
• Unauthorized use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offense.
•   From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
•   Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of Saudi Arabia.

Privacy Policy 
 
GENERAL
Your privacy is important to us. This privacy policy is intended to give you confidence in the privacy and security of the personal information we obtain from you whether you are using Health Matrix products, uploading information to Health Matrix and our products’ websites (the “Websites”), downloading our applications, or are merely visiting our Website. 
However, please note that we are not responsible for any use of your personal information you provide to third-party applications or websites that may be accessed via the Products or Websites. We recommend that you review the privacy policy of any third-party applications or websites that you use. 
 
COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
When you use our Products or Websites, you may be asked for personally identifiable information such as your name, address, date of birth, email address, and telephone number. 
By giving us such information, you will need to consent to our using it in the manner described in this policy. 
You may withdraw your consent at any time by emailing us at info@healthmatrixcorp.com.com. We will return or destroy your personal information within five days of receipt of your withdrawal of consent. 
Cookie information, pages you have requested, and your IP address may also be recorded by us and/or third parties from your browser as set out in this policy. 
 
USE OF PERFORMANCE DATA
Health Matrix will use performance data, including performance statistics, bug fixes, and other similar data (“Performance Data”) uploaded to our Websites or acquired through our Products. Health Matrix may use such Performance Data in any way, including, but not limited to, using, editing, altering, reproducing, publishing, and/or distributing the Performance Data for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, provided that such Performance Data is stripped of all personally identifiable information. 
 
USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We use personal information to allow us to process your service requests, provide access to privileged areas of the Websites, send out newsletters, personalize your visit to our Websites, personalize your use of our Products, and enable us to improve the products and services we offer. We may occasionally carry out market research and send you details of services and offers that we think may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive such information, please e-mail info@healthmatrixcorp.com.com or, alternatively, when we send you an e-mail, it will contain a provision for you to opt-out of receiving any further information from us. 
 
DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may provide information about you to our employees and agents in order to administer any accounts, products, and services provided to you by Health Matrix. 
We will not disclose your personal information to any third party unless you have consented to such disclosure or where we are required to do so by law. Should you breach our terms and conditions or terms of use or if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, we may disclose your information to a relevant authority. This may include exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Any disclosure of personal information will be strictly controlled and made fully in accordance with current Saudi Arabia law. 
 
COOKIES
Cookies are small data files that a website you visit may save on your computer or handheld device that usually includes an anonymous unique identifier. Our Websites and those of our Products may use cookies for user authentication, keeping track of your preferences, promotional campaigns, tracking our audience size and traffic patterns, and in certain other cases. We may include small graphic images in our email messages and newsletters to determine whether the messages were opened and the links were viewed. 
Third-party advertisers may also create and access cookies, which will be subject to their privacy policies – we accept no responsibility or liability for the use of such third parties cookies. If you do not wish cookies to be placed on your PC or handheld device, then they can be disabled in your web browser. The option to do so is normally found in your browser’s “security settings” section. Please note that permanently disabling cookies in your browser may hinder your use of our Websites as well as other websites and interactive services. 
 
SECURITY
All security on our Websites is treated seriously. Where applicable, we undertake security steps, including the use of SSL technology, on our back-end systems that store customer account information and protect data transmissions. However, this is not a guarantee that such data transmissions cannot be accessed, altered, or deleted due to firewall or other security software failures. 
If you have any further concerns about security, please email our Customer Service team at info@healthmatrixcorp.com.
 
POLICY CHANGES
Changes in this policy will be posted on our Websites. You are advised to check our Websites regularly to view our most recent privacy policy. 
 
CONTACTING US

If there are any questions regarding the private policy, you may contact us using the information below 

www.healthmatrixcorp.com 
info@healthmatrixcorp.com 


 
Powered by:HM Dev

Request a Demo

Social Media

Share this page
Follow us

Subscription Center

Service Management Portal