PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
Mastering the 4 Key Strategic Decisions
of Practice Improvement
Although clinical practices come in many styles, all the exceptional ones become and remain successful by making Four Key Strategic Decisions.
Successful practices:
- Choose the RIGHT DIRECTION
- Focus on the RIGHT PRIORITIES
- Employ the RIGHT STRATEGY
- Take the RIGHT ACTIONS
#1. Choose the RIGHT DIRECTION
Successful Practices have a clear idea of where they want to be in 1, 3, and 5 years, while striving to do four fundamental things exceptionally well.
#1. Choose the RIGHT DIRECTION
They commit to:
- Excellent Clinical Care
- Remarkable Customer Experiences
- Outstanding Interpersonal Relationships
- Sound Financial Management
#2. Focus on the RIGHT PRIORITIES
Next, successful practices commit to continuous and never-ending improvement, focusing all their efforts on what changes will have the greatest impact on improving their practice right now.
#2. Focus on the RIGHT PRIORITIES
These practices:
- Identify Key Frustrations
- Choose the Practice’s "Next Greatest Challenge"
- Engage in System Thinking to understand the issue
- Determine the best 1 or 2 Key Initiatives
#3. Employ the RIGHT STRATEGY
Successful Practices use a five-step process for making significant and lasting changes.
#3. Employ the RIGHT STRATEGY
The exceptional ones:
- Craft & communicate a COMPELLING FUTURE (VISION)
- Allocate the RESOURCES
- Design & document the SYSTEM
- Execute the TRAINING
- Lead the TEAM through the change
#4. Take the RIGHT ACTIONS
Successful Practices don’t try to do everything, but rather concentrate their efforts on what will carry them forward most quickly.
#4. Take the RIGHT ACTIONS
They consistently:
- Have a “bias for action”
- Identify the 80/20 actions (Pareto Principle)
- Focus on the next step
- Keep score
- Finish fully
Summary
The work of a leader is to create purposeful change. With great leadership, the truly exceptional practices don’t just “manage” each crisis as it arises. Rather, they see each crisis as an opportunity to transform their practice into one in which the issue is systemically eliminated.
Working together with their staff, effective leaders commit to a quality improvement process that identifies key issues, formulates comprehensive solutions, and implements reliable systems to consistently achieve outstanding results.