Top 7 Things to Remember in the New Year

The beginning of the new year provides not only the opportunity to reflect on last year achievements, but to get pumped up for what lies ahead. Since this is my first foray into the blogging world in 2017, I want to thank you for your support and engagement over the past several months.

As we begin another year, I thought it would make sense to reflect on some of my previous posts as a way to help set leadership goals. When setting your goals for 2017, think about how you want to lead and collaborate with team members in the coming months. Here are some leadership tips to help you have the most productive and positive year yet:

1. Be authentic. This is simple. Be honest and straightforward. Don’t ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself. In doing so, you will build a foundation of respect and honesty with and within your team, allowing for greater loyalty and productivity.
2. Be accountable. Take responsibility for every step on the path to achieving the task at hand and embrace and accept the outcomes of these decisions - whatever they may be. By doing this, you will develop an unparalleled trust with and among your team - they will know you mean what you say, that you have their back and that you can be trusted.
3. Don’t get stuck under the squeaky wheel. We tend to spend a lot of time focused on the employee who makes the most noise and proves to be most difficult. Instead, start focusing your energy on those who demonstrate the desire and ability to contribute to your organization.
4. Improvise - all of the time. Much of your success will come from your ability to be flexible and improvise when it comes to your business. How you embrace change and capitalize on new realities effecting your business can make all the difference in the work you do.
5. Play with others and get outside of your own backyard. You never know where you will find the next best idea. Take time to go and learn from others outside your sector. While industries outside your own might operate on a different scale than your company and there will certainly be aspects of their business that will not apply to your work, there is still a tremendous amount of knowledge to be gained from them. We can learn from their systems, their culture, their processes and their leadership style.
6. Work as a team. Managers who work collectively with fellow team members to identify a change or goal, then create and execute a plan to work through the change or achieve that goal, are the ones who will be successful. The reality is that in today’s workplace, you can have fantastic ideas and innovative strategies to grow your business and lead your market…but if you don’t have dedicated team members that are invested in its execution, you won’t get where you want to go.
7. Focus on being sustainable. The world is rapidly changing and so is business. In order to survive and thrive, focus your energy on swimming with the tide. Figure out how to maximize your strengths and the work you do in relation to what is happening in the world around you.

And so, as you begin the year, I encourage you to take some time to map out your leadership strategy. Spending a few minutes now to think about how you want to lead, will pay off big in the months ahead.

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Ignore the Squeaky Wheel

I often hear friends and colleagues who are managers complain about how much of their daily work day is consumed by difficult employees. Instead of working with their high producing team members to move their company forward, they spend hours upon hours trying to make these squeaky wheels fit into the culture of their particular organization by coaching them to get them to where they need to be.  

I get it. I understand this impulse. As leaders, we believe that our primary responsibility is to solve problems. And at some point, we have all been taught to believe that part of being a good leader is the ability to turn even the most difficult employee into a productive team player. But often, that is just not possible and results in wasted time. And so, I guide my team and those colleagues who seek my advice to ignore the squeaky wheels and start focusing their energy on those who are or who have demonstrated the desire and ability to contribute to our organization.

Think about how much time and energy you spend working with the most demanding employees, fielding complaints from their colleagues, or simply the hours drained while you strategize on how to solve the problems they cause. Now, what if you took that time and devoted it to coaching a team member who has the desire to grow within the organization but needs a bit of guidance? Or perhaps working with one of your stellar team members to help expand their skill set?  I bet you would find that this time is much more likely to result in new and innovative ideas, heightened productivity as well as a more positive and cohesive work place. You are also much more likely to retain the highest performing members of your team, which, in the end, is a cost savings as these individuals are the most expensive to replace.

I know this can be easier said than done, but setting clear expectations with your team and holding them accountable for their actions from the very beginning (and holding yourself to the same standards) will allow you to lead your team as effectively as possible. It will also allow you to develop a more positive and productive work culture and move your organization’s needle forward. And what could be more important?

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By the Book

While it has been too many years to count since I have been in school, I believe that I am on a path of continuous and life-long learning. Every day I learn from members of my team, other folks in the industry, friends and family. And while I am starting to get into listening to podcasts and enjoying favorite blogs and online publications that I review, books remain a key source of both pleasure and instruction.

Over the years, I have found many books on leadership and management instrumental in helping me solve problems, formulate strategies and think of new ways to approach my work. There are some books that I read once and apply what I have learned and others that I return to each year and read over and over again.

As the holidays draw near and you find yourself with a bit of extra downtime, try picking up a book from which you can learn a bit more about leadership and management applications. Here are some of my favorites:

• Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the GratefulDead: The Ten Most Innovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip by Barry Barnes - What can you learn about business from The Dead? For me, the key takeaway from this book is about the power of “strategic improvisation.” Strategic improvisation is the ability to adapt to changing times or forces effecting your business. Improvisation has become a key value at JMC and I believe our success over the last five years stems from our ability to embrace change and our willingness to not only adjust, but to capitalize on the new realities in our business.

• The Art of War by Sun Tzu - This is a book that I return to year after year. Just as some people have a favorite movie that they enjoy countless times, for me, The Art of War fills that space. Over the holiday season, when you have an afternoon with no other obligations, I encourage you to visit or revisit this classic. Two key leadership nuggets of the book for me are its lessons about the need for speed—reducing the time it takes to make decisions, developing new lines of service and responding to the customer—and the importance of personal accountability—expecting it in yourself and demanding it of others.

• Market-driven Health Care: Who Wins, Who Loses In theTransformation of America’s Largest Service Industry by Regina Herzlinger - Even though this book was first published 17 years ago, it remains as relevant as ever. For me, this book’s imprint is on all the work I have done at Jupiter over the last five years. Here, Regina Herlinger, a Harvard Business Professor, forecasts the changing climate of our industry and identifies key elements— building a strong team, investing wisely in technology and focusing on specific products and services—that can help lead to the providing of convenient, cost-effective healthcare. 

• Jack: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch - There are few business leaders who provide more no nonsense and insightful business and leadership advice than former GE Chairman Jack Welch. In the name of transparency, Jack is a friend of mine and a friend of the hospital, but I was a fan of Jack and his books long before I first met him. Of all Jack’s books, this one remains my favorite as it combines the fascinating story of his rise through GE with business successes and failures and lessons on the importance of striving for excellence. It is also as funny and candid as Jack is in person.

And so I hope you have a joyous and restful holiday season and are able to enjoy some quiet time with a good book. I am looking forward to doing just that.

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