The first COVID-19 surge this spring forced healthcare leaders to abandon their traditional management and governance models for more innovative leadership styles that entailed quick decision-making and more access to senior leaders. Rather than returning to old leadership styles when the pandemic is over, healthcare organizations should consider making some of these strategies permanent, seven healthcare leaders wrote in an article for Harvard Business Review.
"How can we preserve the recent energy and enthusiasm of distributed, team-based, rapid problem-solving — when many staff felt they were their best selves — and put it to work on the new problems that health systems are now facing?" the article's authors asked. "Most importantly, how can senior leaders free up staff creativity and support rapid learning while at the same [time] ensuring the quality and safety we expect?"
To answer this question, the article's authors drew on their experiences leading two emergency field hospitals in London and Boston during the first virus surge this spring. They identified 10 senior leadership behaviors that helped empower and support team members during the surge.
"We believe these have ongoing applicability across care settings and should not be abandoned for historical and more conventional approaches," the authors said.
The 10 leadership lessons are below.
1. Publicly acknowledge the uncertainty.
2. Clearly identify the most pressing uncertainties or priorities for the team to tackle.
3. Delegate authority based on expertise, not seniority.
4. Don't put off making difficult or unpopular decisions.
5. Shorten feedback loops through frequent multidisciplinary meetings and data communications.
6. Emphasize that it's easy to reverse a decision and adapt strategy as needed.
7. Set expectations that productive failures are OK, but incompetence is not.
8. Include patients and families in the care process.
9. Protect staff members' physical, mental and spiritual safety.
10. Make yourself visible and available to team members.
To view the full article, click here.
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