Matthew Painter, PhD, serves as Director of Leadership Development for UAB Health System.
On April 4th, Dr. Painter will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Dr. Painter's session, click here.
Question: What one strategic initiative will demand the most of your time and energy in 2019?
Matthew Painter: The one strategic initiative that demands most of my time is culture formation. Culture is what drives a company’s performance. When we have the right culture we thrive, when we have a self-limiting culture we fail. Therefore, it is important to live out key organizational values top-down, consistently. The role of Organization Development and Leadership Development is to help map out and execute on this work.
Q: Healthcare takes a lot of heat for not innovating quickly. What's your take on this?
MP: There are 2 main reasons healthcare has lagged in innovation. First, we are highly regulated. The need for much of this regulation is hard to argue and when we take compliance seriously it heavily taxes our resources. The burden is often so heavy that our efforts to innovate quickly wane. Second, our lack of intentionality around creating a cohesive culture of leadership prevents innovative work. Despite heavy regulation, we can, once carefully defined, execute on our leadership values. One of these values must be innovation and adaptability. We have not kept pace with healthcare change or even tried to create a new, better future because we do not consistently value innovation. This must be one of a core set of leadership values which translate into daily practice.
Q: Can you share some praise with us about people you work with? What does greatness look like to you when it comes to your team?
MP: Several KPIs reflect an appreciation for our work as Organization Development executives. When partners at any level exercise, even role-model, key tenets of good leadership as a result of our interventions it is a clear appreciation for our work. When this value is translated into continued strategic partnerships, (i.e. repeat business), it further solidifies our partnership and the value contained therein. Perhaps most importantly though is a tangible partnership where we are empowered to add strategic, organization-wide value, fostering high-performance through aligned talent systems