How to Cultivate High-Performing Healthcare Leaders

Episode Overview:

Today’s healthcare leaders are challenged with helping to guide and plot the right course to improve financial performance and drive clinical activities to meet consumers expectations and create competence with patients. In this episode of Value-Based Care Insights, host Daniel J. Marino welcome back Dr. Doug McKinley, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the leadership development of physician executives across the country. Dr. McKinley shares a case for the importance of leadership and how organizations can access leadership development through the Lumina Leadership Institute.

Episode Discussion Areas:

1. Given the challenges this past year, particularly with COVID, a lot of pressures have been placed on healthcare providers and systems.

1. 1. In terms of financial strains, pressures around delivering exceptional care and building the right culture, physician leadership is really of great importance.
   2. Effective high-performing leaders are important not only within the executive branch of these healthcare systems, but also within the physician support structure.
   3. It’s not only clinical skills, but also operational knowledge that physician leaders need. Whether in value-based care, payer contracting, analytics, or technology, there’s a focus on the need for soft skills to not only sustain the increasing demands, but also to drive the strategy forward.

2. What challenges are leaders facing?

1. 1. Given the past year, leaders need an opportunity to breathe and rest for their well-being.
   2. Vigilance is required around the fact that we can't just keep doing things the same way and expect a different result.

3. What drives a strong leader?

1. 1. Helps organizations support their financial performance and patient care outcomes.
   2. Builds that team approach, where you really rely on one another for execution of strategy or an initiative.
   3. Creates thematic goals that everyone can grow around and strive for.

7 Key Takeaways: How to Cultivate High-Performing Healthcare Leaders

1. Physicians and leaders have several needs as well as challenges.
   
   1. They need rest, but they also need to be better organizational leaders - a place where they can develop and realize personal and professional success.
2. How can they develop their leadership skills?
   
   1. Through humility, a willingness to learn, and with help closing the knowledge gap between being an individual contributor and a team leader. Let them practice through project-based development, and give them a mentor and/or coach to support their growth as a leader.
3. The emotional development side to leadership is as important as the business acumen side.
   
   1. Emotional intelligence helps drive change agility and build a strong team that can support critical business activities.
4. Good leaders learn how to work with others to get things done.
   
   1. Balanced leaders are honest and credible, and they engage others to drive performance. Leaders want to be followed for who they are, not what they do.
5. What makes a good leadership program?
   
   1. Small group development and learning with peers facilitates learning in your environment to solve practical, real-world problems. Programs built around teams gives leaders skills they can use and execute, while bridging the knowledge gap.
6. The Lumina Leadership Institute puts leadership development in a practical structure.
   
   1. The Institute customizes small group learning and case study development and changes how leaders are developed and how they problem-solve. It connects back to strategy and aims to achieve desired results while helping people collaborate, not compete.
7. Strong leaders are the key to executing strategy.
   
   1. They help overcome challenges and move organizations forward. Leaders need emotional resilience and emotional agility, and they can get that by learning in group environments.

Resources mentioned:

• Lumina Leadership Institute

About Value-Based Care Insights Podcast

Value-Based Care Insights is a podcast that explores how to optimize the performance of programs to meet the demands of an increasing value-based care payment environment. Hosted by Daniel J. Marino, the VBCI podcast highlights recognized experts in the field and within Lumina Health Partners.