The Office of Population Health is at the epicenter of healthcare innovation. Each department is on a mission to improve the health of the people we serve, increase the quality of patient care, and foster proactive clinician, patient and caregiver engagement. To do all of this effectively, it is vital to create a safe environment that encourages innovative ideas and honest feedback and discussions among colleagues.
In the Nov. 3 session of the change management series led by David Posch, Bob Dittus, MD, MPH, and Stephanie Brodtrick, PhD, the conversation continued around the importance of psychological safety, managing change and effective teamwork. This session specifically focused on embracing differences to achieve success.
Session leaders Dr. Dittus and Dr. Brodtrick noted that a necessary step in creating a successful and welcoming workplace is to be conscious of and embrace the varying perspectives and backgrounds of the team members. The strongest end product is created when psychological safety is present and multiple perspectives have been taken into consideration and applied throughout the creation and execution processes.
But first, team members and leaders need to be aware that because everyone has unique backgrounds, it is natural for members to understand projects, tasks and conversations differently than their colleagues.
To illustrate this point, Dr. Dittus shared several optical illusions to demonstrate how individuals can interpret the same image quite differently without knowing it. Similarly, when working as a team, different colleagues can use quite a different lens on a particular problem, even a different understanding of important words being used in a discussion. Being aware that such discrepancies can occur and calling them out when resolution is needed can facilitate more effective teamwork.
In preparation for the breakout session, participants watched an interview with Laura Liswood, JD, MBA, the author of The Loudest Duck: Moving Beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work. Liswood uses a variety of cultural adages to demonstrate that people have many distinct ways of looking at a task or project, but one way is not necessarily better than the other. She notes that power lies in the ability to fully understand a team member’s viewpoint, because that’s when one discovers how to work with them more successfully.
After the breakout session, participants returned with ideas on the ways they can appreciate and incorporate different perspectives among colleagues. Takeaways included:
• Be on time and prepared to contribute.
• Demonstrate and celebrate success through small wins.
• Play to everyone’s strengths.
• Get to know each other outside of project work.
• Use a project plan to achieve success.
• Have honest conversations.
Looking Forward: Please mark your calendars for the two remaining change management sessions for the year:
- Dec. 1, 8:30-10 a.m.
- Dec. 16, 9-10:30 a.m.
Sessions will build on each other, so plan to attend all. If you miss any, minutes and PowerPoints from each session will be accessible on Teams for your review.