Leadership Philosophy

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LEADERSHIP VALUES

Our values define us as leaders.  They anchor our decisions and we use them to navigate challenges and should we stray, we know it in our bones.

After taking part in Brené Brown’s leadership values exercise, I can say with reasonable confidence that my three core values – those that guide me the most – are courage, generosity and excellent. . I try to be a wholehearted leader - at work and at home.

COURAGE
Courage is not being afraid to fall. It is about not being afraid to admit when you have made a mistake, not being afraid to make one, not being afraid to act or observe and own your decisions is something that is critically important to me as a leader.

EXCELLENCE
For me, this is best described as finding the right goal post and supporting a real desire to do what is right in the right way for the patient. In medicine, this is always about the patient. In leadership, it is about the person in need.  Excellence is not seeking perfection. It is about honest conversations about standards and clarity of expectations. If we find ourselves with our patients and those we lead at the centre of the discussion and strive to do for them what we would do for our loved ones, we will find excellence. I definitely share this value and perspective with my parents.

GENEROSITY
My wife and I have often said if our kids grow up generous to others, we will have succeeded as parents. I try always to start difficult conversations with a generous lens. “How are things in life for you right now?” Stay curious.  It helps me understand why extra support rather than criticism or performance management, is required. This helps others achieve their best.

Meta-Leadership and me

Like any other leader, I’ve had an imperfect journey, sometimes falling from one leadership opportunity to another without enough intention.

My leadership style is a synthesis of several leading concepts and approaches.

Meta-leadership is a concept defined by the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI) faculty at Harvard as a complex broad understanding of problems and potential solutions. The key metric - one that every leader aspires to - “People follow me.” In leadership, I strive to find a place where people feel they can confidently lead with me, follow me, and be honest and open about what they need from me as a leader at the moment. Success can be measured by how well you create success in others.

Swarm leadership is a concept that also has followed me from the NPLI. To me, a swarm is the Holy Grail of leadership. I think about creating the conditions necessary for a swarm on a regular basis and try to identify them in my colleagues.

Roz Zander has defined a leader as the relentless architect of the possibility that others can be. This resonates deeply with me as does the approach embedded in a belief of possibility as opposed to a focus on comparison and the downward spiral. Ben’s online teachings and the book they wrote together show how to provide honest, clear feedback even if difficult and this is truly transformational.  His approach is to build people up through clarity and honesty, rather than to take down.  Ben’s work has deeply affected me as a person, parent, partner, and informs my leadership style at its very core.

The JOURNEY

Every day we try to do better. We show up to do our best. We don’t always but I try. I try every day. I can confidently say that I really believe leading in healthcare is about creating the environment, system, situations that bring out the best in people so that the secret sauce of quality of care - love for the patient - can shine through. It is crystal clear - post-pandemic healthcare will be about leadership.