Blog
By Renee Jensen
This is a trying time for leaders in the healthcare industry. The pandemic is putting stress on operations and financials, and is straining the capacity of the entire healthcare system. We have huge challenges to overcome, but it’s difficult to know how to lead and find a way forward in a situation no one has experienced before.
By Renee Jensen
I am passionate about my leadership in the healthcare field. I also love being a mother. Being a working mom has its challenges, and the decision to invest in my career and my family at the same time has brought the occasional judgmental comment—from colleagues, other parents, and even my own family. Some have offered encouragement, telling me that being a mom is just as important as anything else I could do. And while strides are being made for gender equality in the workplace, I don’t feel that motherhood is valued equally in the workplace, or in our culture.
By Renee Jensen
The rise of COVID-19 has changed the way the healthcare industry and our society operate, seemingly overnight. The uncertainty of the future is sobering and stressful, but I believe there may be a silver lining to this experience that is hard to see when you’re in the thick of a pandemic. Once we get through the heat of the moment, we could see some positive changes to our families, health, communities, and the way care is delivered.
By Renee Jensen
At one of the hospitals I served as CEO, I brought in an executive coach to work with our senior leadership team. At the end of our time together, the coach complimented my team, saying it was one of the most high-performing groups he had ever worked with. I was shocked.
In retrospect, I truly believe the reason for our ability to perform at a high level was our deep trust in one another, established through a genuine desire to know and care for each other.
As healthcare leaders, we want to inspire and empower our employees to do creative, high-quality work that serves our patients and our communities. There is seemingly no end to the methods executives can use to accomplish this goal, but I have found that no strategic plan, incentive, or leadership development program can foster this kind of work like an organizational culture where it’s safe to fail. When employees aren’t afraid to take a risk on an innovative idea, they are free to do their very best work.
