Better Bosses Want Their Employees to Fail

It may sound counter-intuitive, but better bosses actually want their employees to fail. Ok, maybe I’d better define “failure” before we go too much farther here.

By failure, I mean stretching their boundaries. Offering ideas. Trying new and innovative ways to ultimately achieve success. Figuring out ways to help your company and your customers to do more. To do what it is that you do better. And to do what they do for less money or with fewer resources devoted to their completion.

By this definition of failure, most of those new ideas and suggested tactics will fail. But even if their ideas sometimes fail, you want employees to keep producing them.

To achieve this state of business Nirvana – where employees feel free and empowered to consistently offer out-of-the-box thinking and ideas that just might ultimately drive greater success – you need to have engaged employees. That’s where being a better boss comes in. Better bosses work to foster a culture of employee engagement (note: not simply employee “satisfaction,” or even “accountability.” No, I’m talking about genuine engagement).

Engaged employees are the cream of the crop. They are fully involved in – and enthusiastic about – their work. They work with passion, partly because they feel a profound connection to their company. This connection allows them to act in ways that advance their organization's interests. In short, they drive innovation and move the company forward.

There are many ways to promote employee engagement. In fact, a whole sub-species of business books has been written on the subject. But a good place to start is at the top. Remind yourself that an organization tends to mimic the example set by its leaders. Ultimately, it is YOUR CHOICE to lead your people to help you to become the kind of business that YOU want to be!

So be a better boss. Empower and engage your employees. And encourage them to productively “fail forward.”

On that point, I believe Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

Hospital Patient Satisfaction - A Short Story

In the world of hospitals, it is well documented that superior patient satisfaction leads to higher quality scores, a better market position, and greater revenues.

Much of the same research also tells us that the single biggest driver of patient satisfaction is employee engagement.

Despite all of this compelling research, far too many many hospitals continue to believe that patient satisfaction can be influenced by consumer advertising -- billboards, newspaper ads, radio, etc.

So here's a story -- one that I swear is 100% true.

It starts with the unfortunate fact that my wife is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. We've entrusted her care here since the beginning of October, and we've found the people who work here, from top to bottom, are beyond compare.

So here's the story: About 2 months ago, I was at Sloan with Lyn. I went to get a cup of coffee, but the coffee machine was being serviced by two people -- one training the other. As I approached, I overheard the trainer emphatically​ saying to the trainee, "The way we do things here at Sloan is simple. Everyone you deal with -- everyone -- is to be treated like they are a member of YOUR family."

I think that speaks volumes about this place.

I have now blogged that story twice, and told just about anyone who would listen -- no doubt many are telling their friends as well. Oh, and the hospital didn't need to spend $10,000 on a billboard to get that kind of good will, did it?

What does YOUR hospital do to foster a similar culture among its employees?

If You Run a Hospital, You Need Better Employee Engagement

The 2010 Hospital Pulse Report: Employee and Nurse Perspectives on American Health Care was recently released by Press Ganey Associates, and it should serve as a wake up call to hospital administrators.

The report, which surveyed the experiences of more than 235,000 employees at nearly 400 U.S. hospitals, tells us that 45% of hospital workers -- almost half! -- consider themselves "distanced from or discontent with their current work."

Even more troubling, those working closest to patient care have the lowest partnership scores. In other words, these employees are the least likely to feel satisfied and engaged with their organization.

Wow.

The report goes on to tell us that, not surprisingly, there is a strong correlation between patient satisfaction and employee partnership.

Now let's complete the circle: If employees are not engaged and satisfied, patient satisfaction suffers. And we all know that low patient satisfaction equals declining admissions, erosion of brand equity, and loss of market share.

Times are tough. Money is not easily or readily available for things that are not considered "essential" at hospitals. But the fact remains that hospital leaders need to look to employee engagement and satisfaction as a primary driver of patient satisfaction and perception of quality care.

Those hospitals that provide the best environment for employees will reap the reward of better patient care -- and increased revenues.