On October 9th, Michelle will give a presentation on “Saving Lives in Slow Motion™ – Population Health Built Upon Patient Relationships“ at Becker’s Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference. As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place October 9-12, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Michelle’s session, click here.
Question: What is the No. 1 principle you uphold and practice to effectively lead a team?
Michelle Burris: The No. 1 principle I uphold and practice in my leadership efforts is that effective teams recognize the value of each team member and have a leader that the team respects and is willing to follow. This is something that I learned during my service in the Marine Corp, where the smallest unit was a squad comprised of four members. There is a designated leader to keep the team focused and moving forward who is also an active member of the team beyond the leadership capacity. Each team member serves a vital role in the success of the team. This translates easily into the business world and has been proven to be the most effective way for me to lead my teams throughout my health care career. It is a recognition of the value of each team member but also recognizes the strength of working together. Leaders are builders of teams and serve as the guide as the team works toward their collective goal. Leaders have the vision, give clear direction and help the team think creatively, support others and stand by their actions but act with honor and respect.
These processes allow me to have a handle on the business, drive innovation and execute, without doing the work myself. I can then focus on strategy and other organization concerns.
Q: What contributes to better conversations between a health system’s financial and clinical leaders?
MB: The best conversations between health system financial and clinical leaders occur when both come to the table with a recognition of the strengths and knowledge that the other brings and how that makes them collectively more than the sum of the parts. In my career, I have been fortunate to have worked in the Dyad structure of leadership. Each Dyad team is comprised of a clinical and administrative professional that work side-by-side bringing more breadth and depth to their decision making to manage a department, a division and the organization. This proved to be a powerful way to bring the knowledge and expertise together to collaborate and build understanding of each discipline’s value to planning and decision making. I know this model exists in a formal way within some healthcare organizations. But, if our strategizing, planning and decision making throughout the industry would include more of this, we would likely find healthcare being more innovative, creative and impactful.
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
