5 Leadership Traits for Accountable Care Leaders

In a recent post on athenahealth’s Leadership Forum, Amy Edmondson, PhD, a faculty member at Harvard Business School, discussed the leadership successes of two individuals closely involved in advancing accountable care models: Richard J. Gilfillan, MD, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and Susan Thompson, president and CEO of Iowa-based Trinity Health Systems, which participates in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, along with partner TriMark Physicians Group.

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In the post, Dr. Edmondson examined the leadership traits demonstrated by Dr. Gilfillan and Ms. Thompson, and explains how those traits have positively impacted efforts to advance accountable care. Five leadership traits Dr. Edmondson highlights include:

1. Engagement. Ability to engage providers and others in the change and recognize their efforts to overcome resistance.
2. Patience. Ability to balance urgency with patience, recognizing that true change will not occur overnight.
3. Continuous learning. Understanding the organization must continuously learn and adapt.
4. Innovative thinking. Thinking outside the box when devising approaches to improve care quality and reduce costs.
5. Willingness to change business models. Or, the “willingness to jettison old models to make progress,” according to Dr. Edmondson.

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