A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to My Career

I had a very clear plan as an undergraduate. It's almost impossible to say that with a straight face now!

A clear plan.

At 21.

Hahahaha.

Plan A
I went off to undergraduate school with a clear vision of what the next forty years were going to look like.

I almost made it to graduation day...
...then changed plans.

Plan B
I worked for a couple of years to figure everything out and then headed off to graduate school.

I had a clear vision of what the next forty years were going to look like.

I almost made it to graduation day...
...then changed plans.

You Will Never Think Big Enough
I've had the privilege to learn, grow, and serve in senior level positions for amazing organizations.

What have I learned?
- I didn't think big enough early on
- I didn't think big enough once things started moving quickly
- I'm still not thinking big enough (although I'm thinking pretty damn big!)

How About You
Is your career mapped out already? How could that possibly be true in a world filled with endless opportunities?

You can be more...if you want to be. There is nothing holding you back.
Literally. Nothing.

Think bigger every day. Even if you're embarrassed about your vision for your future.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Future Shock

I don't consider myself much of  futurist...in fact...the world of work is changing so fast it's almost impossible to stay current on  a daily basis. 

But...

One thing is very clear about the future of work. It starts with leaders...formal and informal...making a difference in their organizations.

Risk
As a long time healthcare leader I've discovered a few truths:

- healthcare is a risk aversive industry (understatement of the century right there)
- healthcare has unlimited potential to improve how it recruits talent
- most healthcare leaders are too scared to make the moves necessary to differentiate themselves from their competition

This is where you come in! You have the opportunity to leverage all of the knowledge you've accumulated over your career, and pour it into a new way to work. Starting today.

The complicated dynamics of our industry, and in particular hospitals, often force the progressive leaders among us to a life of playing it safe and doing the same old things. Today I'm calling out anyone who espouses that old school strategy!

Risk is important for a reason...because there is a big reward!

Shock Your Competition
Shifting mindsets can be powerful, long before you pull a team together to develop your digital talent acquisition strategy. (Remember, digital strategies should be your primary strategy!)

Here are three steps that will not only help you lead the way internally, but will also help you blow away the prehistoric thinkers leading your competition:

1. Go social, now. If you aren't active on social media you have not been paying attention. Open you accounts, start posting, sharing and engaging. It matters more than you think.

2. Focus on building your leader brand. If you're not actively involved in your "space" you are invisible. It doesn't matter what your resume says...the world has changed. Get active using contemporary tools and make a difference.

3. Stop being afraid. It's okay to step out and try new things. You will be the only one in your organization doing it. So what? Leaders go first...so let's go!

How About You
It has never been easier to promote your leader brand, your organization, and the difference you can make in the world of work. Get started today! You can do it!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Piece By Piece

The world of recruitment marketing is flooded with good ideas and little execution, particularly in the healthcare industry. I don't know of any hospital that claims to be anything less than "world class, providing high quality care, with a great team of dedicated and skilled staff."

Really? How original. I'm sure that has the talent they need flocking to their static and never updated career site.

Talking about your employer brand (as if talking equated with executing a strategy) and actually building your employer brand are two radically different subjects. One of the things I absolutely love about my job is that we help companies move from a place where they have little or no expertise, to launching incredibly robust talent acquisition strategies that transform their organizations.

Yes, I said it. We do that, and most places don't.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

One of the misconceptions about employer brand is that it is something that you decide to have, and then - poof!- you have one!

Um, not exactly.

Hospitals are famous for this approach. Their institutional pride is often so strong, that senior leaders are baffled that applicants are not racing to the human resources office simply because their hospital exists.

"If you build it" has nothing to do with "anyone coming" to work there.

Strong talent communities are based on employer brands that are invested in, thoughtfully developed, and consistently nurtured over a period of time. There are no quick decisions that suddenly make you special. Hard work and effective execution make you special.

See the difference?

One Piece At A Time

Building a content rich strategy that dives deep into the organization, highlights real members of the team, and consistently pushes fresh content across multiple social channels is the key to success.

Don't believe me? Take a break and check out your hospital careers page right now. I'll wait. You don't have much to look at so I'll see you in 5 seconds.

Do you think you're too important, or busy, or experienced to embrace a content rich strategy? I hope not, because every single person you or I will ever hire again is on some sort of social channel, and social is all about content.

So tell me again why you don't think committing to a comprehensive employer brand strategy is worthwhile?

How About You

It's time to move from talking to action. You know your hospital is loaded with amazing stories. You just need help getting them out to the world so the talent problem you have today, will be your strength tomorrow.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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The Obsession That Is Killing HR

I have a big idea. If it gets a little traction it might change how human resources work is done in the future. It's not a new concept, but I believe the time is right for someone, particularly in Healthcare HR to speak to this opportunity.

Ideas are meant to solve problems, and my friends I see significant problems in the Healthcare HR space. I see it in my own career path, and I see an abundance of time and energy being wasted everyday on this problem.

There are two parts of my idea and each one must be executed well in order for it to work. Let's briefly walk through each component of my plan.

The Problem
One of the most significant problems I see in human resources today is our obsession with transactional work. While there is a non-stop stream of "we need to be strategic" talk in just about every HR meeting I attend, I rarely see this put into action. Why is that? Further, is Healthcare HR somehow behind the curve on the transition to actually being strategic?

Yes, there are progressive human resources teams in healthcare, yet the struggle for us all (inside and outside of healthcare) to break away from focusing on task after task continues. How do we move past this hurdle?

First
In my organization we've made huge progress separating out transactional work, and making it more streamlined and efficient than ever. What was the secret to our success? We had the front line HR team map out where we were failing, and what we should do to make improvements. 

Genius, right? Well, no. Fortunately our team is very engaged and did a terrific job of evolving not only our HR processes, but our culture too.

Second
The second strategy is the most challenging of all for HR leaders to implement. This requires the discussion about transactional work and routine processes never to enter into conversations about strategic work. 

Time and time again the HR strategy meetings I've been involved with end up falling back on the routine topics of transactional work that "somehow" continues to get in the way. Why do we do that? Is it comfort in discussing old routine items? Maybe. We've been talking about them for decades, so it is probably easy to fall back into old (read here --> bad) habits.

Guess what...if you don't bring up transactional work, it doesn't get in the way. Stop talking about it and you'll find yourself with plenty of time to talk strategy.

How About You
Have you tried to push transactional work away from the strategic meeting agenda? Did it work? If so, please share your approach, as there are so many (including me) who could benefit from your success story. 

If not, take a hard look at the words you're saying in your meetings, and decide if you're adding value or simply adding noise.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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It Can Be Done

I started my health care career at a small agency that served emotionally disturbed and physically abused children. It was a place that cared deeply for the residents who had to live away from their families due to their complicated circumstances and behavior. The staff were committed, I was thrilled to be part of an organization, and was happy to take a 25% cut in pay from my previous job (seriously, I was) to be part of the front line team.

I quickly realized two things: I found the right industry for me; and, I wanted more. I wanted to somehow move into a leadership role someday.

I wondered if it could be done.

Get A Plan
I quickly surveyed the leadership team and discovered they all had the same thing: a Master's Degree. So I enrolled in graduate school. It was hard, took a huge amount of time and money, and I lived through it.

I also applied for an internal position that I wasn't qualified for, but I went for it with such enthusiasm and energy that the hiring manager took a risk and gave me the job. After six weeks in my other job.

I was starting to believe it could be done.


Loyalty is Great...Unless It Makes No Sense
Two years into my graduate program I left the agency that I loved. I had an opportunity to join a hospital as their Training and Development Manager. 

I wasn't fully qualified for the job; but it was in a rural setting, I was willing to commute and it was an amazing opportunity. 

I took the job with one year left in my Master's Degree program, and figured I could make it all work.

...and I felt like I was starting to get it done.

Risks = Success
Those early moves in my career set up a series of events that led me to larger and larger hospitals and health systems. I continued to take risks and move to where I could grow as a professional and meet my goals that seemed to get bigger as time passed.

Over the years I've been a sponge, soaking up the mentoring and guidance of people like Joanne Borfitz, Mike McNally, Kathy Gillette, John Steele and now Pamela Paulk here at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

How About You
Today I'm the luckiest HR pro in the world. I'm blessed to work for a great organization, with the best mission on earth. I'm surrounded by an incredible team of dedicated professionals who actually come to work each day knowing that they'll have to put up with me. Amazing.

It can be done. Believe it for yourself too...because it's true.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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