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OCTOBER 2018 HEALTHCARE REGISTRATION

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Communication Key to Leadership Clarity is essential for effective communications By Joan Lloyd

I ’ve been thinking a lot about clarity. I notice that some leaders live in their own heads—they don’t typically explain why they do things—they just do them.

What I’ve been noticing is that really great com- municators speak openly about what they think about, instead of expecting people to figure it out from watching their actions. Great communicators know that it creates more problems, confusion, and work to make people guess.

Great communicators tend to be excellent lead- ers. They are easier to follow—people know where they are going, why they want to get there and what they have to do to move toward the goal. It sounds so simple; you would think every leader would just automatically be aware of the power of transparent, intentional communication. But they aren’t.

There are multiple elements to improvement communication and ensure it is clear. Among the elements to consider if you are a leader who wants to lead with more clarity are a meaningful vision, clear priorities, specific intentions, and authenticity.

Meaningful Vision

Effective leaders communicate a meaningful vision and mission and reinforce it in everything you do. Most vision statements, however, could be randomly interchanged and no one would know the difference. All organizations want to be an “employer of choice,” or “the leader in our field,” or provide “quality cus- tomer service.”

Be aware of the power of transparent, intentional communication.

If you asked your employees to explain the vision for your organization, could they tell you? Surveys show the payback of a meaningful vision and mis- sion. People whose organizations have a compelling and meaningful purpose and direction engage their employees’ hearts as well as their heads.

The beauty of a clear, well-understood vision is that every employee can use it to guide their

As example, Change Healthcare notes Advisory Board data that reveals patients are 2.7 times more likely to pay their balances in full if 61 percent to 70 percent of their portion of a bill is collected at the time of service. These data underscore the need for health care provider organizations to examine patient access workflows in all care setting, includ- ing the ED, providing front-end employees with the tools and training needed to initiate self-pay revenue management at the time of service. A proactive, front-end approach to self-pay revenue management is an essential element of customer service, creat- ing an opportunity for patients to ask questions and understand their financial obligations, which can lead to improved upfront collections and a better bottom line ■

Reader’s ResourceReader’s Resource Kristen Coletto, vice president of financial counsel- ing with Change Healthcare, leads the company’s financial counseling solutions to help health care provider organizations manage patient obligations. Change Healthcare works with its customers and part- ners to leverage its software and analytics, network solutions and technology-enabled services to help improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow, and more effectively manage complex workflows focused on the ultimate goal of improved lives and he althier communities. For more information, visit changehealthcare.com.

HEALTHCARE REGISTRATION OCTOBER 2018

PAGE9 choices—where to invest their time, energy, and resources. A small business owner I know often talked with her employees about what kind of firm she wanted to build—she was clear about the size, scope, kind of client, and type of work she wanted. Her vision was specific and designed to serve a well-defined busi- ness need.

She realized the payout for that clarity some years later, when during a slump in revenues, she was trying to convince her team to take on work that didn’t fit the vision she had described. They pushed back and argued that it would take time and resources away from the work that better fit the vision. Ten years later, the business had tripled in size because it stayed true to its course and had established the company’s reputation in its niche.

Clear Priorities If you say one thing but do something else, you

will just confuse people and slow down the work of the organization. Take, for example, the comment I heard recently from a manager who just finished the budgeting process:

We spent several weeks scrubbing the num- bers, slicing and dicing until we squeaked out every last cent. When we were finally finished and the budget was approved, our priorities were crystal clear … or so I thought. Two weeks after we had approval on what our pri- orities were for the year, I heard a discussion about taking on a project that wasn’t covered in our priority list. I heard a senior manager say, “We just have to find a way to do this.”

Of course, every organization changes priorities as the needs of the business change, but if priorities have no real meaning, and the rules change without conscious planning and intentional explanation, it muddies decision-making and slows down momen- tum. Employees feel whipsawed and get worn down and cynical.

Specific Intentions Don’t presume that those around you under-

stand your actions. In fact, often they misjudge your motives.

For example, while working with a talented sci- entist, he mentioned that he didn’t understand why his boss’s boss often attended his own manager’s staff meetings. “Doesn’t he trust him? Why is he microman- aging him?” he asked.

When I met with his boss later that week, I men- tioned the staff meeting and asked why his manager attended his meeting, and if that bothered him. “Oh, not really. I think he just attends my meetings because he often cancels his own staff meeting because he is so busy.”

A few days later I was talking with his manager and the subject came up. When I asked him why he was attending his subordinate manager’s staff meetings, he said, “My boss, the senior vice president, expects me to have a complete and detailed knowledge of what is going in the new research projects. Attending his meetings is the fastest way for me to stay on top of it.”

Once he explained his intentions in attending the research meetings, everyone understood and opened up more freely during the meetings to keep him up to date.

Authenticity Mean what you say and say what you mean. Don’t

play word games, sugarcoat feedback or manage by subtle hints. Say what’s on your mind and speak in plain English. Also if people around you aren’t clear, stop them and get clear, straight talk.

If you get general or conflicting directives, probe until you understand what they want and why. If someone is fond of giving feedback by telling stories or using vague analogies, politely ask, “Just so I’m clear, what points do you want me to take away from this story?”

If we were all a little more transparent, think of how much easier things would be. ■

Reader’s ResourceReader’s Resource Joan Lloyd is a Milwaukee-based executive coach and organizational and leadership development strategist. She is known for her ability to help lead- ers and their teams achieve measurable, lasting improvements. Joan Lloyd & Associates special- izes in leadership development, organizational change and teambuilding, providing executive coaching, CEO coaching and leader team coach- ing, 360-degree feedback processes, retreat facili- tation and presentation skill coaching, and small group labs.

For more information, call (414) 354-9500, email [email protected], or visit JoanLloyd.com.

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