James Luck is an inclusive leader. As the president and CEO of the 250-employee Orthopaedic Hospital, there is more to that statement than meets the eye.
In his position, Luck has to bring together employees from a wide range of disciplines — doctors, nurses, administrators, office and support staff, among others.
To make it all happen at the hospital, which generated $34 million in 2008 revenue, Luck has to focus on communicating clearly and frequently and identifying others who can help further his communication strategy. It’s a team-focused approach that has worked for Luck throughout his career.
“I really like to have everyone feel that they’re having an active role in decision-making for the organization,” Luck says. “It’s my personal psychology. My whole life, I have very much enjoyed team efforts as opposed to individual efforts. I relish the idea of working with a team on a challenging, complex problem and coming up with a solution.”
Smart Business spoke with Luck about how you can build great communication throughout your organization.
Take an interest. Styles of communication are highly variable. People can be great communicators and do it in a variety of ways. But one of the most essential components is that the leader has a strong personal desire to communicate, that the leader cares about communication and cares about the people of the organization and cares about how they relate to the mission. That personal interest level is critical, and there is no substitute for it. You can’t fake that.
Great communicators are focused on people, a ‘people person,’ but they vary in terms of how extroverted they are. But they genuinely care about the communication, care about the people they are talking to and care [about] being able to engage people in the discussion. That is pretty obvious when you listen to these people speak. You do get engaged because they have established a connection with you. That is the most essential element of a good communicator.
What form the communication takes, writing or verbal, that is not so critical, but it is critical that they have that strong personal interest in communicating.
I am very much a walk-the-halls kind of leader. I’m personally involved in the health care delivery — I see and take care of patients in addition to my administrative responsibility. I walk the halls and understand the challenges that exist in the various departments. I’ve been around here long enough that people know me well, and they’re not hesitant to come up and talk to me if they have some ideas or concerns.
Doing the things I do, especially the patient care activities and the residency program, really gets me out with people. … We also have managers that do a great job with their own particular departments. For example, if I were not a physician, if I were just an administrator working in my office, there would be a whole different level of communication and awareness about what is happening.
