Risk is the fuel for progress, says Steve Ralph, who as president and CEO of Huntington Hospital continues a tradition of calculated risk-taking that began more than 20 years ago. It was then that a savvy physical therapist suggested that the Pasadena-based community
hospital bring in canines to assist with patient recovery and therapy. Though the proposal sparked a wave of initial controversy,
Huntington’s leadership team took a risk on a program that proved hugely successful, and canine therapy programs have since become
a mainstay in hospitals across the country. Today, Ralph is just as willing to take those kinds of calculated risks, whether implementing
new staffing procedures among his 3,247 employees or taking new approaches to patient care at the hospital, which posted 2006 revenue
of $398 million. Smart Business spoke with Ralph about visibility, connecting the dots and how to close the loop when communicating.
Make yourself visible. I make a point of welcoming (employees) at every new
employee orientation we have. I tell
them that they’re going to see me a lot.
I’m not one of these CEOs that’s in meetings day in and day out from morning,
noon to night.
I spend a lot of time roaming the halls.
I spend a lot of time talking, communicating and listening to people.
(Employees can then say), ‘This is a
real person. He understands. He can
relate to what I’m doing. He can understand the issues I’ve got on the job.’
When you’re visible and a part of the
organization, that doesn’t mean that people always agree with everything, but
they certainly can appreciate where
you’re coming from and develop a
respect and a trust, which is important in
relationships.
Recognize extra effort. I spend a lot of time
just walking through the cafeteria when
people are eating and talking to them
about their jobs and recognizing people
in terms of doing a good job.
Just simple things like, the housekeeper was swamped doing some things, so
one of the security guards helped empty
the trash. It’s recognizing those people
for doing it.
It’s also connecting the dots. In any
industry, you’ve got people behind the
scenes that are doing a lot of the things,
but they don’t get the recognition. It’s
important that you balance it and really
recognize (them).
We’ve got some ways that people can
accumulate points. A patient can recognize an employee, a fellow employee can
recognize a fellow employee or a team of
employees, and they can accumulate
points.
They can use that to benefit something
in their department — get a new video
machine for their education department,
whatever it is. You can do things that
might end up being a pizza party for the
department.
They feel that they’re an integral part of this organization. They feel good
about themselves when we have celebrations, and they’re doing things better.
As long as people feel that they’ve
made a contribution to that and have
gone the extra mile, they got a lot of
rewards professionally and get a lot of
rewards within their own peer groups.
Close the loop. Too often, organizations
can go in lots of different directions, or
people don’t really understand the fundamental reasons for what we’re doing,
why we’re doing it and where we’re
going. One of the biggest responsibilities
that any leader has is to effectively communicate. When I say that, it’s not talking so much. It’s oftentimes listening —
listening effectively.
Listening effectively means following
up with (employees) effectively.
If I get input from people but I decide
to do something else, it’s important to
close that loop. Tell people, ‘Here’s why
we did it the way we did it. We looked at
this, and we looked at that.’
If people feel like you’re giving them
lip service and not really listening to
them, they’ll quickly say, ‘Hell, I’m not
talking to this guy anymore. He doesn’t do anything I say.’ It’s important that you
tell people why you made the decision
that you did.
Don’t make hasty decisions. You don’t want to
act too quickly. You don’t want to be a bull
in a china shop, breaking all the glass.
But on the other hand, if you know
there are some major challenges in the
organization, and there are things that
need to be improved, you’ve got to move
on some of those things.
You’ve got to gather the data, get the
facts, and try to balance the pros and
cons. You’ve got to say, ‘In the best interest of this organization, in terms of
where we are and where we’re going,
this is what we need to do.’
At the end of the day, you’ve got to
make decisions and move forward. The
key is to make sure you communicated
the reasoning behind it and that rationale and develop that confidence that
people have to have in you.
(Employees) certainly won’t always
agree with you, but if they have confidence that you’re going to listen, look at
all sides of the situation, and then make an
informed decision, they’ll have confidence and trust in you, which, at the end
of the day, is what you really need to have.
Take a hike. People’s success is all boiled
down to how they balance their life.
The role of CEO is really a full-time, 24-7
kind of role. You need some downtime to
balance your personal life and spend
time away from it all.
When I get away, I try to get away. Last
year, I went on a hike in Northern
Scotland for 95 miles. [Previously] I
went on a hike around Mont Blanc,
which is the highest mountain in Europe.
I have confidence that I can do that,
and things are fine here. I’m not bringing
cell phones or BlackBerrys and stuff.
You need time away. People all need
some time to think and put their life in
perspective.
HOW TO REACH: Huntington Hospital, (626) 397-5000 or
www.huntingtonhospital.com
