CEO of Scripps Health, Chris Van Gorder, gives advice to leaders on how to engage frontline employees

1. Seven Simple Strategies
for Frontline Leaders
Chris Van Gorder, MPA
CEO, Scripps Health

2. Introduction
Valuing frontline staff is the most important part of becoming a frontline
leader – be it in health administration or any other field. A culture that values
frontline staff creates loyalty. This loyalty has many advantages including
increased performance, retention, quality control, engagement, productivity,
and morale. Each outcome contributes to the bottom line. As CEO of Scripps
Health, overseeing a dramatic turn around, I’ve seen the benefits first hand.

3. Years ago, I was a hospital security officer
working the graveyard shift. As you can
imagine this shift is often lonely and quiet.
One night I noticed the hospital CEO walking
toward me in the basement hallway. I was
surprised to see him. I’d grown up in modest
circumstances and this was my chance to
make an impression on the boss. Excited to
introduce myself and take a moment to chat I
straightened up and smiled. He walked right
past me, not even meeting my eyes. He didn’t
see me as important enough to engage. To
him I was just a security officer. However, if a
security situation arose I’d be the most
important employee in that moment.CC BY 3.0

4. Whether you’re the CEO,
a frontline healthcare
provider, or anyone in
between, you can benefit
by employing these basic
strategies. By building
meaningful relationships
with and empowering
employees you too can
become a frontline leader.

5. The seven strategies that frontline
leaders employ include:
ØShow Up
ØBe Present
ØDemonstrate Empathy
ØPractice Awareness
ØShare Yourself
ØEmpower Your People
ØBe a Storyteller

6. SHOW UP
This one may seem obvious but you’d be surprised how many leaders become
disconnected from front line employees simply by separating themselves
physically. There’s a great big organization out there and they spend their time
in their office. If your territory is your office then your information pipeline is
very short indeed. You depend on what information comes into your office
directly. You’re out of the loop in the worst way. My first suggestion is get out
and see your world. Seek out interactions in places you wouldn’t normally
frequent. Be the leader that surprises employees with the places you show up.
As with all the strategies this isn’t about doing something once but showing
up time and again.

7. BE PRESENT
You and I both know it’s not enough to merely show up. The CEO that walked
past me as if I was invisible is proof of that. The first rule of presence is
engagement. It’s the primary purpose. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands
dirty. Leaders must listen and respond with genuine emotion and interest to
their teams’ needs. Remember, this isn’t a political campaign of handshakes
and kissing babies, it’s a chance to build relationships. Look for opportunities
to connect. Be consistent. The next few strategies will give you ideas and tools
to engage with your employees.

8. DEMONSTRATE
EMPATHY
You’ll be surprised how easy this is once you’ve got the first two strategies
down. One of the best ways to engage with frontline employees is through
understanding. Ask questions. Be accessible and stay accessible. While 24/7
is impossible for anyone to sustain, immediate responses will always have a
greater impact. Also, it’s important to show your empathy, don’t merely feel
it. Sometimes leaders mistakenly project a stoic persona, but by not
demonstrating empathy leaders come across as cold and uncaring. This
creates distance in relationships and undermines connection. It’s not just
the physicians, nurses, and other caregivers for whom this is important.

9. PRACTICE
AWARENESS
Being responsive to your environment during these interactions allows you to
pick up on subtle cues and take the temperature of the room. As you settle in
to being physically and emotionally present you find you’ll naturally begin to
pay more attention to your environment. When we’re not busy worrying about
others perceptions of us, and are engaged in listening, we free up energy to
pay closer attention to what’s going on around us. This will give you nuanced
insights into your organization and team – especially in high-­‐intensity
environments like hospitals, surgical centers, and doctor’s offices. Think of
everything that’s said in a conversation as only a small part of the information
you need to gather as a frontline leader.

10. One of the places most leaders fall down on the job is being inauthentic.
They’re afraid to be vulnerable and known to others. Leadership has created a
mental barrier that separates them from other people. Be honest about who
you are, where you come from, and what you value. If you manage to practice
all the previous strategies but don’t share your authentic self, you can’t build
lasting relationships. Frontline leadership is about creating, reinforcing, and
nurturing strong relationships.
SHARE YOURSELF

11. EMPOWER
YOUR PEOPLE
Being responsive to your environment during these interactions allows you to
pick up on subtle cues and take the temperature of the room. As you settle in
to being physically and emotionally present you find you’ll naturally begin to
pay more attention to your environment. When we’re not busy worrying about
others perceptions of us, and are engaged in listening, we free up energy to
pay closer attention to what’s going on around us. This will give you nuanced
insights into your organization and team – especially in high-­‐intensity
environments like hospitals, surgical centers, and doctor’s offices. Think of
everything that’s said in a conversation as only a small part of the information
you need to gather as a frontline leader.

12. Humans are wired for stories. They’re easier for us to remember. Stories fire
up our passion and move us. We’re motivated to perform when we know our
actions make a difference. Telling compelling and emotionally engaging
stories is a great way to build community. Once you’ve enacted the above
strategies this becomes easy. A good story is in the details. As an engaged,
frontline leader you’ll have lots of good stories. You’ll naturally connect
emotionally to your stories and so will your audience. Recount stories that
connect positive outcomes to the work frontline employees do every day.
Most importantly, give employees the opportunity to tell their own stories.
Good stories create cohesion among teams, departments, and across the
organization.
BE A STORYTELLER

13. RISK AND REWARD
Mike Nichol, Interim Vice Dean for Faculty
Affairs & EMHA Director with Chris Van Gorder,
CEO of Scripps Health -­‐ USC Commencement 2014
I’ve
come
to
understand
the
risks
and
rewards
of
being
a
frontline
leader.
Staying
connected
is
hard
work.
It’s
risky
to
share
leadership
with
others,
to
be
vulnerable
and
authentic,
and
to
maintain
connections.
But
the
rewards
far
outweigh
these
risks.
Be
honest,
humble,
grateful,
and
encouraging.
By
doing
so
you’ll
contribute
to
the
success
of
your
organization
in
ways
you
never
imagined.

14. My response to that demoralizing experience as a seemingly
invisible security guard changed how I view the role of leadership
to this day. I vowed that if I was ever in a position of authority that I
would respond to front line employees differently. I went back to
school to get a degree in health administration from USC. After
years of successfully enacting my new strategies for frontline
leaders, I wrote my first book, The Front-­‐Line Leader: Building a
High Performance Organization from the Ground Up.
Chris Van Gorder, MPA
CEO, Scripps Health