Commencement Address

1. Sunday May 3, 2009 MHA Class of 2009 Commencement Party
My Counsel for You: To Learn, To Love and To Lead
TO LEARN
Learn by:
Active Listening: Putting all of your senses at work in
communicating; verbal and non-verbal cues; framing and reframing.
Listen to your inner voice as well (Gut, conscience)
Taking Risks: Take the right risks (“Battles you think you can win”).
Never make a major life decision in haste or in anger. Haste and Anger
sharpen the senses, but also sharply curtail careful thinking.
Specialization: Move from generalist to specialist. Now, you have
knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep. Move to knowledge an inch
wide and a mile deep. THE EXPERT
Seek a Mentor—Have one for different career stages and be one, in turn
Outliers (Performance well above the norm) are those who have been
given opportunities….and who have the strength and presence of mind
to seize them (Malcolm Gladwell)
Keep a log of your management mistakes, and refer to this compendium
when facing a difficult decision. Admit your mistakes, analyze them,
and keep them accessible at all times. (Jerome Groopman, How Doctors
Think, p.21)
Be willing to let go of old habits and familiar routines—today’s critical
expertise is tomorrow’s albatross. (Quote from WSJ article Why
'Quality' Care Is Dangerous by Jerome Groopman and Pamela
Hartzband, April 6, 2009, p. A13)
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2. Dr. David Sackett, a pioneer of quot;evidence-based medicine,quot; where results
from clinical trials rather than anecdotes are used to guide physician
practice, famously said, quot;Half of what you'll learn in medical school will be
shown to be either dead wrong or out of date within five years of your
graduation; the trouble is that nobody can tell you which half -- so the most
important thing to learn is how to learn on your own.quot;
Today, commit to life long learning and life long teaching
TO LOVE
It’s OK to be passionate about your work. If you don’t care deeply
about what you do, you won’t do it well. Be the best that you can be. Set
the gold standard, and then set it higher.
When you care, you dream bigger and you reach farther. When you
don’t care, you do neither.
People in all walks of life need three things: dignity, humanity, and
respect. You need these three things too. Protect and promote these
basic needs.
Work is about a search for daily meaning; for recognition; for
astonishment; perhaps immortality. To be remembered was the wish,
spoken and unspoken, of the heroes and heroines of this book. (Studs
Terkel, Working, p. xi)
Champion a cause: uninsured, poor, aged, mental health, homeless, etc
Identify and empathize with the people receiving care, and the people
giving care. Don’t distance yourself from the nitty-gritty work of patient
care. Litmus Test: Q. When was the last time you talked directly to a
patient or family member?
Be compassionate towards others, and be mindful of your own needs for
affirmation and renewal. OK to love your work and to love others, but
love yourself once and awhile. Take time for yourself.
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3. TO LEAD
Major health care reform will be a top item on the national agenda, for
the next 7 years. CHANGES likely in both financing and delivery!!!
Huge opportunity for you, as the next generation of HC leaders. (I’d
love to be in your shoes.)
What do leaders do? Two things:
1. Leaders take people to a place they haven’t been before
(“promised land”) Read Martin Luther Kings’ speech “I Have a
Dream”. (Important for its’ social significance, and, as a model for your
own dream/vision speech). In my lifetime, I heard this speech and saw
the dream realized on inauguration day, 2009. Major social change can
happen. Each of us has a galvanizing speech within. My hope is that you
will deliver yours.
2. Leaders also take people to a familiar place they haven’t visited
recently (Recapture motivation, meaning, respect, a culture of pride,
etc)
Consider Servant Leadership (Robert Greenleaf and Max DePree).
Servant Leaders first describe reality and lastly, say thank you. In
between they are serving the needs of all the stakeholders in the
enterprise. In Health, you are serving the needs of people who cannot
care for themselves. The Mission and the Vision are primary. When
leadership becomes all about you, it’s not a good thing.
Leadership is a privilege, not an entitlement; and most importantly, it’s
TEMPORARY
Leadership is hard & dangerous work, especially when you are
implementing major change. Expect push back in the form of personal
attacks and marginalization.
The most meaningful work you will ever do. It will change you, and
change the people around you. There is nothing like it!
Recap: To Learn, To Love and To Lead
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