OK, Im not trying to kiss any SHM a@@ and I really would like Obama to have another four years, but after listening to John talk in Texas about a “culture of ownership” I wonder what it would be like if we could embrace that on a national level.
Honestly what is more important in running any organization/family/country than that? Can one of our candidates please add this to their platform?
Lately I’ve been listening to some Harvard Business School lectures on CD and there is this idea that you don’t want a genious to run your group. If you do, then all will fail when he/she is gone (this is good news for me). You want someone that will inspire others to solve their own problems. And then, hopefully, they’ll tell two friends, and then they’ll tell two friends, and then they’ll tell two friends….
I’m happily ensconsed in my new job with 40 reports, most of whom are caring and dedicated physicians and mid-level providers in a hospital dedicated to excellence. Helping to improve and sustain a culture of ownership here is now my biggest task. I’m experimenting with sharing as much unblinded data as I can to improve transparancy and a feeling of accountability. It’s a little frightening to do so. John said: A leader takes personal responsibility for the group’s culture and morale. Who wants to do that? I would much rather blame bad morale on other people!
There is something about this that probably goes against human nature, otherwise it would be much easier to do. But it’s exciting, and onward and upward.
There was a President who very prominently touted a “culture of ownership”. His name was George Bush. But I gather by what you said at the beginning of your post you didn’t like him.
It is interesting to see the name of our current United States President and the term “culture of ownership” linked in the same paragraph. I suppose that it could be extrapolated to pertain to government ownership of private industry with redistribution of profits, but who am I to deny the 99% their fair share of the fruits of my 70 hour work weeks…”just sayin…”
Ownership does not exist unless there is real ownership when the “owners” make their own decisions. Being told how to do things by “superiors” is not ownership. It’s a con job, a lot like Obama’s presidency. Look at the real numbers, and lack of a budget for 3+ years.
I agree that being told by superiors what to do is not ownership. And I think it’s increasingly hard for docs right one because they are being told what to do by so many different entities : medicare, administration, the joint commission. But I think we can do better by trying to solve more decisions ourselves, trying to come up with our own solutions. There won’t be 100% ownership but there can be more.