Archives for October 2021

Joy Goldman RN, MS, PCC; Petra Platzer PhD, NBC-HWC, PCC; Cliff Kayser MSHR, MSOD, PCC

Background:  

“Applying Polarity Thinking to Increase Healthcare Leadership Capacity” (HRD Press,2021) highlights three uses of the polarity thinking framework to increase individual, team, and systemic leadership capacity in a community-based, multi-hospital health system.  We illustrate how we helped the system shift from conducting a traditional “succession planning” process to one of improving overall “system-thinking capacity” so that the leaders would be more agile in responding to complex and unpredictable change.

The context of this work took place in an eight hospital, 1500 provider integrated health system.  The initial request and planning, which was spearheaded by the outgoing CEO and the system board, was to prepare seven emerging leaders to become possible successors to the CEO who was planning on retiring within the next five years.

CLIENT RESULTS

Strategy:  Aligning with SixSEED Partners’ goal of providing integrated solutions to heal healthcare, we worked with our C-level stakeholders to expand the vision of preparing the leaders for the CEO position to preparing the leaders to better lead within complex, ambiguous and unpredictable change.  With this understanding, development work consisted of individual, team, and systemic level interventions, all integrating polarity thinking to increase overall capacity.

Solution: SixSEED Partners integrated polarity thinking and mapping as part of individual leader 360 -degree feedback development planning; we cascaded the framework to each leader’s team to scale the work and impact; and finally, to the entire system via identifying and measuring system-level tensions.  Four polarities that were measured during our work included common tensions experienced within healthcare: Centralization and Decentralization; Continuity and Transformation; Mission and Margin, and Tactical and Strategic.  Given the impact of this work, SixSEED Partners was asked to deliver polarity thinking training as part of a curriculum for a combined nursing and physician leadership academy.

Impact: Through delivering polarity thinking to over 100 nursing and physician leaders and over 130 additional staff, WSPH leadership shared this thinking competency was instrumental in supporting the systems’ response to COVID-19. The polarity framework was also integral to a strategic simulation wherein the high potential leaders assessed actual strategic challenges for WSPH and presented their solutions to a mock board of WSPH’s C-Suite. Under a new CEO, polarity assessments are being used to measure effectiveness within regionalization efforts in the system. Four of the seven leaders have been promoted to Senior Vice President roles. 

What Now?
To learn more details about our work with this organization or other examples of how our clients have successfully applied Polarity Thinking to their healthcare “problems” –
                                       contact SixSEED Partners at: info@sixseedpartners.com

We are proud contributors of multiple application chapters in the book: “And: Making a Difference by Leveraging Polarity, Paradox or Dilemma. Vol. 2. Applications” (2021).  

Joy W. Goldman RN, MS PCC:  CEO SixSEED Partners

Background:  

We want to congratulate our strategic partners: Polarity Partnerships for publishing Barry Johnson’s sequel to his first book: “And, Volume One: Foundations.”  SixSEED Partners is proud to have several chapters published in his second volume as quoted above and found here.  Our collective nod to the other published practitioners included in Volume Two:  you help bring this essential way of thinking to others to help make the world a healthier and more peaceful place to live and we thank you.

Both/And different from Problem-Solving

It is our vision that polarity thinking:  both/and thinking will spread throughout healthcare as has Lean Thinking for process improvement.  One of the major and important distinctions in this structured and evidence-based methodology is that as we increase the capacity of our teams to think in this way, immediate behavior change follows as they begin to see interactions and systems differently.  We may find that we have less of a need for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, because our teams are integrating diversity, equity and inclusion in ALL that they do.  We don’t need as many procedures as form follows function:  behavior follows how we think.

Applications to our current work

SixSEED Partners has integrated both/and thinking in our individual coaching as part of the 360 feedback and development process; in our culture work with Information Technology and Healthcare organizations and medical groups; and in developing and strengthening nurse and physician leader partnerships.  Outcomes have included:

• Less blaming and improved team cohesion and accountability
• Time freed up for executive level leaders as their teams are better able to manage complexity and numerous stakeholder interests
• Reduced expense and greater well-being as less time is spent on reactive cycles and frustration

You can see some of our case studies by going here.

Let’s hear from you

We’d love to hear how you are helping your leaders see the both/and to better manage complexity in a life-giving and sustainable way.  If this work seems like it could help you and your teams, we’d love to talk with you to explore how this approach might help your clinical leaders. Please post your responses on our LinkedIn page or send us an email here.