SixSEED Partners

Diversity and Inclusion

Polarity Approach to Expedite Hospital Integration & DEI

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Building Leadership Capacity to facilitate culture change and Improve
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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

Background

SixSEED Partners was invited to help build leadership capacity in patient care and nursing leaders to support the integration of two separate hospital entities within one health system. After the first year of facilitated work and implementing a collective leadership assessment, this second year was focused on engaging the leaders in recreating a culture that supported integration while allowing for the retention of what was unique and market competitive for each individual entity.

The Strategy

SixSEED Partners designed a two-day workshop that introduced the leaders to both/and thinking as a complementary tool to traditional problem-solving – either/or thinking. We were most concerned about surfacing the fears and concerns from the smaller hospital entity, that also happened to be a microcosm of the lesser served, mostly black community. Leaders were divided according to hospital entities and each had the chance to identify most treasured cultural attributes and worst fears of integration with themselves and then with each other.

The Solution

Fears that were identified by the smaller hospital included loss of identity; constant comparison and loss of unique attributes; lack of ability to autonomously act; loss of connection to their geographic community; and lack of influence in decision-making. What they valued and wanted to preserve, for both organizations included their unique histories; their commitment to the patients, community, and each other; a spirit of collaboration; shared knowledge; and diversity of staff and patients.

The Impact

At the conclusion of the two days, the leaders created a complete polarity map focused on their integrated one system. They had action steps to leverage retaining the best of current culture while preparing to best meet the future. They also identified early warning signs to alert them when they were overdoing either pole: too much tradition and too much change.

    If you’d like to learn more about bringing this work to your organization, contact us at SixSEED Partners.

    Celebrating Nurses and Healthcare Workers: An Exercise in Diversity and Inclusiveness

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

    History of “Nurses and Hospital Week Celebrations”

    The first effort to provide national recognition to nurses was in 1954 when Dorothy Sutherland submitted a proposal to then President Eisenhower:  the proposal was rejected.  It wasn’t until twenty years later, in 1974, that President Nixon signed a proclamation indicating that there would be expansion to individual State recognitions of Nurses’ Day to be an entire week.  In 1996, the ANA (American Nurses Association) initiated May 6th as National RN Recognition Day.  

    According to the free dictionary, in 1921, the United States declared National Hospital Day to encourage trust in hospitals in the wake of the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, and to coincide with Florence Nightingale’s birthdate:  May 12th .  The observance was expanded to a week in 1953 to allow hospitals to plan and implement more extensive public information programs.  

    I’ve worked in healthcare for the past forty- plus years and during that entire time, I’ve witnessed sentiments of appreciation for both Nurses’ Week and Hospital Week,  AND sentiments of exclusion:  “Why them and not us?”

    Adapting To Present Day: Both/And

    I was on LinkedIn recently and saw a similar posting expressing emotion around a desire to expand “National Physician’s Day” (March 30th) to other disciplines/ providers.  The perspective of the person posting was resentment that attention would be paid to a broader cadre of professions and that the expansion took away the special recognition that was deserved to physicians.

    What do you think?  Some of you might be saying: “I agree.”  That’s the “right perspective.”   What is the “right” perspective in how to offer these well-deserved recognitions, particularly during a pandemic year when so many have sacrificed time, energy, and sadly, their lives, in service to their profession?  Does sharing make the recognition less special because it includes others and is not exclusive?

    Honoring Individuals AND Teams:

    While many can and will get into an argument of “right/wrong” in solving this problem, at SixSEED Partners, we would say that this is a perfect example of complexity and interdependent tensions or polarities to leverage.  This is also a wonderful variation on the theme of diversity, equity and inclusion.  Is there a way to celebrate and recognize distinct disciplines while also recognizing the whole?  We would say yes…. This is an interdependent tension to leverage:  A both/and.

    Looking at the polarity map below, you will notice the universal tension often experienced in organizations around attending to unique disciplines and individual contributions (parts)—diversity in our associates, while also trying to be equitable in our practices (considering the whole).  If we effectively leverage these tensions, we stay in the upper quadrants.  When we overfocus on either pole, we inevitably get the downsides of that pole.

    How does this play out with Nurses’ Week and Hospital Week?  We can imagine nurses saying that they don’t want to share their day with nursing support staff because it distracts from the unique profession that is nursing (Value:  the upside of Individual – Fear: downside of Team).  We can hear the same theme (value—fear) with physicians who want to preserve National Physicians Day for their profession alone.

    On the other pole, we can see that an overfocus on diversity/ individuals to the neglect of the whole interferes with equity and inclusion.  Why shouldn’t there be a “recognition week” for each unique discipline?

    Leveraging the Both/And:

    In our polarity map, the next steps would be to identify action steps and warning signs for each quadrant.  Imagine engaging a diverse workgroup in this process:  what would they say means the most to them in how we might recognize their unique contributions while also appreciating the unique contributions of others?  What might the impact be if other disciplines heard from peers what they appreciate about that discipline/ profession?  How might a spirit of abundance… there is enough for all, contribute to cultivating a spirit of appreciation and gratitude for all:  not only for one week a year but every day of the year?

    The pandemic has brought the intimate stories of the work of ALL healthcare workers to our attention.  And, truth be told, while scale might be different, saving lives; witnessing and escorting death and everything in between IS The WORK of healthcare.  

    SixSEED Partners has had the privilege of witnessing the courageous work of healthcare leaders and their teams for the past forty-plus years. We celebrate your stamina and courage, AND we honor and hold space for your tears, trauma, grief, and fatigue.  Our commitment in offering gratitude to your work is to courageously offer our work which is to provide integrated solutions to heal healthcare.  Working in healthcare HAS to be healthy.  We honor you every day through partnering with you to make it better.  There is no other choice!

    Let’s hear from you

    We’d love to hear your insights in celebrating unique disciplines while also celebrating the whole of your teams that contribute to patient care and service. 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.

    CEO Declaration

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    Compassionate AND Courageous Leadership for our Nation’s Healing

    “Through this work, I’ve learned that each of us is more than the worst thing that we’ve ever done; that the opposite of poverty isn’t wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice;  that the character of our nation isn’t reflected on how we treat the rich and the privileged, but how we treat the poor, the disfavored, and condemned.”  

    –Bryan Stevenson, Director, Equal Justice Initiative

    I write to you today as the CEO of SixSEED Partners; as a nurse who has dedicated her life to providing health and healing to all, and as a growing- in- consciousness white, privileged woman who is deeply saddened by the pervasive demonstrations of systemic racism and violence in our nation.  George Floyd; Ahmaud Arbery; Breonna Taylor; Freddie Gray – too many names to do justice to their lives by listing them here.  While I mean this statement deeply – I also believe strongly that these words of support are not sufficient to create real systemic change. Now is our time to ACT.

    The question we are facing at SixSEED Partners is one we ask our clients to consider, too. How do we Act effectively, without “reacting”?  As we shift from our anger and sadness to activism and change, we challenge ourselves to focus on the impact we want to create:  our desired outcome, which is to contribute to a just and equitable culture where health is a right for all.

    At SixSEED we partner to create “ecosystems” – environments in which individuals, teams, and organizations can all thrive.  Our approaches and tools-of-our-trade surface and honor differences and differing perspectives while moving forward together with increased speed and more sustainability. Healthy and thriving ecosystems require diversity and integrated solutions. 

    A frequently asked question is, “Where to start?”   

    We believe leadership comes from a variety of places and is always an inside-out job. Here are 5 essential steps we see as necessary for healing and lasting change, at all levels of a system:

    1. Embrace Courage in Being Vulnerable – Critically Self -Assess:  How are we part of the solution or part of the problem?  How do we know?  Whose perspective is missing in our lives and how do we bring that perspective(s) in?  Whether in reading; watching TED talks or YouTube Videos; engaging in conversations with our neighbors or families, we must take individual responsibility to improve our literacy in racism, implicit bias, white supremacy, and anti-racism.  
    2. Hold Self and Others Accountable, While Resisting Blame: It takes courage to resist blaming others and to recognize that Who and What we criticize lives within us.  What difference could it make if we could focus on accountability for behavior, and love the human being before us – and within us? How might making that shift impact us personally, as a leader,  in our organizations?
    3. Hold a Place for Compassion and Forgiveness:  This is easier said than done, particularly when trying with those we consider our “enemies”. Merriam Webster defines compassion as: “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”  Notice there is no judgment here. It is more a recognition of our common humanity.  That is the outcome we are hoping to create in our world! Regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual preference, income, military status, and so many other differentiators – we are one common humanity.
    4. Be a Diversity Leader-by-Example – Imperfectly:   We don’t need to wait for a formal Diversity Officer to start making changes in our organizations. At every level – personally and in our teams – be intentional to bring as many different perspectives in the room as possible.  Make it a habit to ask questions like: 
      1. “Whose perspectives are missing here?”
      2. “What voice/s are being marginalized, and why?
      3. “How do we ensure all voices are heard?”  
      4. “What is the quality of our listening? Are we listening to confirm what we know or to hear what we haven’t yet considered?”
      5. “What shifts do we need to the practices we’ve accepted?” For example, instead of hiring for “fit,” what if we hired for “non-fit?”
    5. Allocate your time, money, and talent in service to living a vision of a just and equitable culture.  Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Sensei said it best: “Love and Justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.” 

    Like all systemic changes, they take intentional learning, development and actions, over time.

    To stay connected with what SixSEED Partners is doing to support anti-racism, see  the below key resources and actions we are taking … to be anti-racist and create integrated solutions to heal our nation’s healthcare systems.

    In health and healing,

    Joy W. Goldman RN, MS, PCC

    CEO and Founding Partner

    SixSEED Partners 

    Self-Learning / Action Resources:

    • How to Be Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi
    • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Dr. Robin DiAngelo
    • “Deconstructing White Privilege” with Dr. Robin DiAngelo

    Organizational Learning / Action Resources:

    • EQUALITY: Courageous Conversations about Women, Men and Race to Spark a Diversity and Inclusion Breakthrough, by Trudy Bourgeois
    • Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race, by Derald Wing Sue
    • “US Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism” LM Roberts & E Washington, HBR, June 1 2020 

    https://hbr.org/2020/06/u-s-businesses-must-take-meaningful-action-against-racism

    Organizations to Follow / Support: