SixSEED Partners

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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.

    Both/And Thinking

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    Application of polarity thinking to Improve well-being and integration for two hospitals within an Academic Medical Health System

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

    Background

    SixSEED Partners was invited to help build capacity in patient care and nursing leaders for improving well-being and supporting the integration of two separate hospital entities within one health system. We had spent the prior year working with these leaders on strengthening team bonds across functions and service lines, and building capacity for shifting from problem-oriented, reactive thinking to purpose-driven, creative thinking and execution. The nurse executive’s vision was to create a culture of “we” instead of us/them and to decentralize decision-making and empower leaders to lead with less deference to the nurse executive.

    The Strategy

    SixSEED Partners designed an initial two-day workshop that involved walking the leaders through two polarity maps: the first- honoring the nurse executive’s wish to focus on the leaders’ wellbeing, was leveraging care for self and care for others. This map introduced the leaders to the interdependency between those poles and their personal and cultural bias toward care for others, often to the neglect of care for self. The “Me/ Not Me” – value/ fears were somatically felt as each leader stood in the quadrant representing the upsides of care for self and care for others, and the downsides of each. We also facilitated walking the maps of the individual hospital entities, creating a map for the integrated organization.

    The Solution

    Vinay Kumar and Joy Goldman led the thirty leaders through exercises that inspired honest and vulnerable sharing which paved the way for team support in increasing actions around care for self, and early warning signs for when the leaders were at risk of burnout and exhaustion. Some of their takeaways for that first day included: “It’s OK to care for self.” “I’m not alone.” “We’re not perfect and that’s a good thing!”

    The second day was all about integration and the smaller hospital entity leaders who had lost, or was losing two of its senior nursing leaders, was able to courageously discuss what cultural traditions were important to move forward, and their fears of being engulfed by the larger entity and losing their identity. At the end of day two, the leaders had formed a complete polarity map representing the best of both organizations that was important to bring forward AND outcomes that needed to occur to best meet the emerging future.

    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.

    There were several new leaders in the group who offered these comments:

    • “I appreciate bringing SixSEED in to facilitate this as many organizations don’t do this and it shows that it’s important
    • “I’m impressed with the support and sense of “we” here that often does not exist in other nursing and patient care service leaders/ divisions.” (systems)

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

    A Modern Twist on Succession Planning

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    Preventing The Most Common & Expensive Hiring Mistake

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

    Background

    SixSEED Partners was approached about providing coaching and leadership development for a tenured leader in an academic medical center who was two-three years away from retirement. The executive was concerned, however, in allocating resources for the leader, who had an immediate need for development but would be leaving the organization in a relatively short period of time. His question was how he could best use his resources so that both immediate and longer-term needs were met.

    The Strategy

    Upon further exploration, we discovered that the senior leader of advanced practice clinicians had not designated any successors for his role. The organization needed to mitigate some immediate development needs while also investing in leadership development for current high performers. The organization was also concerned about attrition given the extraordinary demands that had been placed on this department during covid 19 and beyond. The aging workforce coupled with high degrees of burnout and exhaustion were contributing to a perfect storm that could result in a crisis at the same time the leadership transition would occur.

    The Solution

    As we have done in past engagements, we challenged the executive to consider investing in expanding the thinking capacity of high potential leaders as compared to identifying one or two individuals as a potential successor. They could do this through a blend of individual and group coaching and facilitation where the leaders were invited to progressively move out of their comfort zones of being technical experts and more into leading with others in unfamiliar multi-department systems’ issues. Through a multi-year team development effort, the senior clinical leader received time-limited coaching on immediate development needs along with ways to further mentor and develop her staff. The high potential advance practice leaders were offered training on both/and thinking (Barry Johnson thought leader); leading above and below the line (the Conscious Leadership Group); the Empowerment Dynamic (David Emerald and Donna Zajonc); and conversational intelligence (Judith Glaser).

    The Impact

    The senior clinical leader improved her performance and appreciated an opportunity to safeguard her legacy. There was less turnover in the department as the high potential leaders felt that they were being given an opportunity to learn and grow, and in the moment development occurred with support for mistakes instead of being placed in roles with heightened pressure to perform. If you’d like to learn more, contact us at SixSEED Partners.

    If you’d like to learn more, contact us at SixSEED Partners. Reach us at:  SixSEED Partners.

    Improving Capacity for Leading In Complex Times through Both/And Thinking: An Experiential Approach

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

    Background:

    Joy W. Goldman RN, MS, PCC: CEO SixSEED partners and Dr. Larry McEvoy, Founder of Epidemic Leadership co-facilitated a half-day workshop on both/and thinking- polarity thinking for over forty nurse, physician and administrative leaders at WellSpan Health. This was the third year presenting this workshop to WellSpan’s high potential leaders.  WellSpan has expanded the audience from only physician leaders to all leaders in their leadership academy.  Expanding the audience facilitated the collegial sharing within populations that may, absent both/and thinking awareness and capacity, engage in unnecessary conflict which contributes to burnout.

    The Strategy:

    Dr. McEvoy and Ms. Goldman designed the half-day workshop so that most of the time would be spent physically walking the interdependent tension of “Care for Self” and “Care for Others.”  Since WellSpan, like so many other healthcare systems, are focusing on clinician wellbeing, this tension was relevant for each participant.  In addition to providing an experience of standing in the upsides and downsides of each tension, the participants also used each other as internal consultants with a designed liberating structure that facilitated effective listening.

    The Solution: 

    The leaders were asked to progress through the polarity map of “Care for Self” and “Care for Others” in silence.  They were invited to scan their body for images, colors, and sensations experienced as they stood in each quadrant of the map.  This provided a profound and clear experience of their values—“This is like me,” and their fear- “This is NOT me.”  When the participants were engaged in the listening exercise, we noticed their difficulty in turning their chairs around and refraining from being part of their triad conversation.

    The Impact:

    Organically, the leaders had difficulty being associated with the upside of “care for self.”  Their instinctual reaction was to perceive that as being “selfish,” (the overdone expression of care for self).  Their comfort zone was caring for others and they resonated with the overdone care for others to the neglect of care for self, resulting in burnout.  Because their fear (not me) is in the overdone care for self, they began to see that there are healthy actions they can take to better care for themselves.  A participant commented: “Just the eight minutes tuning into my body was healing and when I stood in care for self, it felt relaxing and healthy.” Self care was the topic for their peer coaching/consulting resulting in clear action steps and peer accountability after the workshop.

    If this sounds like something from which your leaders can benefit, please reach out and let us know at info@sixseedpartners.com.  Four hours powerfully engaged in this work can lessen burnout!

    Conscious Leaders Step Up & Take Responsibility

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    Most of the leaders we work with possess an Uber-sense of responsibility– they take on much more than is theirs to do. Yet in their “get it done” spirit, they are quick to act which can also mean quick to direct others without realizing they may be omitting essential data in communicating the conditions of “done” for their direct reports. Our colleagues at the Conscious Leadership Group offer this simple and powerful algorithm for assessing your own actions in contributing to an unsatisfactory outcome, regardless what that outcome might be. Ben and Rosamund Zander, in the “Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life” (buy here: https://tinyurl.com/2jzbd4ky) talk about “looking in the mirror” before blaming others. The Conscious Leadership Group aligns with this thinking in this framework.

    We’d love to hear how this might apply to you. Feel free to offer a comment at: https://sixseedpartners.com/contact/

    Leveraging 360-degree Feedback for Systemic Impact

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    Physician Development Case Study: Academic Medicine

    By:Joy Goldman RN, MS, PCC:  CEO SixSEED Partners, BSN, ACC

    Background:

    SixSEED Partners (SSP) participated in a coaching engagement with an Academic Medical Center physician leader.  Halfway into the engagement, we agreed to complete a 360-degree feedback process in support of the client’s ongoing systemic leadership and development.  The leader wanted to improve her leadership and also be able to cascade the learning to her physician partners.  The Leadership Circle 360 Profile (LCP) was administered to help hone in on priority development efforts.

    Strategy:

    The client’s role interfaced with faculty, residents, fellows, and administrators so the respondent group was very diverse.  The client’s results demonstrated high creative leadership (3-4 dimensions rated 80% or above yet there was a perceptual gap between self-ratings and that of others.(for detail on the tool, see The Leadership Circle Website).  Of note was the client’s self-rating in the 89 percentile for Passive, and respondents’ ratings of 81 percentile for Distance (reactive dimensions).  The client also had rated themselves in the 7% for courageous authenticity while her respondents rated her in the 53%.  What was clear was that the client was holding back and not bringing their full self and talents to the organization and the energy spent on protecting and playing it safe was draining.

    The Solution:

    As we explored internal and external dynamics, we found support in the theoretical frameworks of the Empowerment Dynamic, and Polarity Thinking which correlate perfectly with the LCP framework of reactive and creative modes of energy management.  Through coaching and much reflection, the client was able to see how his direct reports were placing him in a rescuer (hero) role and were presenting themselves as victims to system leaders, mainly hospital Presidents who were perceived as villains (see graphic).  This dynamic was evident through numerous cultural stories in the organization—not only did this dynamic occur within his organization:  it was prevalent throughout the system, with a displacement of accountability to “higher-ups,” which was also convenient when something didn’t work.  Blame was a well-known song sung throughout the system.

    Impact:  

    From the client’s perspective, he was able to see that he was re-enacting that dynamic with his boss and part of his development was to be conscious of the roles he was playing and putting on others.  He started individual meetings with his direct reports and shared the distinctions between victim and creator, encouraging them to take ownership and identify actions they can take to influence what they wanted to create in the system.

    The client was also challenged to lead a system-level leadership development effort where both/and thinking (polarity thinking) would be introduced and measured for the prevalent tensions of Centralization and Decentralization (system service lines AND local hospital entities) and Individual AND Team accountabilities.  In this way, he would broaden the leadership capacity of system leaders which would minimize the victim/persecutor conversations and support mutual accountability throughout the system.

    Are victim/ persecutor conversations rampant in your organization?  Are you fatigued in having to spend time on these draining discussions that result in stagnation and energy drain?  We feel your pain!  Contact us to learn how you can lead sustainable, empowering change in your system!