Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013 - (Page 36)

code, describe heroic situations, and tell of people doing the right thing are powerful in shaping a culture. the appreciative inquiry approach (cooperrider and Whitney 2005) helps us focus on the positive aspects of human behavior, successful outcomes, and organizational actions as we seek out the stories that teach of the goodness, kindness, care, and compassion demonstrated in the organization. But as Donnellan points out, we must also reward the behavior we want to see repeated, even in situations where it might be contrary to our We must reward the nature. it is not natural behavior we want to see in the healthcare world to repeated, even in situations recognize those who come forward to highlight inefwhere it might be contrary ficiency, unsafe conditions, to our nature. and morally right—but perhaps organizationally compromising—choices. We rarely celebrate a person who is brave enough to report an error that may have put patients at great risk but went unnoticed. new ways of being are required in this time of uncertainty, and we must unlearn some of our past lessons and tear down some of the structures we have built to create a better future. Storytelling helps us do so. Compassion as a Link to Empathy Patnaik (2009) describes the most successful business, regardless of type, as having a high empathy factor. thanks to mirror neurons in the human brain that allow us to feel much of the same emotional connections to an event as did the person who experienced it, we are hardwired for empathy. Positioned just south of compassion on our moral compass, empathy differs from compassion in that the latter is a prerequisite for the former. Staff and leaders in ethical organizations must be rich with empathy that is directed toward not only customers, clients, and patients but also each other, including every employee of the organization. The Role of Complexity Science although not thoroughly illuminated in the articles, both authors introduce the idea of complexity science. Based on a comprehensive set of theories (e.g., complex adaptive systems, biology, information technology) used together to study complex systems, such as healthcare organizations, complexity science helps determine how the components of a system interact with each other, change themselves and those around them as a result of the interaction, and act on and are acted on by the environment. complexity science recognizes the existence of shadow systems for each complex adaptive system. for example, organizations have formal leadership systems, composed of managers with titles and positional power. its shadow system is one made up of informal leaders who, through their expertise, relationships, or tenure, can wield as much power as, or more power than, titled leaders. Shadow systems are often influential in shaping the organization’s culture. the quantum leader, one who recognizes that the world is not linear and that multidimensionality exists in healthcare, acknowledges, understands, and leverages this system in conjunction with the formal leadership systems through connective relationships. From Competition to Co-opetition today, new and previously unimagined partnerships are being formed. former 36 • f ro ntier s o f h ea lt h s e r vic e s ma na g e m e nt 30 :1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013
Contents
Editorial
The Case for Values as a Basis for Organizational Culture
A Moral Compass for Management Decision Making: A Healthcare CEO’s Reflections
Ethics, Values, and Decision Making
Wanted: Morally Courageous Leaders
The Imperative of a Moral Compass–Driven Healthcare Organization

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013