Hartford HealthCare H3W Leadership Behavior: Episode 3 with Vice President of Health Equity for Hartford HealthCare Sarah Lewis

Many of us learned our H3W Leadership behaviors earlier in our careers. Considering the speed of our growth these past few years and how our roles might have changed as a result of circumstances and opportunities, we thought it would be helpful to capture some conversations with Hartford HealthCare colleagues about best leveraging these behaviors.

In this three-part series of More Life, hosted by Steve Coates and Hartford HealthCare’s Senior Vice President of Human Experience Gerry Lupacchino, we explore how our leadership behaviors and our operating model help us to continuously improve.

In episode three, Steve and Gerry chat with Vice President of Health Equity for Hartford HealthCare Sarah Lewis about our “Do” behaviors. That means:

1. Do have Courageous Conversations
2. Provide Timely, Clear & Specific Performance Expectations & Feedback
3. Do teach, coach & mentor

They also talk about how the Lean operating model fosters continuous improvement and how H3W can help set a road map to help us improve diversity, equity and inclusion.

Check this episode’s notes for links to the other episodes in this series. Hartford HealthCare employees can learn more on about H3W Leadership Behaviors on HHC Connect.

Listen to the other episodes in this three-part series:
Episode 1 with Talent Development Consultant Rhonda Papallo
Episode 2 with Senior Vice President of HHC Community Network Eric Smullen

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:01

There's a certain familiarity and like rootedness in predominantly white male American corporate culture that our leadership behaviors emerge from, but they also make a lot of space for other realities too.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Many of us learned our H3W leadership behaviors earlier in our careers. Considering the speed of our growth these past two years and how our roles might have changed as a result of circumstances and opportunities, we thought it would be helpful to capture some conversations with Hartford Healthcare athletes about how to fight for these behaviors. Do have courageous conversations to provide timely, clear, and specific performance expectations and feedback. Do teach coach and mentor here, Steve and Jerry.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

In the previous segments, we talked about our leadership behaviors, we talked about putting them into action. But how do we use them to get better, to get better as a health system, to get better as leaders?

SPEAKER_02 1:24

So, Steve, thanks. I think what you know when we say the terms uh continuous improvement, I think we have to think immediately about lean. I mean it's the one thing that continues that it's sort of that those words came out of that sort of dictionary. But then when you say the words lean, everyone gets a little kind of uncomfortable. Like, what do you mean by lean? Is it staffing? Is it, you know, if they haven't been through lean or they haven't been through bronze or whatever the processes are, they're uncomfortable around it. So I think one of the things that we that would be helpful in this podcast is to be able to say when we're talking about continuous improvement, we're talking about the lean model, we're talking about the lean model, we're talking about eliminating unnecessary variation in waste. And in the Toyota model that we brought to Hartford Healthcare years ago, there are seven of those areas, but we added an eighth one, which is eliminating any unused talent. And what I mean by that is making sure that all potential employee talent is being utilized, that there's waste when talent isn't utilized. And so if you look at all the other seven areas of waste that are listed, and you realize that the one around making sure that all talent is being brought to the table, when that happens, all the other seven become more easily doable and achievable. And a lot of people sort of hearling, they don't necessarily understand that, but without the capacity of these of the of the staff being trained to contribute, to share ideas, to under to um make sure that they're always, you know, that we have processes in place um to ask for those questions and input, then we lose that opportunity. And so the three skills that we're talking about today, and we're we've got Sarah Lewis, who's our vice president of health equity with us, these are a little bit more challenging to talk about, but the three are having courageous conversations. So these are the last three on our leadership behaviors list, provide timely, clear, and specific performance expectations and feedback and teach coaching and mentoring. We want to elevate these, like we have in the other podcast, to talk about what's the role of an executive or a leader or a senior manager in the organization relative to these three leadership behaviors. And so if you think about having courageous conversations, when it's taught well, and in our earlier podcast, Rhonda talks about this that a courageous conversation is where someone is taking the responsibility to say to another person, we could work better together. We could be more productive and more effective if we can't address certain headwinds or barriers that are affecting our ability to work well together. But it's combined with the belief that we can work better together, right? Um, providing timely, clear, and specific performance expectations and feedback. Uh, again, in an earlier conversation, we talked about the fact that there are most of us go through life with the belief that some people have it and some people don't. That some people, quote, get it and other people don't. And so that some people are are worth the effort that I put into providing timely, clear, and specific performance expectations and feedback, and maybe some aren't. And behind that is this bias that I have around people who are potentially different than me. They don't have the same background, they're not my age, they don't wear glasses, they didn't go to the school I went to, you know, they don't speak English as a primary language. All the things that make them different from me shape whether or not I believe they are, quote, worthy of getting that kind of feedback from me. And then lastly, the teach, coach, and mentor piece. One of the things that that I think is critical to Harvard Healthcare is culture, and I've seen it again and again, is that really great leaders make other great leaders. Like, like they're not just a good leader because they contribute and they have great ideas and their performance, you know, their metrics are really high, but that they have a reputation and they're known for being known as the leader who makes other leaders successful as well. And so, Sarah, I'm I I thought maybe we could talk about your experience here at Harvard Healthcare. You've been here now two years.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Just about three.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Just about three. And so you've seen a lot of changes, right? Um, in the culture. And as you think about the work in equity and inclusion and what we're talking about regarding providing these sorts of environments for people to be successful, what's your reaction to how well we're doing that?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Um, so thanks for bringing me into this conversation, Jerry. Um, I think that what you're getting at is that we're all different kinds of leaders and learners. And so you're asking us to make space for those differences so that we can take advantage of all of the differences that we bring in terms of perspective and kinds of talent and kinds of um modes of contribution. Um, so we just have the opportunity with everyone that serves um uh in a capacity on our teams of finding out how they like to learn, how they like to take in information, um, how do they like to be listened to? You know, we ask at the end of our meetings, did you feel heard and listened to? We ask that during plus delta. But you can take the time with everyone on your team to say, how do you best feel heard and listened to? What is the sort of feedback that you need to get to make sure that you're feeling heard and listened to? And when we are providing you feedback, how do you like to receive it? Do you like to receive written feedback? Do you like to receive feedback verbally? Do you like to be like to uh receive them in both um formats? Um, and how do you best learn? Some people are visual learners, some people are audio learners, some people need a combination of both. So we can set down our preconceived notions of the best way to do a certain thing based on how we were trained or the organizations and cultures that we were brought up in and make sure that we're modifying and making space for everything else that other people are bringing to the table in order for us to really, as you say, make the most of every kind of potential that we have within our organization and not leaving anything behind.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

Kind of a personal story of growth for me is when I started um in a leadership position, I thought there was only really one way to lead. You get results, this is how you lead. It was an evolution for me to learn that different people lead in different ways, people work in different ways, and each way or one way or the other doesn't make it right or wrong.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Um homogeneity potentially in the the sort of cultural input that you've received to say, to be told, well, there are other ways of doing things that are just as good and might even in some ways be better. You got to open your mind, and that's where the humility comes back into play. You always have the capacity to learn from others because then you can actually become a better leader when you open yourself up to that.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

One of the things I've taken away from the leadership behaviors and trying to implement them in my personal and professional life is kind of striking the word you uh from my language and using the word we more often, whereas the ownership is on all of us and it's not pointing the finger.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

And I think it it defines how you see the people around you. You know, in conversations with you, I would in in hearing the word we, it it makes an assumption that the people that are in the room are of equal value and and can contribute at a level that would be valuable to you. Um and, you know, Sarah, as you were talking, I was thinking about uh courageous conversations and equity and how the the conversation if are there are there courageous conversations we should be having today, given everything that's going on around us, that as an organization we we may not have been comfortable having in the past, haven't had in the past, and that we need to have more today.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Absolutely. I mean, you know, I'm always going to say yes to that question, Jerry. Um, I I think that we have the opportunity as an organization that we've been doing this over the last few years, um, to turn the mirror on ourselves and ask ourselves in what way are we setting up barriers that we don't even see that prevent us from achieving our goal of equity as an organization. We now have equity as one of our core core values. And we we say that um when we live by the value of equity, we do the just thing. And that takes a mind, that takes a shift in in people's minds for us to understand what that means to bring um to make a more equitable and just healthcare system. Um and so to the extent that that our culture has been built up around certain norms when it comes to um corporate behavior, I I remember something that you told me, Jerry, about how translating leadership behaviors into other languages is nearly impossible because they're so based on the certain certain assumptions and associations that we have with certain words in the English language. Um and so making space for the fact that that there's a certain um familiarity and like rootedness um in predominantly white male American corporate culture that that our leadership behaviors emerge from, but they also make a lot of space for other realities too, right? Being being in the moment is something that everybody can relate to in one way or another. And same thing with everything that goes throughout the card. Um, but but it's I think it's it really begins at the top of the organization. It's it's a leader saying, Wow, I may have I may have climbed this ladder in a way that felt really comfortable to me, or you know, in many ways felt uncomfortable, um, but but still I'm here and saying, and and it it I have to make sure that what we're doing and practicing every day actually gets us to where we want to go in the next phase of this organization's future.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

And Sarah, even though we we still have a lot of work to do, having these H3W behaviors in place, having the operating model in place really it helps us and gives us a roadmap for the future.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Absolutely. Yes. Um I and that's honestly knowing the work I was going to be doing here, one of the reasons that I I came to Hartford Healthcare. And and what's wonderful is that it it really is a it's a recruiting tool as much as it is a leadership development tool. I mean, I I I've I've met so many people, the vast majority of the people who I interact with in this organization say that the leadership behaviors and the core values drew them to this organization. And so we we're here as healers, we we're here sort of with a with a common core sense of purpose. And there's so much you can do when that's when that's the sort of starting point for a group of people, right? Because we want to practice this. And so the the qu the the the invitation is then let's practice it for this purpose of of greater equity, of greater inclusion, of greater belonging. And I've I've I've seen a resounding interest in that across the organization in my time here.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

And you've said this before too. I I think we have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. So maybe it's not being courageous so much, but in allowing yourself to have what normally would be an uncomfortable conversation, correct? Especially when it comes to DEI issues.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Absolutely. And and also being mindful of how and when we're expected to process and with whom we're processing these difficult things. Notice that I mentioned leadership, taking the time to turn the mirror and look at themselves. Um, it's this is not a matter of turning to your black or indigenous or person of color next to you and saying, help me talk about racism, right? We've been doing that for a long time. Um we're really asking people who haven't been thinking about racism, whose privilege has allowed them to sort of deal with it when it's comfortable for them or when it's on the news or in the newspaper. We're asking them to sit up, pay attention, and process it with one another. And when we see our Black and Indigenous and people of color colleagues speaking their truth, listening, being being humanistic, being in the moment, and then maybe following up and saying, wow, thank you for sharing sharing that with me, or there was a there was a mass shooting in Buffalo recently, and I'm so sorry that this happened. And if this is affecting you personally, I just want you to know that I'm I'm thinking about it and I care about you. And if you want to talk to me about it, I'm open to that. But but basically I just want you to know that that I see you and if this is painful for you, it's more of giving the empathy than it is taking the lesson that honestly all of us who are sort of in the marginalized communities have have have learned and have been trying to live with for most of our lives.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

And Jerry, as we close this last segment of this podcast series, any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_02 14:01

It's when Sarah said, you know, this is a recruitment tool. And and and, you know, it struck me that we're making promises to people who come to work here that we are going to give them opportunities, that we are we believe in their capabilities, and that we will be responsible and supportive in providing them sort of the air cover they need to and build their confidence to be successful in this organization. And that applies across the board to every every individual that comes in. And keeping that promise, I think, is paramount for for any of our leaders uh in the organization.

SPEAKER_03 14:34

Sarah, Jerry, thanks for your time. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Thank you, Steve, Jerry, and Sarah. Check these episodes' notes for links to other episodes in this series. Hartford Healthcare employees can learn more about H three W leadership behaviors on HHC Connect. Thanks for listening.