The Leader's Credo
Effective organizations articulate their leadership beliefs as an extension of their values. Leaders are taught these elements as core to their management approach. The language may sound gung ho or exaggerated to those not familiar with the enthused determination of a high performance team—it is the sound of winning. What would you change or add to create a similar document for your organization?
10 Points for Leaders Creating Excellence in American Healthcare
- We believe “The Customer is King”; it is a privilege to serve their cause. They trust us with their lives and loved ones. They give to us a supreme gift, the opportunity to do something meaningful with our lives. Our power is manifest by making it happen for them.
- Management is about winning. Simply trying hard, being sincere, and trudging off to another useless meeting is not success. We will write down our goals, get others excited about them, make change, and measure how we are doing. “A” Team members are passionate about this; “B” Team members don’t work here.
- We are Family. The Golden Rule applies, all the time, everywhere. If we expect people to stand by us, we must stand by them. We back each other, are kind to each other, and always approach each other with a mind to solve daily issues. We will be judged by the quality of our relationships.
- We are intolerant of mediocrity and bureaucratic thinking. We reject all limited and “it won’t work here” thinking. To do otherwise would negate our powers as men and women. There is nothing inherent in our situation that destines us to fail except our inability to think differently. We will be positive minded, always. Leadership is all about Edge, Execution, and Energy.
- We believe happiness in life is in direct proportion to our commitment to Excellence. Sloppy work, shoddy thinking, and half efforts have no part in what we do. The quality of our creative work matters and defines who we are. We will debate less. We will act!
- We understand that leaders are not bosses, critics, or memo issuers. They are teachers, servants, and appreciators. Leadership is not about us; it’s about the Team. We will work alongside, listen, and change the organization to fit their needs. We will lead in only one way, by example.
- Our task is to find answers for many difficult problems. Answers are abundant in the creative thinking of our Team, Patients, Visitors, Physicians, and ourselves. Each day we will ask the Golden Question, “How can we do this better?”
- We will not wait for perfect answers. We insist on partial, even small improvements in the now. We expect to make mistakes in the process of making progress, but we will never make the mistake of defending the status quo.
- We embrace contrarianism. We will not follow the herd. What others have no courage to attempt, we will try. What others say cannot be done, we will do.
- Failure in our task is not an option. We will persist. We will work with passion. We will never give up. Success is a marathon—we will go the distance. We will stand on top of the mountain. We will live our dream, not dream our life.