MDNews - San Antonio

+++++++++++++++++++++++ + +++ +SAMGMA UPDATE U +++ +++++++++++++++++++++++ Administrative Leaders of Today Train Leaders of Tomorrow By Thora R. Jackson A RE YOU A leader? How and why do you lead? Do others look to you for leadership? Many leaders tend to process data in different ways, and they share knowledge in various ways through their organizations. We all learn in different ways. Some of us are better at visual learning while others are better at auditory or tactile (kinesthetic) learning. The best learning comes from doing. Recently, The Health Cell, a new healthcare organization in San Antonio, had a presentation during a meeting of its research subsection. The speaker, Richard Underbrink, a manager with Azaya Therapeutics in San Antonio, addressed many items that carry over from research companies to health organizations and beyond to large-scale, international companies. 16 | San Antonio MD NEWS I MDNEWS.COM First of all, as we plan daily, as well as strategically, we should be stressing some important items. Many of us have staffs who report to us — some large groups and others small. Are you trying to mentor people in your organization? Mentoring is one way we create tomorrow's leaders. A good guide to use when mentoring is Tom Rath's 2007 book, StrengthsFinder 2.0. He focuses the reader on strengths and creating partnerships. In school, we learned SWOT analysis. This is the main objective of every project we undertake: + S is strengths. + W is weaknesses. + O is opportunities. + T is threats. As we mentor and create new leaders in our organizations, do we encourage simple SWOT analysis, or do we encourage potential and growth and empower people at various levels in our organizations? During his presentation, Underbrink made two strong points that can have a major impact: Ensure everyone contributes, and celebrate victories. With regard to making sure everyone contributes, he advised reading Gung Ho!, published in 1998, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. The section titled "The Way of the Beaver" addresses the value of everyone making a contribution. Think about how beavers build dams and their lodges: They work together, just like healthcare teams. Celebrating victories is the easiest principle to follow because we all like to win. Many practices, in order to harvest a win every day, "huddle" first thing in the morning, just like athletes. For a team to win, all members need to come away from the huddle with the game plan. This is where you, the leader, shine. You call the plays and offer mentoring advice to those who will be tomorrow's leaders. You can celebrate a win with a very simple thank you, an email to the staff and physicians, and/or something larger, such as gift cards or lunch. As you think about how to further develop leadership skills, give San Antonio Medical Group Management Association a chance to help you. On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the association is having a breakfast meeting at 7:30 a.m., featuring a year-end tax-planning presentation by Sol Schwartz & Associates, PC. As 2013 is drawing to an end, we encourage you and your colleagues to attend. This will be an opportunity for administrators to glean pearls of wisdom to help lead their physicians and staff on tax opportunities. Thora R. Jackson, MS, FACMPE, COE, is Director of Client Administration, AlteraMed Group, LLC, and current President of the San Antonio Medical Group Management Association. She can be reached at tjack son@alteramedg roup.com or 210-378-8330. I

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