Five Things Authentic Health Care Leaders Do Every Day to Build Trust
Health care leaders have difficult jobs. First and foremost, their job is to preserve quality of life – for patients and staff. And with a focus on health outcomes, health care leaders must also successfully address community health needs and the social determinants of health affecting them. They must continue to improve quality of care while keeping costs low. They’re accountable to ever-changing and harder-to-accomplish quality metrics while still trying to deliver compassionate, personalized care. Oh, and all while adhering to staunch clinical outcomes while recruiting – and retaining – the best providers and staff in a supportive and innovative environment.
Throughout all these endeavors, trust is paramount; transparency, vital; and empathy, evident. Today’s effective healthcare leader must balance the realities of the current healthcare system with its dated and inefficient processes and with the commitment to innovate in a highly competitive and regulatory environment.
All this to say that effective healthcare leader communication is not an add-on or nicety. It must be woven through everything from the board room to the exam room. Effective healthcare leaders balance authenticity, trust and candidness with the ability to get things done through their people.
“Healthcare leader communication is not an add-on or nicety. It must be woven through everything from the board room to the exam room. Effective healthcare leaders balance authenticity, trust and candidness with the ability to get things done through their people.”
Here are five things authentic healthcare leaders do every day to strike that balance in their health systems:
Talk early and often. Nothing spreads faster than a grapevine in an organization where communication is sparse and haphazard. Leaders need to be front and center with key messages, dispelling myths and squashing mis- and disinformation throughout the healthcare ecosystem. Pro Tip: Misinformation is alive and well. See this example for proof. Be ready to combat misinformation, especially when your brand is at stake.
Keep the message clear, simple and believable. If an organizational memo sounds like it was authored by legal counsel, it’s going to come across as out of touch and even disingenuous with frontline workers and the community. Meet the audiences where they are and tell them what they need to know and what they need to do with the information.
This means considering diversity, including languages spoken, socioeconomic factors, health and financial literacy, and access to information. Utilize multiple communication tools to engage everyone from frontline employees to under-resourced patient populations. Health care impacts every generation and culture differently. Be sensitive to that.
Be a trusted messenger in the good times first. Authentic leaders don’t wait for a crisis to engage with stakeholders. Stay in front of employees, advocates, ambassadors and other influencers to keep messages alive. Utilize key communicators who can advance and uphold key messages. Get to know your stakeholders so that when crisis comes – and it will – they already know and trust you.
Empower the providers. People still trust their doctors. A robust communications strategy with physicians and all clinical providers is essential. Involve them in strategic decisions, round regularly and listen to their concerns. Will all doctors agree with the decisions? No. Will some talk negatively to patients about the health system they work for? Unfortunately, yes. However, the more you invest in building relationships and open dialogue, the more providers can do to share important news with patients.
Value communications staff as strategic advisors. Finally, speaking as a communications professional, I cannot stress enough how important it is to engage your communications team at the onset of strategic planning. Communications counsel serve as strategic advisors who can help develop thoughtful messaging strategy for diverse audiences as well as time messaging so that it doesn’t lose steam amid other initiatives and external factors. They can help develop contingency plans, run traffic control on timing and develop a thoughtful cascading plan to ensure all stakeholders receive the message intended. They are trained to be on the lookout for potential issues. They also hold relationships with media and other external partners who will be invaluable to building an external narrative. Pro Tip: If you bring your communications team in at the onset of strategy, you’ll likely be ahead of the competition.
What do you recognize in strong leadership? Emulate effective leadership and keep seeking ways to develop your authenticity and effectiveness in the community.
Angela Klinske is a communications consultant with more than a decade of health care communications and PR experience. Schedule a free consultation with Angela today.
