The Front-Line Leader E-Book

Chris Van Gorder

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 318

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Real leadership that leads to high engagement, higher performance, and a culture of accountability As president and CEO of Scripps Health, one of America's most prestigious health systems, Chris Van Gorder presided over a dramatic turnaround, catapulting Scripps from near bankruptcy to a dominant market position. While hospitals and health systems nationwide have laid people off or are closing their doors, Scripps is financially healthy, has added thousands of employees (even with a no-layoff philosophy), and has developed a reputation as a top employer. What are the secrets to this remarkable story? In The Front-Line Leader, Chris Van Gorder candidly shares his own incredible story, from police officer to CEO, and the leadership philosophy that drives all of his decisions and actions: people come first. Van Gorder began his unlikely career as a California police officer, which deeply instilled in him a sense of social responsibility, honesty, and public service. After being injured on the job and taking an early retirement, Van Gorder had to reinvent himself, taking a job as a hospital security director, a job that would change his life. Through hard work and determination, he rose to executive ranks, eventually becoming CEO of Scripps. But he never forgot his own roots and powerful work ethic, or the time when he was a security officer and a CEO would not make eye contact with him. Van Gorder leads from the front lines, making it a priority to know his employees and customers at every level. His values learned on the force--protecting the community, educating citizens, developing caring relationships, and ultimately doing the right thing--shape his approach to business. As much as companies talk about accountability, managers seldom understand what practical steps to take to achieve an ethic of service that makes accountability meaningful. The Front-Line Leader outlines specific tactics and steps anyone can use starting today to take responsibility, inspire others, and achieve breakout results for their organizations. Van Gorder reveals how a no-layoff philosophy led to higher accountability, how his own attention to seemingly minor details spurred larger change, and how his own high standards for himself and his team improved morale and productivity. From general strategy to the tiny, everyday steps leaders can take to create the kind of culture and accountability that translates into major competitive advantage, The Front-Line Leader charts a path to better leadership and a more engaged, higher-performing organization.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise for The Front-Line Leader

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One: Know Your People

Fly-Bys Don't Count

Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get Dirty

Do Your Dance

Make It Real with Questions and Answers

Stay Accessible

Keeping Employees Current

Be Yourself

The Job Never Ends

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Two: Get Outside Yourself

See Yourself as a Trainee Again

Engage Even More Deeply

Lean on Your Partners

Build a Team Early

“We,” Not “I”

Love Your People

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Three: The Credibility Factor

Make It Visible and Meaningful

Act Repeatedly

Help Is on the Way

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Four: Tell Stories

Talk About the Front Line

Tell Your Own Stories

Use Your Storytelling Skills to Explain

Invite Employees to Tell Stories Too

Getting Inspired Together

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Five: Create a Culture of Advocacy

Manage Down

Give Employees a Voice

Take Employee Feedback Seriously

Empower Employees to Assist in Change

Give People the Tools They Need to Succeed

Raise the Bar

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Six: Take Care of the “Me”

Commit to a Philosophy, Not a Policy

Stick with the Philosophy in Tough Times

Create Structures That Support “No Layoffs”

Care for People Beyond the Workplace

Give More, Get More

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Seven: Hold People Accountable

Make Leaders Formally Accountable

Create Your Own Standards

Spread the Gospel of Accountability

Lay Down the Law

Provide Resources

Reward Good Performance

Spiraling Upward

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Eight: Build Loyalty and Engagement from the Middle

Develop Middle Managers Yourself

Let Managers Lead

Get Personal

Share the Power—and the Credit

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Nine: Bring People Together

Bridge Information Gaps

Mobilize Collaboration Proactively

Engender Collaboration Proactively Throughout the Ranks

Take Your Time

Taking Action

Notes

Chapter Ten: Ask “What If?”

Make Contingency Planning a Way of Life

Address Big-Picture Threats

Rally Your People

Always Fall Up

Taking Action

Notes

Conclusion

About the Author

More from Wiley

Index

End User License Agreement

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Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Introduction

Begin Reading

Praise for The Front-Line Leader

“The Front-Line Leader by Chris Van Gorder is a profoundly straightforward and commonsense approach to effective leadership. Chris is a leader who exemplifies the content of this book. The chapters exude wisdom that can be utilized by any discipline or profession. I saw his leadership ability first hand when during Katrina our nation needed additional resources to manage this unprecedented catastrophe. It was Chris who stepped up and successfully led a very large Scripps team to oversee the care and evacuation of thousands of victims of the Katrina disaster. I would strongly recommend this book to both seasoned and aspiring leaders, for it will challenge you to take your leadership to the next level.”

—Richard Carmona, RN, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the United States

“As a leader, developing an employee-focused work culture is a challenge that requires daily attention and effort. In The Front-Line Leader, Chris Van Gorder outlines a set of practical, easily implemented strategies for leaders at every level to stay connected to their workforce. Having worked with Chris directly in his role at Scripps, and having been a patient at Scripps, I have seen first hand how this approach works. Success, whether in baseball or in business, requires a team mentality, shared commitment to a common goal, and the daily practice of winning strategies.”

—Mike Dee, CEO, San Diego Padres

“For the past eight years, I have had the extraordinary privilege of working for Chris Van Gorder, who is not just an exemplary leader in American health care but responsible for the dramatic turnaround of Scripps Health to make it one of the best health systems in the world. In The Front-Line Leader, Chris shares his successful philosophy for transforming an organization from the ground up.”

—Eric Topol, MD, chief academic officer, Scripps Health; author, The Creative Destruction of Medicine

“Chris Van Gorder is a man of service and purpose. When disaster strikes, Chris refuses to collaborate with hopelessness but rather confronts affliction with action. Like so many great leaders, Chris has built sustainable infrastructure one front-line leader at a time, sending messages to the future that reflect his values and health care's endowed promise of a better life for all.”

—John Bardis, president and CEO, MedAssets

“The title of The Front-Line Leader says it all. Chris Van Gorder's message may seem simple, but that's just the point. In this rapidly evolving tech world, it's easy to forget the basics. It doesn't matter what business you're in; Van Gorder's genuine life and business experiences will lead you to the front.”

—T. Denny Sanford, philanthropist and chairman, United National Corporation

“At the San Diego Sheriff's Department, we know first hand the effectiveness of Chris's front-line leadership model. He leads our Reserve Deputy Sheriff program and our volunteer Search and Rescue team, an effort that takes him into the mountains, canyons, and desert to look for folks who have lost their way. Success or failure can mean life or death. Chris Van Gorder's leadership is direct and straightforward, and so is The Front-Line Leader. He shows the way to become a leader who has real impact on your organization and in the lives of those around you.”

—Bill Gore, sheriff, San Diego County

THE FRONT-LINE LEADER

BUILDING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATION FROM THE GROUND UP

Chris Van Gorder

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image : © iStock.com/francisblack

Copyright © 2015 by Scripps Health. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Van Gorder, Chris.

The front-line leader : building a high-performance organization from the ground up / Chris Van Gorder.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-93334-3 (hardback); ISBN 978-1-118-93335-0 (pdf); ISBN 978-1-118-93336-7 (epub)

1. Leadership. 2. Corporate culture. 3. Communication in organizations. I. Title.

HD57.7.V3597 2014

658.4′092–dc23

2014025446

FIRST EDITION

To Rosemary, David, and Michael

Acknowledgments

I've often said that I have had the fortune and blessing of “falling up.” The truth is, nobody falls up by him- or herself.

Lorin Rees of Boston's Rees Literary Agency contacted me and encouraged me to write a proposal for this book. He put me in touch with a professional writer, Seth Schulman of the Providence Word and Thought Company. With Seth's guidance, support, and writing skills, I was able to get my ideas and stories down on paper. We secured the participation of a top publisher, Jossey-Bass, and its senior editor for business, leadership, and management, Karen Murphy. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to this core team for their help and encouragement.

I am deeply grateful to many other people who also supported the writing of this book, including my immediate family—Rosemary, David, and Michael—and my extended family, the employees and physicians of Scripps Health, and my teammates in the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. I owe a debt of gratitude as well to my colleagues, friends, and editing team at Scripps Health, June Komar, Elliot Kushell, Ph.D., and Don Stanziano; our organization's senior team, Richard Rothberger, Vic Buzachero, June Komar, John Engle, Richard Sheridan, Jim LaBelle, M.D., Tom Gammiere, Gary Fybel, Robin Brown, Carl Etter, Rick Neale, Shiraz Fagan, Barbara Price, Glen Mueller, and Marc Reynolds; Scripps Chief Medical Officer Emeritus Brent Eastman, M.D.; the many members and alumni of the Scripps Leadership Academy and Scripps Employee 100; and physician leaders at Scripps.

I'd especially like to thank the Scripps Health Board of Trustees, for whom I've had the honor of working these past fifteen years. Their leadership, guidance, encouragement, and constructive feedback are unmatched anywhere in health care. Thank you as well to the other organizations and individuals who have also contributed to the experiences described in this book: the Monterey Park Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, the United States Public Health Services, Surgeon General Richard Carmona, M.D., and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Finally, I seek to honor my deceased parents, Harold and Mary, for their love and support and for instilling the ethics and principles on which this book is based.

Introduction

In 1973, I was a hospital security officer working the graveyard shift in the basement. One night when I was the only one on duty, it was lonely and dead quiet, until I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. I looked up to see a man walking toward me. It was the CEO of my hospital. I had never met him before, but I had seen his picture; as a security officer, I was expected to know the administrators by sight.