Bingham Memorial Hospital CEO Jake Erickson (pictured) knows how to solve the staffing crisis. And knows it's not a quick fix.
Bingham faced the same problems all hospitals did during COVID. But he did more than just raise pay. Jake followed the Radical Loving Caretm (RLC) model. How do leaders show they care?
One example. When some nurses left for higher wages, Jake and other staff periodically called to check in with them. "Nurses seek a place where they're valued as caregivers, not just paid help. We care when they leave as well as while they're here."
When COVID demanded more from caregivers. Jake raised his efforts to care for Bingham's caregivers. Gradually, many nurses returned to the place where the CEO cared about them!
The news is clear: Caregivers are not causing the staffing crisis, leaders are. When CEOs lead like Jake, the crisis can be eased.
Bad leaders think that America's staffing crisis is money-based. They see staffing as a "measurement," not a culture issue.
But the evidence shows that hospitals with strong cultures have 1) lower turnover rates, 2) attract the best applicants for openings, 3) deliver the best care.
Culture mirrors leadership. The bad leader's mantra: "If you can't measure it, it doesn't matter." That model converts caregivers to "units of expense."
Good leaders understand St. Exupery's line in The Little Prince: "What is essential is invisible to the eye."
Love cannot be measured out in cubic centimeters and delivered by syringe. But love is our most powerful energy so every great culture nurtures it even against resistance. The late Jack Chester was measurement-obsessed. When he was vice chair of the Riverside Methodist Hospital (RMH) board he said one day, "Erie, your "loving" leadership gets great results. But you can't measure love so how could that matter?"
"How much do you love your kids?" I asked.
"More than anything," he answered.
"So what matters most cannot be measured?" I challenged.
He got my argument but never absorbed the point. After I left and Jack took over as chair of RMH parent OhioHealth, the loving culture gradually weakened. Many argue that it never recovered.
Leadership is primarily love-based or fear-based. Our endocrine systems teaches us which is which.
Bullying, nearsighted, bosses get compliance by threatening. They breed long term resentment, false loyalty, and resignations. Mix in leader incompetence and you know a big reason staffing remains short.
Loving leaders season cultures with high competence, deep compassion and excellence. This breeds peak performance, loyalty and cultures that attract the best caregivers.
Bullies demand blind loyalty. Loving leaders seek trust. Growing that takes a farmer's patience & an artist's passion.
Money is only a quick fix for short staffing. Great leaders like Jake Erickson play this card when necessary. But Jake is a farmer who knows that love's culture needs constant nurturing.
The boards of hospitals, hospices and nursing homes that honor their mission promise always insist that their CEOs lead with love.
-Erie Chapman
