A month before I departed as CEO of Riverside Methodist Hospital (RMH) and OhioHealth, questions arose about new leadership. As a lame duck CEO, I was powerless to delay layoffs initiated despite the system's booming bottom line and sky-high morale.
I asked a doctor his thoughts.
"Not sure the leader matters that much, Erie," he said.
Months later a colleague called, "Did you hear about Marcy?"
"No, how is she?" I answered.
A thirty-year veteran, Marcy Alton* (pictured) whose HR role was organizing events, was one of RMH's most well-loved employees. Her perpetual smile raised everyone's energy.
"She was fired," my friend reported.
"What?" I said.
"It gets worse. Several employees saw security escorting her to her car. Staff-cut," he said with disgust. "Every eliminated employee is escorted to their car."
"If they treat Marcy like that, what about me?" staff wondered. Instead of saving money, the bottom line went down as did patient/employee satisfaction.
Culture determines behavior. Leaders determine culture. Only the board can remove them. Staff, including doctors, have no vote.
Sadly, this story returned eight years later. As I prepared to turn over the reins of Nashville's Baptist Hospital System** to a new President, a neonatologist saw my dismay.
"Don't worry," she said. The leader doesn't make much difference."
"What about workplace culture?" I asked
She shrugged. And was wrong.
Once again, my successor needlessly cut staff. Once again, satisfaction scores and finances tailed down.
Like it or not, every leader, like every parent, store owner, coach and President, impacts energy. Radical Loving Care® matters.
We ignore that truth at our peril.
-Erie Chapman
*Marcella "Marcy" Alton (1948-2020.) I told her story in 2021 and retell it today.
**Renamed St. Thomas Midtown
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