Building Organizational Awareness

This six-part educational video series is designed in particular for those who have been in a rural health leadership role for two years or less, but it is also relevant to leaders who have been in their roles for longer or who may be training or mentoring new leaders. The series may also serve as a valuable resource for those who may be transitioning to a leadership role within the next year.

Description and Topics Covered

In this module, we’re going to take a broad look at your health care organization and help you think about how you and your team contribute to its long-term success. We’ll also explore the ways you impact culture and relationships through your daily interactions with others.

Understanding long-term organizational goals: How does your department contribute?
Organizational culture
Managing in a value-based payment system
Supporting your supervisor
Working with health care providers
Building relationships across the organization

Reflection and Discussion Questions

How would you describe your organization’s culture? What’s best about the culture? What parts would you like to change – and why?
Identify some other leaders (inside or outside the organization) that you feel make a positive contribution to culture. What specifically do they do, and why is this important?
In what circumstances does your preferred leadership style make a positive contribution to your organization’s culture? In what circumstances is it less effective? What might you do to become more comfortable using other leadership styles?

Recommended Activities

Learn more about the transition to value and population health by watching these videos:
- Rural Hospital Care Coordination and Population Health Management Summit: Hear from rural health care experts as they identify key initiatives that leaders and providers should take to further develop a local infrastructure to best deliver and manage population health in the future.
- Cleveland Clinic Population Health: This four-minute video explains population health in an easy-to-understand way.
Set up a time to talk to your manager about things like:
- Your organization’s approach to the transition to value payment models. Has the organization made steps toward a shift to value-based care? If so, what has been done – and what’s coming next? How can your team contribute to upcoming changes?
- Your manager’s priorities. What does their manager expect from them? What are the biggest challenges they’re working to address? How can you best support their work?
Reach out to one person whose job you’d like to know more about. Ask them to help you understand their priorities and challenges. Find out what you can do to support them – and if they ask how they can support you, feel free to share!
Identify a decision or change you need to make that might impact patient care or a medical provider’s work. Schedule some time with the provider to share any relevant short- or long-term goals and ask for their perspective – how would they approach it? What would they consider when making these decisions? Listen carefully, be clear about next steps, and thank them for sharing their perspective.