Seven 'must-have' communication skills for health care leaders
September 24, 2015
By Richard Oliver, Contributing Writer
Disruption has become a given in business. Nowhere is that more evident than in health care. Regulations, technology, shifting demographics, economic pressures and market dynamics have changed the face of the industry. Successful health care organizations must rethink strategies to improve care, reduce costs and increase effectiveness.
However, health care executives face a challenge. They need the cooperation of stakeholders, whether patients, practitioners, or payors, for innovation to work. And yet, the extreme nature of the change the industry needs can make obtaining cooperation difficult. Leaders must sell change. Strategic innovation and strategy require as much attention to communications as to implementation. Here are a few tips from my experience in various industries and at American Sentinel University, which has a focus on health care management education.
1. Master the metaphor
Given the complexity of health care systems, one of the most powerful communications tools at the disposal of leaders is the metaphor, a figure of speech that uses analogies to common knowledge and experiences. A famous example is Benjamin Franklin’s saying that time is money, which communicates the idea that unproductive time wastes resources. A quick, incisive device, metaphor can be a powerful tool if properly conceived and used.
2. Make the complex simple
In the face of disruptive forces, either internally derived or from competitive assaults, leaders must communicate the need for organizational agility. And the enemy of agile is complexity. I learned early in my career at a telecom manufacturer that a complex insiders’ language can be a hindrance. It permits efficient communication with equally knowledgeable experts, but loses a more general audience. This company needed to explain to business line managers and everyday users how its products could improve competitiveness.
We developed a dual track communications approach in which we discussed technical details with experts and used simple terms to explain the strategic benefits to people who had to sign the checks. In medicine, as in engineering, there is a complex technical language. As health care leaders need to engage many people to enable necessary change, they must develop simple and clear ways to communicate what they are trying to achieve.
3. Refine
The effort to achieve simplicity doesn’t end once you have something that seems to work. Remember, the farther a message has to travel in your organization, the simpler it has to be, and chances are slim that you immediately hit the right tone. Always continue to refine your message.
4. Rehearse
It seems so intuitive, but people often forget to rehearse their messages. Actors rehearse lines so the words sound natural and bring the desired emotional conviction. If they didn’t, they would lose the cooperation of the audience. Do the same thing. Find some friendly listeners among your intended audience and try your message out on them. They will know if you continue to speak “tech” or language they understand.
5. Restate and repeat
It would be wonderful if you could say something once and know it got across to an audience, but that isn’t how humans work. We need to receive information multiple times before we grasp it. Software giant Adobe recently changed its business model from selling boxes of software to renting access to its design applications through online subscriptions. According to company senior managers, it took more than a year to re-tool every part of their organization. Reports say that much of the time was taken in communicating to an often skeptical organization about the need for disruptive change. Plan on not just repeating what you have said, but restating it in new ways using a variety of tools including memos, training, webinars, videos, YouTube and social media.
6. Be humorous but don’t joke
Humor is a great communication tool that can help drive important points home while increasing audience acceptance, but it can be dangerous. Recently, an eminent British scientist, wishing to make a point in an important presentation to an international technical audience, made an ill-conceived joke. He saw it as innocent. But negative reaction was swift. Although he profusely apologized, the damage was done. He lost the audience, his message, and, ultimately, his job. Be sure that your humor can’t be misconstrued and that people hearing it will truly find it funny. My two rules are to use humor sparingly and to only joke about myself. So far, no one has complained.
7. Re-evaluate
In today’s fast moving environment, nothing lasts forever. A given form of communication is unlikely to remain effective over a long period. Enlist the support of your marketing team and advisors to evaluate your success and be prepared to change the message and the media.
About the author: Dr. Richard Oliver is the CEO and chief academic officer of American Sentinel University.
Disruption has become a given in business. Nowhere is that more evident than in health care. Regulations, technology, shifting demographics, economic pressures and market dynamics have changed the face of the industry. Successful health care organizations must rethink strategies to improve care, reduce costs and increase effectiveness.
However, health care executives face a challenge. They need the cooperation of stakeholders, whether patients, practitioners, or payors, for innovation to work. And yet, the extreme nature of the change the industry needs can make obtaining cooperation difficult. Leaders must sell change. Strategic innovation and strategy require as much attention to communications as to implementation. Here are a few tips from my experience in various industries and at American Sentinel University, which has a focus on health care management education.
1. Master the metaphor
Given the complexity of health care systems, one of the most powerful communications tools at the disposal of leaders is the metaphor, a figure of speech that uses analogies to common knowledge and experiences. A famous example is Benjamin Franklin’s saying that time is money, which communicates the idea that unproductive time wastes resources. A quick, incisive device, metaphor can be a powerful tool if properly conceived and used.
2. Make the complex simple
In the face of disruptive forces, either internally derived or from competitive assaults, leaders must communicate the need for organizational agility. And the enemy of agile is complexity. I learned early in my career at a telecom manufacturer that a complex insiders’ language can be a hindrance. It permits efficient communication with equally knowledgeable experts, but loses a more general audience. This company needed to explain to business line managers and everyday users how its products could improve competitiveness.
We developed a dual track communications approach in which we discussed technical details with experts and used simple terms to explain the strategic benefits to people who had to sign the checks. In medicine, as in engineering, there is a complex technical language. As health care leaders need to engage many people to enable necessary change, they must develop simple and clear ways to communicate what they are trying to achieve.
3. Refine
The effort to achieve simplicity doesn’t end once you have something that seems to work. Remember, the farther a message has to travel in your organization, the simpler it has to be, and chances are slim that you immediately hit the right tone. Always continue to refine your message.
4. Rehearse
It seems so intuitive, but people often forget to rehearse their messages. Actors rehearse lines so the words sound natural and bring the desired emotional conviction. If they didn’t, they would lose the cooperation of the audience. Do the same thing. Find some friendly listeners among your intended audience and try your message out on them. They will know if you continue to speak “tech” or language they understand.
5. Restate and repeat
It would be wonderful if you could say something once and know it got across to an audience, but that isn’t how humans work. We need to receive information multiple times before we grasp it. Software giant Adobe recently changed its business model from selling boxes of software to renting access to its design applications through online subscriptions. According to company senior managers, it took more than a year to re-tool every part of their organization. Reports say that much of the time was taken in communicating to an often skeptical organization about the need for disruptive change. Plan on not just repeating what you have said, but restating it in new ways using a variety of tools including memos, training, webinars, videos, YouTube and social media.
6. Be humorous but don’t joke
Humor is a great communication tool that can help drive important points home while increasing audience acceptance, but it can be dangerous. Recently, an eminent British scientist, wishing to make a point in an important presentation to an international technical audience, made an ill-conceived joke. He saw it as innocent. But negative reaction was swift. Although he profusely apologized, the damage was done. He lost the audience, his message, and, ultimately, his job. Be sure that your humor can’t be misconstrued and that people hearing it will truly find it funny. My two rules are to use humor sparingly and to only joke about myself. So far, no one has complained.
7. Re-evaluate
In today’s fast moving environment, nothing lasts forever. A given form of communication is unlikely to remain effective over a long period. Enlist the support of your marketing team and advisors to evaluate your success and be prepared to change the message and the media.
About the author: Dr. Richard Oliver is the CEO and chief academic officer of American Sentinel University.