November 1, 2006
After a 35-year dry spell, Ken Fisher recently took up playing golf again. Ken is an interim CFO for a community hospital in the South where golf is a year-round sport. Several of the hospital's department directors who made a concerted effort to play once a week were kind enough to invite him along, even though at the time he could barely remember which club to use for a given shot. By playing golf with his colleagues he was able to identify a number of key management skills applicable to hospital management demonstrated on the green. In the August 2006 issue of hfm magazine, he talked about some of those skills.
Find Talent
When we watch the NFL or NBA draft each year, we are amazed by the choices that some teams make in reaching out to recruit no-name players. Not surprisingly, some of these choices turn out to be superstars. Similarly, seasoned executives have learned to find talent in seemingly unlikely places. Finding talent around you is difficult. It often comes from unexpected places or people with different skill sets or personalities.
Over the past nine years, I have spent considerable time in the role of an interim executive, and in almost every engagement, I have been able to identify raw or new talent that works well for the organization. The roles of finance executives include identifying people with desirable skills and taking a risk on new talent. My golf partners noticed my raw talent (or at least I like to think they did), took the risk, and invited me to join them, which has since paid off for all of us.
Perhaps you are the raw talent that an organization needs. If so, you need to expose yourself to the decision makers. Staying in the back corner of the office will not help you if you want to advance in the organization. Volunteer for assignments or task forces, do special projects, and let your boss know that you will take on that extra task that others might hesitate to even consider. Then complete that task, do a thorough job, and deliver on time.
Coach Others
My first job in health care was assistant controller for a national hospital chain. Four months after I took the job, my boss was promoted to be a division vice president. So, with only four months of experience, I was promoted as well. I should have failed because I did not have a true mentor, and I was fumbling along, learning every day. One day the hospital administrator asked me to develop a "flash report" that dealt with cash, accounts receivable, payroll, and key volumes. Then I watched as the administrator made good business decisions with what I thought was very little data. Interestingly, he was correct much of the time because of his 30-plus years of experience. At this point in my career, I do the same thing because I have been exposed to and solved problems in materials, staffing, cash reserves, and other key areas. Looking back, I realize that I learned some valuable lessons from that administrator and that, in his own way, he was coaching me in analyzing data and making decisions.
Similarly, my new golf partners have spent an inordinate amount of time teaching me to read the course and analyzing my swing, and they have congratulated me every time I miraculously got a par. As a financial leader, you need to identify new talent for your organization and then develop that talent by coaching the individual and being involved in his or her success. It is important to map out a development plan that addresses the individual's strengths, weaknesses, and promotion paths. Learning more about him or her will also help you make more informed decisions about a future role in the organization. Not everyone wants to move up the ladder, but handicapping someone by not helping in his or her development is a failure on the part of management.
Be afraid to fail ... but not to act. When I set up for a golf shot, I am not comfortable enough to know that I will hit the ball well. Unlike Tiger Woods or Sergio Garcia, I am not a pro—but I still try to hit the ball as well as or even better than I did the week before. Likewise, in my job as a CFO, failure is not an option. Fear of failure keeps some people from achieving or seeking to achieve. Fear of failure is also a high motivator for many people. I once had an associate who commented to me, "You know, Ken, you and I are a lot alike. We are afraid to fail, so we work harder to ensure that we do not." They were wise words for me as an executive, but if you say the same thing to a new staff person, it may strike terror in his or her mind. As a leader, you should find ways to help your staff take risks under cover of your wings. Help them get exposed to new areas, whether that is working in a different area of finance, working with physicians, or representing the department on a hospital-wide committee or task force. Spend time with your employees to explain an area, such as hospital billing, and then give them a project to develop that knowledge.
Take Risks
It is hard to take risks. There is a possibility that you might fail. On the other hand, you might make the best decision ever for the organization. Being a caretaker or remaining in your current role surrounded by comfort and predictability, however, may ensure that you will achieve only mediocrity. In my role as an interim CFO, I cannot be a caretaker. The board or CEO who hired my firm expects me to perform at high levels and move the organization forward.
Pushing the envelope in every situation will achieve great results as long as you remain sensitive to the environment. For example, it may not be wise to change out the entire billing system, but the right decision may be to put a process in place to improve a broken part of the revenue cycle. Changing the way that costs are recorded in the general ledger may be a hard task, but if it results in a better margin report for the organization, it is worth the effort. Asking the tough questions and responding with appropriate answers and solutions will help make the organization perform more strongly.
Just as Tiger Woods brings his "A" game to the course when he competes in a tournament, you also need to bring your best skills and knowledge to your organization. When confronted with a difficult shot, you'll have to take risks, draw upon lessons learned, or even consult with a pro who has been in your position before. Being an aggressive player in your organization who is surrounded by talented, well-coached individuals will keep you in the game, and might even place you at the top of the leader board.
SOURCE: Golf and the Art of Hospital Management, August 2006 hfm, by Ken Fisher, FHFMA, director, Navigant Consulting's Healthcare Practice, Tampa, Fla.
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If you have questions or comments about HFMA Wants You to Know, contact editor Maxine Harrison.
HFMA Wants You to Know ISSN: 1540-0697. Volume V, Issue 23. Copyright 2006, Healthcare Financial Management Association. All rights reserved.