Another Fantastic Fall Forum
The following is a post from WHCM board member Rachel Labas.
This year WHCM members were treated to a well-moderated (Thanks board member Wendy Weitzner!) “fireside chat” style interview with Ellen Zane, former President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children. She was the first woman to run the hospital in its 215-year history. Interesting female leaders with strong conviction and great advice are a common theme for these Forums, and I make an effort to never miss one. I am guaranteed to learn something, and on a social note, guaranteed to connect with other WHCM members I haven’t seen in a while, or meet new ones sitting at my table during dinner before the main event.
I’d seen Ellen speak before – she’s a guest lecturer in my grad school program at Suffolk University – but this time I found her more relatable as she honestly shared compelling stories about her leadership experience and success. She also shared opinions on the direction of the healthcare industry in Massachusetts, important for the approximately 100 healthcare leaders and future leaders in the room. Ideas around wellness and prevention, the role of health insurance and care coordination were discussed, as Ellen answered audience questions for the last half of the program. Ellen credits part of her success to “hiring people smarter than you – be honest with yourself – what do you do well, and not so well?” I thought this was a wise statement and mark of a true leader. You’ll never be an expert at everything, surrounding yourself with those who can supplement your skills seems like an important key to success.
As a woman, Ellen did not want to change who she was, but her road to success was paved by being an “approachable woman.” Ellen walked that line of approachability and respect while in all her leadership roles, especially when arriving at a struggling Tufts Medical Center. Lastly, she pointed out differences between the non-profit and for-profit worlds; a perspective she sees even more clearly now as a member of several corporate boards. She’s found CEOs at for-profits know when to say “stop” to the input. That CEO takes input, but makes the decisions. Consensus is good, but often paralysis occurs in non-profit healthcare, struggling for buy-in from all parties, and this slows down progress and success of those organizations.
I’m looking forward to the next WHCM event. If you were at the fall forum, what did you think? Did you pick up on other relevant advice?
Close to 30 women gathered at Joe’s American Bar and Grill in Dedham to network and enjoy each other’s company along with some delicious heavy appetizers. There were some new members, attending their first WHCM networking event, and some members in between jobs seeking new opportunities. We had a chance to sit around in smaller groups and play a networking “game” – assigning colors to days of the week individually and then discussing in a group why certain colors were associated with certain days. Along with giving us something to “break the ice,” it was interesting to see how each person at the table could interpret something as straightforward as a day of the week so differently. One woman at my table even assigned colors based on how they sounded with the days, rather than the feeling associated with the days. Needless to say, several of us did assign “black” to Monday. I left with several new contacts, but more importantly, I learned how the changing healthcare industry is affecting the varying career paths of our members. And that, after being a member of WHCM for more than three years, is something I value from all of our meetings – learning from others and applying their experiences to my career path. Hope to see you at the next event!
The WCHM Spring Forum was a great success. We had many new attendees in addition to long time members. The crowd of about 90 women heard from four terrific ladies who work with social media in four different areas of healthcare: hospital, industry/devices, healthplan, and physician group. We heard about their career paths as well as their thoughts on social media as we dined on some fantastic Cinco de Mayo-themed dinner fare. A few key takeaways include:
Social media is here to stay, and it is the new way of communication. Social media outlets are becoming similar to how webpages are seen now in society: if you don’t have it, you are invisible;