Galileo said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” You may be asking what this quote has to do with leadership. It has a lot to do with healthcare leadership. The fast pace and changes in healthcare require vigorous diligence in processing all that is changing, and putting the right team in place discovering the different paths we will travel.

As an individual that has been involved in healthcare for over twenty years, I have never seen so much change. Many people seem to be both confused and fearful of the changes. I will tell you that I am excited to be working in the healthcare field during this period in my life. So many challenges and so much opportunity are playing a part in this change. I tell my graduate healthcare students at the University of Memphis that this is an exciting time for them to be starting their careers with so many interesting opportunities.

I’m very optimistic watching and working with some of the new young leaders who will be helping design the future of healthcare delivery in Memphis. The knowledge and depth I see in them makes me confident in their ability to embrace the present changes  as well as the ones coming. 

When I first started out in healthcare, we used to say it was similar to changing tires on a car. Now, it is like changing all four tires on a car while the car is moving. These new young leaders are equipped to meet the challenge! I believe that every person is created as the steward of his or her destiny with great power for a specific purpose to share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love.

Leaders possess the qualities that are paramount to the changes in healthcare; they are big thinkers, change masters, sensitive, good communicators, team builders and committed to success. I am pleased to report that the young people who are next in line to lead clearly demonstrate these qualities. And their lives are more balanced, managing hard work with commitment to community and family. 

Some people get nervous when there is change in leadership, but if you really step back and observe the enthusiasm in this new crop of thinkers, one would not be nervous but excited. I know I am excited. I am fifty-six-years old and don’t plan to retire anytime soon. And as I continue learning and being a part of the change happening, much of my excitement comes from what I can learn from this new generation of healthcare leaders in Memphis. 

I suggest that my generation of colleagues look, listen and perhaps learn from some our new change masters, and I believe their outlook on what is before us will not only improve but create a new wave of excitement.

Bill Appling, MBA, FACMPE, is president of Watkins Uiberall Health Care Consulting. He has faculty appointments at the University of Memphis in the Fogelman College of Economics and Business, where he teaches in the Masters of Health Care Administration program.

Tags:

Related:

Bookmark:

Digg

Facebook

Technorati

Newsvine

Google