Six years ago I had the privilege of interviewing Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health (formerly known as North Shore-LIJ Health System), in his office in New York. Dowling has been a part of Northwell Health since 1995, and has been at its helm as president and CEO since 2002.
When I interviewed Dowling for America’s Healthcare Leaders in 2013, he shared that his proudest element of his organization was its very strong emphasis and focus on people. Now six years later, I have no doubt he would say the exact same thing. With 68,000 employees serving millions of people, there is no doubt that people—both employees and patients—are the absolute most important priority and asset to the healthcare system.
Last week Becker’s Hospital Review published an article by Michael Dowling in which he reemphasized the critical importance of executives seriously valuing and investing in their people:
“For the executive who doesn’t think they have enough time to invest in their people, I have two questions. 1). What are you really doing with your time? And 2). What could possibly be more important than your people? If we can’t find time to be with employees who do all the work and deliver the care, then what the hell are we doing as leaders?”
In our 2013 interview, Dowling explained how he takes an active roll during the orientation of all new Northwell hires. Every new employee at Northwell—from valet to janitor to nurse to physician—starts his or her work at the organization with an intensive orientation program. Dowling himself spends at least two hours with the new hires during this program, and has been doing so every Monday for over 14 years.
Based on Dowling’s comments from our interview as well as his recent article for Becker’s, here are 4 excellent tips from this highly successful health system CEO for investing in your people:
- Make the time to be present. It could be a daily walk-through routine down the halls of your organization, a weekly orientation session like Dowling attends, or occasional one-on-one coffee meetings. Whatever it is, make a habit of regularly making yourself available to people at all levels within your organization.
- Freely answer questions. Whether formally or informally, give your people the opportunity to ask questions. Personal, professional, or organizational—whatever type of questions—give them a chance to really get to know you and your organization.
- Help people grasp the vision. If you want your people to truly invest their lives and best work into your organization, you must first invest the time and attention to help them really grasp and buy-in to the vision. Engage your people, inspire your people, and then empower your people to accomplish that vision!
- Create a sense of belonging. “Give them your time, answers, ears, attention, perspective and, perhaps every now and then, selfies.” Setting aside time for your people fosters trust, connection, and a sense of belonging. And that long-term return on investment is priceless!
Invest in your people. I guarantee, it’s an investment you won’t regret!
