Blog Contribution by NIHD President Kelly Guzman, MN, RN, EDAC.
The Healthcare Design Conference + Expo (HCD) is quickly approaching, and our NIHD HCD pre-conference planning team has been hard at work preparing for our workshop, ROI of the Clinical Voice in Healthcare Design: How to Get it and What It's Worth in the Quest for Better Designs, scheduled for October 8, 2022. As I participate in the various workgroups, I am impressed with the caliber of members and leaders within our NIHD community. In grad school, my professor introduced the Kouzes and Posner's leadership model and challenged us to use the practices in our leadership roles. Reflecting on this model and the work of a leader, I am reminded that "practice makes perfect," and that practice is exactly that, practice! To be a competent leader, you must dedicate time to learning and evaluating how to implement what you have learned. In addition, leaders must continually challenge their existing beliefs and be forward-thinking. These behaviors allow us to imagine and communicate a different future and motivate people to act on their vision.
Attendees of the NIHD hosted Pre-Conference Workshop work together during an interactive component.
It is exciting to witness members of the pre-conference workgroup demonstrating the behaviors of great leaders and continuing to practice and refine their skills. For those not familiar with the model, I've outlined components of the model as they apply to our NIHD workgroup:
1. Model the Way- Encourage the organization to follow the leader's example as they pave the way with eagerness and passion. I see these traits in this year's conference leadership team, including Executive Director Angela Boyle, Conference Chair Cathy Massey, Keynote Speaker, panel coordinator Kate Newcomb-DeSanto, and interactive session lead Erin Clark. We have weekly meetings with our various break-out groups to plan the keynote, panel discussion, and interactive activities. The preparation calls are always full of energy and excitement about our topic.
2. Inspire a Shared Vision- Share an inspirational vision that encourages the group to work together towards one goal and vision. Our board has identified a shared vision we are passionate about, The Return of Investment of the Clinical Voice in Healthcare Design. While this has been a topic we have discussed over the years, we have not yet been able to wrap our arms or heads around it completely. We believe there is a gap in the industry related to the time, setting, expertise, and process needed to best utilize the clinical voice. We need the right people, with the right experience, at the right time to be at the table. We plan to leverage our past conference activities and deliverables and build on them as we develop the content and tools this year. Stay tuned!
3. Challenge the Process- Motivate the group to have a broader vision and think beyond today's reality to challenge the status quo. Our initial planning group determined that the theme of the ROI of the clinical voice in healthcare design supported the mission and vision of NIHD, and we accepted the challenge to define it further. We agreed that the topic is timely and relevant and that we are the best people to define our value. We are evaluating the continuum and will continue to clarify and define the value. We have invited a powerhouse team of industry leaders to share their thoughts and expertise on this topic, including Juliet Rogers, Ph.D., MPH, President of Blue Cottage of CannonDesign, Victoria Navarro, MBA-HCM, Regional Director for Planning, Design, and Construction Advocate at Aurora Health, and Sarah Francis MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Director of Planning, Design & Construction at Atrium Health. Bring it on!
4. Enable Others to Act- Encourage the team to work together in an engaging manner. A timeline with clear direction and deliverables, and team members accountable for completing the required work, are essential. As we work together, we must consider that not everyone completes their work concurrently. Some of us can incorporate our NIHD volunteer work during regular business hours; others must complete these responsibilities after work hours and on weekends. We have an exceptional team who continually encourages and empowers us to complete our challenging work. Our planning committee comprises seasoned veteran conference members Corey Gaarde, Gary Schindele, Kelly Guzman, Kris Krail, and Teri Oelrich. What I find most encouraging is our team of first-time participants: Annie Stedman, Brooke Karlsen, Lara Busch, Morgan Sondreal, Stacy Mockridge, and Tonya Pederson. These members demonstrate a passion for our shared vision and the energy to complete the work ahead.
5. Encourage the Heart- To fully engage people, we must engage their hearts with their minds. Being sincere and open-minded toward each other will help improve our engagement with future activities. We are grateful to our volunteers and recognize the time, energy, and effort that they have provided. We are also working with our new members to support them as they will help to lead table discussions as Table Facilitators and active participants at our event.
We look forward to a successful conference with solid work, participant engagement, new connections, and the development of new tools.
Blog Contribution by Kelly Guzman MN, RN, EDAC, who is currently serving NIHD as the Board President. She is President and CEO of YellowBrick Consulting and can be reached at kguzman@consultyellowbrick.com.