While watching him on my iPad at the gym I was literally laughing out loud!  Suddenly, several people were looking over my shoulder to see what was so funny.  My improv behavior created a connection.

So what?  What is the point on a conflict resolution blog?

Connection is vital to communication. I find it interesting as the number of people connecting virtually grows (people walking around on cell phones disconnect with their physical present) the number of public improv and flash mob performances grows.

What is the point?

I think the point is:  people need in-person connection and we are forgetting how!

What is required for us to unplug and connect with each other? Does it really take something bizarre?

Enjoy this Ted Talk.  And, notice in the first situation how the woman feels safety once she connects with others.

Oh yes, what do I think improv and conflict have in common?  They both generate an opportunity to connect with others, if we choose.  Your thoughts?

Click here to view the embedded video.

With each incident, I think surely they get the message:  not a good place for a decorative fence.   Yet, it is repaired again.

I trust we all have ‘white fences’ – those things that we continually repeat then repair?
‘White Fence’ = The things that just don’t work in a given set of circumstances.

• Is it an employee who repeatability drops the ball?
• Is it a friend whose negativity zaps your energy?
• Is it a habit you have that makes you feel bad?
• Is it a co-worker you continually pick-up after?

While I am not big into New Year’s resolutions, I am going to be more vigilant of ‘white fences’ in my life, how about you?

Would you like to get more sustainable results with grace? Join me February 10 & 17 in Indianapolis!

The key message of this book is if you improve relational coordination you improve quality and efficiency. Relational coordination is the coordination of work through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect.

Jody has done a fantastic job of researching and summarizing 12 attributes in hospitals that increase relational coordination (RC). The book is a summary of studies conducted at 9 diverse hospitals. The book is well documented. She sites many examples for those interested in deeper learning. She explains how the research was conducted and summarizes with wonderful graphs!

While none of this data is surprising, it is great to have it validated. When looking at relationships it seems on the surface to require a lot of extra resources in time, people, and money. Jody’s work validates the extra resources pay back with increases in quality and efficiency.

Select for teamwork,   page 57

Reluctance to select highly skilled professionals for teamwork is not unique to physicians or the healthcare industry. The studies indicate the selection of care providers with an eye to their teamwork helps to foster relational coordination. It appears that the selection of physicians for teamwork represents a promising new frontier.

Measure team performance,  page 67

Being proactive rather than reactive to quality and efficiency issues increases RC. All cross-functions in the process are held accountable to the performance not just one isolated department or person. These positive relationships support frequent, timely, problem solving communication.

Reward team performance,  page 81

Shared rewards strengthen relational coordination when they include all care providers who are working with the same patients and whose work is highly independent. When merit pay is based on individual performance it makes the work environment less congenial.

Resolve Conflict proactively,  page 91

The critical element is that conflict resolution practices are available to resolve conflicts across all functions, including physicians.
Invest in frontline leadership

Supervisory staffing greatly increases RC. From the standpoint of being able to coach and advocate for employees. The fewer staff per supervisor the better the outcomes.

Design jobs for focus,  page 115

Not related to organizational focus (specialty hospitals), the more specialized workers were to a specific patient population the higher the RC. This applies to physicians who are Hospitalists.

Make job boundaries flexible, page 127

Rigid boundaries between healthcare professionals are one of the key inhibitors of care coordination and performance improvement. Increasing flexibility is difficult because it threatens people’s sense of security and status.

Create boundary spanners,  page 137
Organizations that invest in smaller caseloads and broader coordination roles for their case managers benefit from higher levels of RC across all disciplines.

Connect through pathways, page 149

The more inclusive cross-functional pathways are of the care providers who are engaged in the care of the same patients, the more they strengthen RC. Cross-functional pathways help providers to conceptualize how their tasks are distinct yet interdependent, helping to build share goals and shared knowledge.

Broaden participation in patient rounds, page 161

The cost to convene people on a frequent basis outweighs the value gained if the meetings provide a convenient forum for high quality communication those whose tasks are most highly interdependent. The meetings do not have to be long.

Develop shared information systems,  page 171

The key is to develop information systems that are accessible to a broad array of care providers including both administrative and clinical information. This has not been widely achieved by healthcare organizations.

Partner with suppliers, page 185

Creating the same relationship coordination externally as internally follows the same strategies as discussed.

As I read, I kept asking myself:  Is it possible to do both – innovate on a grand scale and be graceful with conflict?  Would Apple be as successful without ranting?

The biography is a must read for anyone interested in business.  I found myself in tears several times.  I also felt inspired to be a bit more of the former perfectionistic version of myself.  I was a practicing engineer in the early 80’s when the first Apple computer was introduced.  While this book is his biography, it is also the history of personal computing.

Steve is portrayed as a person who either thought something was perfect or it was ‘sh–.‘ No holds barred he let it be known what was on his mind.  He pushed his people, setting what seemed like unrealistic goals.  Most of the time, his people made those deadlines. Only an A performer could survive working for him.    And, many of those didn’t.

No question, Apple’s innovations have changed the world.   Was it necessary to be so rude to do so?

As I read this book on my beloved Ipad, I kept wondering, is it possible to innovate in a grand way and build people at the same time?  I say, ‘yes.’  There were many things we all could learn from in Steve Job’s process:

1. When having important conversations –walk with people in nature.
2. Great care was given to space where people interacted. Space designed for spontaneous interaction is where great ideas are born.
3. Simplicity.   Less is always more.
4. Design first.  Then engineer to the design. (Start with the end in mind.)
5. Have the people responsible for each function in the room making decisions from the beginning.
6. Speak your truth (I add, from center with respect).

Number six challenges most people.  Speaking the truth from center with respect.  Most people tend to be either like Steve, steam rolling over people, or the opposite, not speaking up when they disagree.   A culture that encourages and rewards differences, open discussion and appropriate risk innovates.  A culture that rewards complacency and punishes mistakes dies.

It all comes back to people, communication and culture.

The first line in Spiral Impact is “Keep moving and bend your knees.”   I loved this passage from the end of Steve Jobs, referring to great artists and innovators:

“…They kept evolving, moving, refining their art. That’s what I’ve always tried to do  -  keep moving.   Otherwise, as Dylan says, if your not busy being born, your busy dying.”

Thank you Steve Jobs for changing the world, may you rest in peace.

Karen Valencic 12/5/2011

When you explore the fear there is usually room for gratitude.  Unloading anger on someone produces an angry response.  Sharing a fear produces compassion.

Using the holidays as an example, the person in charge of the meal may act angry.  Looking deeper, a fear of disappointing the guests or ruining the turkey is revealed. Perhaps support is the answer! Fears are easier to address!

Perhaps that is the real purpose of Thanksgiving – to show gratitude by addressing our fears.

Your thoughts?

I listened and heard clearly:
“She is a bully.” My understanding is she intentionally hurts people.

I was wrong. I spiraled and asked, “What is she doing to earn that reputation?” I learned, she is asking people to deliver on commitments.

I listened and heard clearly:
“He is crazy.” My understanding is his behavior is dangerous to himself or others.

I was wrong again. I spiraled and asked, “How do you experience him as crazy?” I learned, he is insecure in the relationship and tends to leave when he feels threatened.

I listened and heard clearly:
“People are afraid to tell him what is going on.” I understood he must be reactive and scare them.

I spiraled and asked, “What makes them afraid?” I learned people didn’t want to overwhelm an already busy person.

As I began our coaching session my client said how giving ‘constructive criticism’ was difficult for her. There is that word again:

Constructive criticism is often received as destructive.

I believe this is why most people feel uncomfortable giving feedback – it feels destructive.

When caught in road construction, one way I cope is to imagine how nice this is going to be when it is finished. I focus on the improvement, the outcome.

Tip: When you give feedback, shift your thinking from ‘constructive criticism’ to deliberate feedback for improving performance.

Feedback is something constantly happening whether you are aware of it or not. Become deliberate in your feedback and you will never feel destructive again. There are 3 forms of feedback:
• Positive recognition
• Performance improvement
• Ending the relationship

If you are consistently deliberate with the first 2 the 3rd either never happens or it is not a surprise when it does.

When giving deliberate feedback be consistent with Spiral Impact concepts, include asking questions, being centered, and focused on desire outcomes or organizational feedback.

When you give feedback in this way, you can lead people to their own conclusions and hold them accountable to agreed upon behavior.

Skip the destruction and be deliberate with comfort!

New Product available:  Giving Deliberate Feedback for Leaders – a 16 page how to booklet for giving feedback.  Available in hardcopy or at your favorite e-book site.

Contact:
Karen Valencic
317-257-0684
karen@karenvalencic.com

Hospitals Can Do More with Less Energy, Says Health Care Management Expert Karen Valencic

Management Strength Redefined in the New Norm of Chaos and Rapid Change

INDIANAPOLIS, November 1, 2011 – Hospital leaders can motivate employees and get more work accomplished with better, long-lasting results if they look at their problems in a different light, says health care performance improvement expert Karen Valencic.

“If today’s business climate is a turbulent and unpredictable hurricane, then the key to sustained success is operating in the ‘calm eye,’ not the outer bands of turbulence. When a hurricane loses its calm eye, it loses its power. The same is true for business leaders; losing the calm eye or center, they lose power,” says Valencic, author of “Spiral Impact: The Power to Get It Done with Grace”(www.spiralimpact.com)

She urges health care workers to shatter the typical model of driving harder to get more done. She applies her martial arts and engineering degree to coach business leaders and teams how to “‘spiral” to make “impact” and do it with grace and ease.

“Think of the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver. Many people who work in health care organizations feel hammered with too much to do. They are doing the work of two people. This extra work accelerates burnout and destroys innovation. They are really stressed,” says Valencic who keynotes healthcare conferences and leads training sessions and workshops on conflict resolution and employee engagement.

Valencic’s Spiral Impact® model touts using the spiral for improved performance, as with a screwdriver, easier to drive, stable and with a sustained outcome.

“Power comes in the form of a spiral not a straight line,” says Valencic, a shodan black-belt martial artist.

“I help people engage in a way that is productive. I created the idea of spiraling because anything else takes too much energy,” said Valencic, who speaks and consults with health care companies, hospitals and associations that are going through challenges. She shows them how to innovate through conflict and change.

“In a stormy business environment, business leaders have the challenge of planning in uncertainty with the added caveat of keeping their employees fresh and innovative. Spiral Impact provides the guidance and keeps you in the calm eye of the storm,” says Valencic who also consults on changing workplace cultures in healthcare. “ People have to get along. Leaders need to learn how to hold their people accountable.”

She shares her proprietary 4-point Spiral Impact process for getting things done with grace and ease.

“To begin, recognize when you are pushing or pulling. That pounding heart, tension in your neck or gut, or holding your breath are clues you are hammering away,” said Valencic who coaches health care leaders to literally spiral when they feel tension.

She offers these four ways to spiral, which can be used individually or in combination depending on the needs of the leader.

1. Become the “calm eye of the storm.” This is a concept Valencic refers to as centering. Valencic shares a variety of ways to accomplish this with clients. Breathing is at the core of all of them. She explores this in depth with her audio guide designed for while you are driving. http://www.karenvalencic.com/products/

2. Notice what statements you make about the situation. Change those statements into questions, acknowledgements or both. “This is impossible,” becomes “If we knew how, what would it be?” “They will never change,” becomes “How have I explained the expectations and verified understanding?” This economy is destroying us,” becomes “What opportunity or need can we fill?” Questions create answers; statements keep you stuck.

3. Declare three levels of intention. What is it that you want that you don’t have? Valencic asks her clients to clarify three levels of intention: the bigger picture, the deeper values or purpose, and the immediate. Making sure all three line up everyday is key to making sure you are not going in circles. Intention is what differentiates a spiral producing results from endlessly going in circles.

4. Choose your support. Feel like the Lone Ranger? Identify trusted advisors who can help guide you through the storm and keep you in the eye.

“Hurricanes are powerful. Use that Spiral power for good and go make a positive productive Impact!” she says.

About Karen Valencic and Spiral Impact

Karen Valencic, founder and president of Spiral Impact has been known for her content rich engaging presentations on conflict reconciliation for over 20 years. For more information and video lessons go to: www.spiralimpact.com. Her book, Spiral Impact: The Power to Get It Done with Grace, has recently been published on all e-book formats and is available in paperback on her website.
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It does me.  As I begin the week, having a clear workspace allows me to focus on what is important.   Are the important things assessable?   Is your planner or ‘to do’ list handy and clear?

What is worthy of your attention?  Anything that distracts you from what is really important needs to be relocated.  File it, if you don’t need it today, either in the trash, electronically, or in a drawer.

This is a wonderful entertaining Ted Video from Graham Hill :  Less stuff, more happiness.  Well worth the short time…

Click here to view the embedded video.