HJAR Sep/Oct 2019

48 SEP / OCT 2019 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS DIALOGUE COLUMN LEADERSHIP I became a CEO for the same reason many choose their profession…to be a ser- vant leader. In my experience, hospital leaders have very public positions that are scrutinized by not only patients and patient families, but also their staff and the com- munity at large. For this reason, a hospital leader at every level must be a person of in- credible energy. One of my favorite books, The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon, is a simplistic analogy of someone who struggles day-to-day to feel important while balancing a success- ful career and a good home life. We all face that. The only thing we have control over is our energy. We drive our own bus. We de- termine the energy we feel and howwe pass that energy on to those around us. There are many great books and work- shops on leadership, but only in the last few years has energy been recognized as a critical necessity on the list of management skills. Energy has been one of the unnamed qualities of leadership. Where do we get it and how do we sustain it? Most important- ly, how do we share it? In my formative years as an athlete and as a young adult, we were taught to ‘suck it up’ and ‘deal’ with the issues we faced. In our careers, we may have given the same advice to employees when trying to get them ‘on the team.’ But we found that leads to burnout…not only for the leaders, but also for their staff members. And forget cre- ating a positive culture or team spirit with that approach. While growing into an executive leader- ship role, I found that energy is something people can feel and see before they hear your words. A successful coach in sports knows it is imperative they bring energy to the team. A strategy is important, but high energy can dramatically change the end re- sult. Gordon says being positive doesn’t just make you better, it makes everyone around you better. Positive energy drives positive culture. Sometimes people on your team may not be aware they are being sucked into negativity until it is brought to their attention. Gordon calls these people ‘en- ergy vampires.’ We need to avoid those who drain our energy. One of our key roles as leaders is spending a great deal of time in the creative energy arena with our team members. So how do we, as leaders, share our en- POSITIVE ENERGY: The Key to a Successful Team Great teams have great energy. As a hospital CEO, I believe bringing energy to my team is a daily responsibility equal to passion, experience, and vision. While we can hire people who are reliable, educated, and successful at their chosen profession, adding a person with a positive energy level will have a profound effect on the level of success for the entire team.