The Team - Your role as GM, coach and mentor

I do not think that it should take a CIO in any industry a long time to understand the importance of their team. I guess the first question is " do you consider your employees staff members or team members?". There is a difference I have found over the years. It makes more of a difference for me on a professional level. If I look at the group as "staff" it becomes easier to just let them do their jobs. If I consider the same group "team members", I have a different level of interest in making sure they succeed... simply because I am in the same game and also a member of this team. My role is not a player but rather the GM, Coach, Mentor, Hitting Instructor, Pitching Coach, etc.... the funny thing is... I'm not a great baseball player but then again, we are not playing baseball. We are playing a different game called Healthcare, which is not a game by any definition.

While sitting at a bar enjoying an ice cold beverage this evening, ESPN is showing a recap of the 2004 American League Championship Series Game 6. By full disclosure, I love the Sox!!! Yankees not so much but you do have to hand it to some Yankees. Joe Torre is baseball! Amazing! What made the Sox successful in 2004? I don't think we will ever completely know but as a Boston fan, we will take it. What I did notice in 2004 and also during the recap, there was an environment that could be felt. There was a certain energy that cylinders were firing at the right time. Everyone was doing their part..even Schilling!! However, it was the team that executed and executed well.

To achieve what we need to do in healthcare, our team members must execute well on a daily basis. Healthcare is complex. We must understand it from a technical level as well as operational. There is no longer a role for the CIO to function only as the technical expertise. We are change agents in healthcare. We must take the lead role to facilitate conversations and sometimes those conversations are tough based on the organizational complexities we face at times. It is our role to invest in the front line but also address the front office executives as we move our organizations into the future of healthcare.... ok...who is ready to be the 2004 Sox!! In order to do so, we must take a lead role and be the Meaningful CIO that healthcare needs for this transition and support of Healthcare Reform..... whatever that may be but something is brewing.

Good luck!