Leading in Turbulent Times: Why Experience is Essential to Healthcare’s Future

by Jason A. Wolf, Ph.D, CPXP

[Adapted from my new Editorial in The Beryl Institute‘s Patient Experience Journal Volume 12, Issue 1. You can access the article here: https://pxjournal.org/journal/vol12/iss1/1/ ]

I start with a Happy Patient Experience Week to all around the world and with a true sense of gratitude for the amazing commitment exemplified through your posts and shares this week. More so, I stand in awe, joy, and hope in seeing all your efforts reflected in the good work we do for all we serve and all who serve in healthcare every day of the year! That is the essence of leadership I explore below.

A Month of Milestones and Real-World Impact

This month marks a series of milestones. It was 15 years ago this month that I formally began the journey to build The Beryl Institute global community. I use that word – community – specifically for while we are an “organization” operationally, what we are in practice is a committed group of people, from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, who have come together from across the globe, around a common purpose.[1] It is a purpose and belief that at the heart of healthcare we are human beings caring for human beings and when we ensure the experience we provide to patients and care partners and to all who show up to serve every day is positive, compassionate, and unparalleled, the outcomes we strive for in healthcare, of quality, safe, reliable, equitable, and respectful care, can and will be realized.[2]

April is also the month in which we have launched a new volume of The Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) every year since 2014. In fact today (April 30) we release our latest issue on the 11th anniversary of our first publication. The latest issue of PXJ represents the start of our 12th volume. It reflects how our conversation has evolved and the context for all we know will be critical in sustaining the very reasons our community came together 15 years ago.  With that I want to extend a special thank you to our thousands of authors, hundreds of reviewers, and millions of readers in over 200 countries and territories around the world.

Our Editorial Board raised an important point in a recent meeting about the unique nature of our journey at PXJ, which links our peer-reviewed publication to the community values and purpose on which it is built. They suggested the power of PXJ, while grounded in rigorous, evidence-based contributions, is not found in academic metrics such as impact factors. Rather, what makes PXJ unique and significant is the practical impact it has. Our authors are read broadly, with an average article in PXJ being accessed 2500 times, and the topics covered, and insights shared have tangible real-world application. Our authors seek to make a difference through their contributions, and they do. That is the opportunity we have created together. That is the power of community, one with an unwavering commitment to experience.

Leading in Turbulent Times

That commitment is now more important than ever. Healthcare systems around the world and throughout our community are being buffeted from all sides, with higher acuity patients, a vulnerable and stressed workforce, unsure finances and support structures, and even challenges to long-held medical truths. For as much as we traversed a once in a lifetime moment through the pandemic years, the residual effects and social and political sways that followed have woven their ways into healthcare overall.

There is great uncertainty. There are rapidly emerging innovations. There are greater tensions in our society which show up in behaviors that impact how we provide care. These issues and more reflect the turbulent time we find ourselves in as humanity overall, and it hits hard at the heart of healthcare itself.

If we turn back to the premise that healthcare is first and foremost built on the humanity at its core, when that fundamental idea of humanness is challenged or impacted, it leaves us a critical choice. As healthcare leaders and experience champions do we relent in the face of the changing tides, or do we dig into the efforts, actions, and intentions we know to be right and true? While this may sound idealistic, it is far too real. And the opportunity we have is much too important.

As healthcare leaders and experience champions do we relent in the face of the changing tides, or do we dig into the efforts, actions, and intentions we know to be right and true.

One thing that binds us above all else, regardless of our demographics, economic status, or political perspective, is that we are human. We have basic needs and motivations, desires and hopes. At the foundation of human motivation are three core ideas [3]:

·      We seek competence: To have a sense of understanding of the things happening to us

·      We seek autonomy: To have a sense of control of the things that impact us

·      We seek relatedness: To have a sense of connection to those around us

If we look to what we have heard from healthcare consumers about their healthcare experience and what matters to them we heard these very same ideas – communicate in ways I can understand, listen to me and show we respect, give me a sense of confidence in your abilities – and more.[4] People seek what matters to them with the primary intention of caring for their health and a need to be cared for with a sense of humanity.

Leading in these turbulent times makes a commitment to experience even more important, for as the data show and experience continues to affirm, a commitment to experience:

• Addresses the very needs people have – understanding, control, and connection.
• Breaks down the difference and distinctions created in the noise and helps us find common ground
• Builds a solid and aligned path forward in the face of the challenges we face
• Leads us to outcomes that matter

So how do we lead in these moments, grounded from an experience lens? I would offer it is found in all we have learned together this last decade and a half.

1. Leadership is found in actions, not titles. What actions and behaviors do we expect and recognize? How do we create environments of listening, respect, and understanding?
2. Leadership lives at all levels of an organization. How do we create the spaces, scaffolding, and autonomy for people to make the best decisions in the moments in which they find themselves?
3. Leadership is about bringing people together and lifting them up, not asking (or expecting) them to follow blindly. How do we create connection that inspires action, support, purpose and intention?

Leading in turbulent times is about the fundamentals of our human needs, and an experience focus, and purpose, can and will lead us forward. It is what so many who tackle this work every day strive for in their every effort and interaction.

Why Experience is Essential to Healthcare’s Future

As a community we have an opportunity in this moment. Do we stop, hide, and wait it out or do we step up and forward in reaffirming where our true focus must be. These are not simply ideas about being kind or nice. These are commitments to honor the people around us and the people in our care. These are actions that will ensure we realize the positive outcomes we seek, the effective, viable healthcare organizations and systems we seek to build, and the sense of humanness we hope to sustain.

I remain optimistic after 15 years of our Institute journey and after now in our 12th year of helping expand the evidence of why experience matters globally through PXJ. I remain optimistic because you keep contributing your thoughts, you keep engaging in these critical ideas, and you never relent in taking actions that make a difference for all engaged in healthcare around the world.

Yes, a commitment to experience is essential to healthcare’s future. What will make that possible is you. And in knowing this community and our shared purpose, passion, and focus, I believe we are in very good hands.

References

1. Wolf JA. Community: The true driver of excellence in human experience. Patient Experience Journal. 2022; 9(1):1-4. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1703.
2. Wolf JA, Bhalla V, Carlson B, Carron J, Dixon L, Oehlert JK, Oliver BJ. Investing in the Bottom Line: The Value Case for Improving Human Experience in Healthcare. Patient Experience Journal. 2024; 11(1):14-20. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1938.
3. Deci EL, Ryan RM. The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry. 2000;11(4):227-268. doi: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
4. Wolf J. Consumer Perspectives on Patient Experience 2024. The Beryl Institute; 2024. https://theberylinstitute.org/product/2024-global-healthcare-consumer-report-safe-care-communication-and-respect-lead-key-insights/