Build a Mission Driven Culture in Healthcare

Build a Mission-Driven
Culture in Healthcare
̶̶ Jeff Selander

© 2016 Health Catalyst
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Building a Mission-Driven Culture
For healthcare organizations focused
on overcoming industry challenges, a
mission-driven culture is paramount.
How important is a mission-driven
culture in healthcare? In 2015, an
Forbes.com article named culture
“the hottest topic in business today.”
And, according to the Deloitte’s Global
Human Capital Trends 2016 survey,
culture and engagement are among
business managers’ top 10 concerns.

Building a Mission-Driven Culture
A mission-driven culture fosters adaptive
staff who are ready for the long-term
commitment to ongoing improvement.
In short, the culture engages the right
people, in the right place, at the right
time, to do the right thing.

Mission-Driven Culture in Healthcare
Right People, Right Place, Right Time
A healthcare organization’s culture only
thrives as a function of the people who
deeply believe in its mission and get up
every morning committed to act in
accordance with it.
It’s one thing to say you have a mission
statement, but you don’t have a true
mission-driven culture until you see
sustained evidence of adherence to
that mission.

Maximizing ROI with an Engaged Workforce
The Harvard Business Review Dale Carnegie Institute
From a Return On Investment (ROI)
standpoint, the outcomes justify the
work and cost associated with building
a mission-driven culture.
However, the specific makeup of
these costs is frequently
misunderstood.

Costs associated with offering unlimited
paid time off, rebuilding work spaces,
and stocking the breakroom with food
and drink, certainly contribute to an
attractive environment.
And even though they require a
material investment of time and money
to sustain, they aren’t true drivers of a
sustainable, mission-driven culture.

True drivers of a mission-driven culture
return power and decision making to team
members at the lowest organizational
levels possible—and then hold them
accountable for making principle-based,
mission-driven decisions.
Doing these things are the drivers of
true cost, sustainable performance,
and engagement with the corporate
mission, vision, and values.

The cost of extending trust to a manager
to make decisions based on what is best,
without fear of the consequences for
making a mistake, requires infrastructure
that is flexible, risk accepting, and much
harder to execute.
Sustaining a fault-tolerant, flexible,
mission-driven infrastructure for
managers is far costlier, yet returns
far greater ROI than the safe, rigid,
policy-driven infrastructure that many
companies deploy.

Core Principles of a Mission-Driven Culture
How do you build a more mission-driven
organizational culture in healthcare? Not
through break rooms and benefits (though
these things do help). Shaping culture
within the complexities facing modern
healthcare requires intense focus.
According to Managed Healthcare
Executive’s 2015 State of the Industry
Survey, healthcare challenges include the
transition to value-based payment,
leveraging data, rising pharmaceutical
costs, healthcare consumerism, and
industry consolidation.

Principle #1: Engage Lifelong Learners and Great Listeners
Team members with an innate
appreciation for learning will bring the
necessary mentalities and capabilities
to build and sustain a mission-driven
organizational culture in healthcare.
These individuals have a natural
curiosity and genuine interest in
others’ opinions and contributions.

Principle #1: Engage Lifelong Learners and Great Listeners
“Smart” is one of the cultural attributes
we strive for at Health Catalyst.
By smart, we’re not talking about
intellectual capacity (test scores or
IQs); we’re talking about a willingness
to try something new and learn from
the experience.
Smart team members are skilled
learners with the intellectual and
emotional courage to think outside
of their own experience.

Principle #2: Assume Positive Intent
Because there will always be differences
of opinion, it’s critical that you assume
positive intent to:
• Trust in a shared commitment.
• Believe in the intrinsic worth of everyone.
• Trust that everyone in the room shares
the same goal—even if they have a
different approach.

Principle #2: Assume Positive Intent
It may feel unnatural to not challenge
someone who disagrees with you.
Assuming positive intent in instances of
conflict helps keep the mission in focus.
Proceed with a strong belief that
everyone in your organization is
intrinsically worthy and trust that they’re
positively focused on solving problems.

Principle #3: Avoid Entitlement
At times, we may be prone to
entitlement, but we don’t have to let it
negatively impact our relationships or
experiences in the workplace.
This doesn’t mean we can’t strive to
improve or desire good things (e.g.,
promotions, raises, success); it means
we shouldn’t feel that because we did
“A,” that we deserve “B.”

Principle #3: Avoid Entitlement
Fundamentally, entitlement is a selfish
act—it is the manifestation of the notion
that “I am better than you” or “I deserve
special treatment in this case
because….”
These behaviors erode the shared
mission of the company. Organizations
can keep entitlement in check by
establishing and adhering to
compensation programs that reward
high quality, sustained work.

Principle #4: Aim for Long-Term Commitment
Foster a long-term commitment to success
by establishing an understanding throughout
your organization that great ideas take
time—there are no shortcuts.
The reality of a successful, sustained
business is continuous improvement and
innovation.
Management must do the groundwork for a
mission-driven culture that can sustain
output over a long period and make the
organization successful.

Principle #4: Aim for Long-Term Commitment
Long-term commitment is a formidable
challenge, requiring sustained effort and much
more investment from leadership than paying
a salary and giving direction.
Instead, leadership must work to make every
team member feel like they’re an essential
part of something and not just another cog in
a giant machine.

A Mission-Driven Culture Is No Longer a Choice
A mission-driven culture isn’t a discretionary
choice in today’s healthcare environment.
As social and professional networks make
information increasingly ubiquitous, culture
has become an essential in today’s business
landscape.
There’s nowhere to hide in this information
age—if you have a weakness in your culture
or practices that undermine your workforce,
you will be exposed.

I always ask new Health Catalyst team
members,
How many of you used Glassdoor
[a recruiting site] in your research
on Health Catalyst?”
Invariably, about 95 percent raise their
hand and when asked why, they say
because they wanted the “real scoop”
on the company by way of anonymous
employee reviews.
Health Catalyst takes every team
member’s comments very seriously—
especially when it comes to culture.

Given the ability to so easily uncover the
reality that exists within a corporate culture,
healthcare organizations must build a
culture that attracts the right people.
To build and protect our culture at Health
Catalyst, we’re highly selective in our
hiring. Health Catalyst only hires about 3
percent of applicants.
For comparison, in 2016, Harvard Business
School accepted four times that number of
MBA applicants.

All organizations (particularly, health
systems) face complex challenges,
changing priorities, a shifting regulatory
environment, and increasing economic
pressures.
Leaders who continue to underinvest in
culture—the very engine that drives
success and maximizes ROI—do so at
their peril.
We believe that focusing on the core
principles of a mission-driven culture is
critical for long-term success.

For more information:
“This book is a fantastic piece of work”
– Robert Lindeman MD, FAAP, Chief Physician Quality Officer

More about this topic
Link to original article for a more in-depth discussion.
Build a Mission-Driven Culture in Healthcare
Understanding the Culture and Core of Health Catalyst: One Man's Perspective
Kyle Salyers, Senior VP
5 Principles of Adaptive Leadership and Why It’s a Critical Skill for Healthcare Leaders
Dr. Val Ulstad, MD, MPA, MPH
World Economic Forum Names Health Catalyst a Technology Pioneer
Press Release
Employee Wellness: A Combination of Personal Accountability and Corporate Responsibility
Jeff Selander, Chief People Officer
The Health Catalyst Way

Jeff Selander currently serves as the Chief People Officer for Health Catalyst. In this
role Jeff is primarily responsible for the culture, values, HR, and administrative aspects
of the business. Prior to this Jeff served as the Chief Financial Officer for Health
Catalyst for four years. Prior to joining Health Catalyst, Mr. Selander was CFO at HB
Ventures, a private equity firm in Boise, Idaho. Health Catalyst is Jeff’s fifth start-up as a
venture finance professional, and his third as CFO.
During his career, Jeff has assisted CEO’s in raising over $250 million in debt and equity from
institutional investors. Prior to HB Ventures, Jeff was the CFO for Great Basin Scientific, a pre-
revenue life sciences start-up. Previous to Great Basin, Jeff played several senior finance roles for
iBAHN Corp., a venture-backed high-speed Internet provider to the hospitality industry. Mr. Selander
holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, Boston,
Massachusetts and a BA in international relations from BYU.
Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com

Build a Mission Driven Culture in Healthcare

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