Just Because You Are Moving Doesn’t Mean You Are Going Anywhere

In times of crisis, it’s easy for hospitals and health systems to get lost in the momentum and work furiously to accomplish the mountains of workload in front of you. And it makes sense - during this national pandemic, there is so much critical information we need to share with our employees, our patients, our communities. And we need to stay on top of the constant changes and approaches. Frankly, there just doesn’t seem like there is enough time in the day to do our jobs.

In our current work environments, we are encouraged to be as fast as possible - even when we are not facing a health crisis. We are rewarded by what we can accomplish, and how fast we can do it. There seems to be a hidden clock behind us, ticking away, urging us to move faster, faster. Get more done. And the complexity of information from multiple sources make us feel like we’re becoming master jugglers - distilling news from multiple (if not conflicting) sources, being forced to translate it in ways that our audiences understand, with the right tone and voice. Frankly, at times it seems like doing this correctly can be quite literally a matter of life and death. 

I am not suggesting for us to stop moving fast, and do the best work possible. Right now, it’s most certainly the right thing to do. This works speaks to the higher calling that brings us to healthcare. There is nothing more fulfilling than posting on social media the right medical information that will help guide patients to the right place of care and keep them safe. Or share a story of the noble efforts that one of our front-line staff has done to save lives. This is the essence of why we work for our industry. 

But I am suggesting this: while we are immersed in crisis communications, we should resist the urge to get pulled away from our overall strategic goals and vision. Do our best not to become automatons, repetitively doing the same tactics day over and over again. We can’t lose sight of our strategy. 

After all, strategy should be our guiding light - and direct us to our vision. When this national pandemic is over (yes, one day it will be over), our lives and organizations will move back to a sense of normalcy, And then where will we be at?  

John Kotter says “a vision is something that clarifies the direction in which an organization needs to move.” And in this time of public crisis, it is important to remember those strategies and visions from before that were moving your health system to a better place. We need to keep focused on where we need to move - and with purpose. Otherwise we might never recover on solid grounding. 

So, while it is noble and purposeful to keep moving fast to respond to our national emergency, remember to stay true to your personal and organization’s overall strategy and vision. 

Alfred Armand Montapert - author of “The Supreme Philosophy of Man” - may have described it best: "Don't confuse motion with progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but doesn't make any progress."