The executives around the table early that Monday morning bent in, listening intently to the CEO. He was recounting a horrible mistake over the weekend which cost a patient’s life. When he finished, one-by-one his administrative team went into damage control: what and how to report to regulatory authorities, how to handle the press when the word got out, how could such a thing happen, who was to blame, has the insurance carrier been notified, what did legal counsel say, how should this be communicated to the board, how to deal with fall-out from the patient’s family. Everyone had clicked automatically into a liability mitigation mindset.
Everyone, that is, except the CEO. Suddenly, he exclaimed “Stop!” After a pause, pregnant with anticipation, he added calmly and with emphasis, “Forget liability. Our liability will take care of itself. Right now we have to talk to the family, tell them we screwed up and let them know we care.” And, they did.
Another hospital CEO realized early on that he had inherited years of negative baggage when he assumed his new role. He gathered his employees in the auditorium and asked them to write down on note cards their fears, regrets and complaints. He collected the notes in a box and led the employees in a silent procession outside where he conducted a burial. Into the ground went the box and, symbolically, the baggage. Now they were ready to build together a new, positive culture.
To make a similar point, another CEO led his employees out the door one morning after they had punched in on the time clock. Under his arm was the time clock. He threw the clock into the pond in front of the hospital. He was effectively telling his employees that he trusted them to do their important jobs and that was more important than micro-managing their comings and goings.
These stories have common elements. The leaders used the element of surprise for an impactful purpose to help their employees and thus the organization. They used the tactic rarely, thereby increasing the likelihood that their employees would remember the experience and act on it. They thought through use of the tactic in advance and executed in a serious manner to project authenticity so that no one could misinterpret it as a silly exercise. Finally, the exercise did not embarrass, demean or intimidate anyone.