COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS - THE FIRST PRACTICE - GETTING NEEDED KNOWLEDGE – WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS - THE FIRST PRACTICE - GETTING NEEDED KNOWLEDGE – What Needs to be Done?

What Needs to be Done?

To overcome the mistake of failing to hire an operationally strong community health center executive director, the first practice for the Board is to ask the Executive Director “what needs to be done?” The question is not “what do you want to do?” Asking what has to be done is critical for the Community Health Center Board and for the executive director’s success. Failure of the Board to ask will make a community health center executive director ineffectual.

The answer to the question “what needs to be done?” always contains more than one urgent task. However, Boards must acknowledge that effective community health center executive directors do not divide themselves. They concentrate on one task – one primary-cause-task (that, which when accomplished, will cause other events to occur).

First Things First and Second Things Not At All

If Executive Directors work best with a change of pace during their working day, they pick two tasks. Even the most seasoned executive director cannot remain effective doing more than two tasks at a time. The operating phrase is: “do first things first, and second things not at all.”

Other tasks, no matter how appealing are postponed. After completing the first priority, the effective community health center executive director re-sets priorities rather than moving to number two. The community health center executive director asks: “what needs to be done now?” this new question will result in new and different priorities.

Next Post: COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS - Getting Needed Knowledge – The Second Practice – Asking: Is This The Right Thing For Our Center And Our Patients?