COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS – Taking Action - The Fourth Practice – c. Focus on Opportunities

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS – Taking Action - The Fourth Practice – c. Focus on Opportunities

We have reviewed the practice of an effective community health center Executive Director in Taking Responsibility for Communicating. Let’s look at the practice of Focusing on Opportunities:

Successful Community Health Center Executive Directors focus on opportunities rather than problems. Problems have to be taken care of; they must not be swept under the rug. But problem solving does not produce results. It prevents damage. Only exploiting opportunities produce results.

Change as Opportunity

Effective Community Health Center Executive Directors treat change as an opportunity, not as a threat. They look for changes, and ask: “How can we exploit this change as an opportunity for our community health center and its patients?”

Executive Directors also make sure that problems do not overwhelm opportunities. Effective Community Health Center Executive Directors scan these seven situations for opportunities:

1. An unexpected success or failure;
2. A gap between what is and what could be (a highly under-utilized situation in community health centers);
3. Innovations;
4, Changes in structures;
5. Demographic changes and gaps;
6. Changes in mind-set and perceptions;
7. New knowledge or new technology.

Best People on Opportunities

Effective Executive Directors and Senior Managers put their best people on opportunities rather than problems. They ask their staff to prepare two lists every two months:
A list of opportunities, and
A list of their best performing people.

Then they meld the two lists putting the best people with the best opportunities.

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