The Tragic, Yet Avoidable, Mistake Made By Community Health Center Boards - 1. Failing To Hire an Operationally Strong Executive Director.

The Tragic, Yet Avoidable, Mistake Made By Community Health Center Boards - 1. Failing To Hire an Operationally Strong Executive Director.

1. Failing to Hire an Operationally Strong Executive Director.

This single tragic mistake, and this mistake alone, is not only the Community Health Center Board’s biggest mistake, but also it will lead to the following major errors:
a. Failing to define the mission and purpose of the Community Health Center (CHC).
b. Giving the CHC tasks that are not consistent with its mission.
c. CHCs using weak providers as its cornerstone.
d. Ineffective finances and financials.
e. Over-reliance on consultants.
f. Failure to develop management staff.
g. Expecting the CHC to handle work without getting paid.
h. Choosing an inappropriate computer system and software.
i. Maintaining the status quo.

During this next series of posts, we’ll discuss the above issue and its causative sub-issues.

Let’s begin with the number one issue: The failure of Community Health Center (CHC) Boards to hire an operationally strong executive director.

Why does this occur?
Is it really that difficult to hire a competent manager and leader?
What should a Board look for? How?
What are the factors necessary for an operationally strong Community Health Center Executive Director?

CHC Boards of Directors are often eager to hire a perceived “heavyweight” to run their operation. However, that heavyweight may not have sufficient top-level management experience, and little understanding of the operating basics, that are critical in a CHC. CHC Executive Directors must demonstrate that they can run the CHC more effectively than the physicians, the senior staff, or the office managers – not just more effectively that their predecessor.

Easily said, but what constitutes an effective Community Health Center Executive Director?

CHC Boards need to address the following in a series of interviews, spread over several weeks, involving all Board members, senior management, and a few outsiders. This is the most important decision the Board will make.

An effective community health center executive director does not need to be a stereotypical leader in the sense that the term is now used. As Peter Drucker outlined in “What Makes and Effective Executive”, leaders are all over the map in terms of personality, attitude, values, strengths, and weaknesses.

What makes community health center executive directors effective is that they follow these eight practices:
1. They ask: what needs to be done?
2. They ask: what is right for the CHC?
3. They develop action plans.
4. They take responsibility for their decisions.
5. They take responsibility for communicating.
6. They focus on opportunities rather than problems.
7. They run productive meetings.
8. They think and say “we” rather that “I”.

Does this sound familiar? Is this what exists in your community health center’s Executive Director? If so, you are quite fortunate. If not, this series of posts could help your community health center and its underserved patients.

Next Post: Community Health Centers - The First Practice - Getting Needed Knowledge.