People & Opinions
We in this profession called “Healthcare Supply Chain” stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. Our predecessors took us from Procurement and Materials Management to what we now, almost exclusively, call Supply Chain Management. They took the profession from one of order takers and box movers to positioning us to be seen as a strategic partner for the success of the organization. They did this by challenging the previously held beliefs of leaders in those roles and the organizations they served. While this may not be true in all cases, it is certainly very true in many organizations.
We owe those who came before us a debt of gratitude. We also owe it to them to take the profession to the next level. In some cases that effort means we have to do things in a way that previously may not have been successful or seen as too challenging. How do we best position the next generation to do that?
We talk about what we have learned from our failures and that it made us stronger as leaders. How often does anyone talk about another person who tried the exact same thing again at a different time or place and this time it turned out to be a success? Can the experience of a failure also cripple us? Can it lock down a certain portion of our creativity or cause us to be overly protective? Worse yet, can the sharing of these experiences keep the next generation of leaders from trying the same things again with potentially better outcomes?
The healthcare industry and specifically our Supply Chain industry has made tremendous advances. We now have people with incredibly diverse backgrounds as members of Supply Chain. How do we keep from holding them back? An expiration date means that something is past it usable date. Maybe the same is true of some of our experiences in the industry.
What I am really starting to worry about is extinguishing the exuberance of the next generation of leaders. I think we can do this with the best of intentions because we think we are keeping the next generation from failure or trying to positon them for success. We can do this directly by saying things, such as, “I have tried that before, I know it won’t work” or “Let me tell you how to do this.” We also can discourage folks indirectly by just oversharing our opinions on the profession with comments like, “Leadership will never agree.” We should think about what we are saying and how we are saying it. People are always listening, and words matter.
With 30 years in the Healthcare Supply Chain profession, I have amassed quite a few stories to tell. I, of course, love to share my “war stories” as part of the coaching process or anytime I can get someone to listen. However, I am learning that I should be careful not to squash new ideas or even old ideas revisited. I have also found that I must actively coach myself to be open to new ideas and concepts. Among those is that the times I tried and failed to meet a goal or just screwed something up, it may not have been the right time, the right place or honestly I may simply have not been the right person.
This also can be true of past success. Just because something worked out well here does not mean someone else should do it like me. Not everyone has the same skill set. People, process and technology are all improving and finding better and different ways to approach and execute on an opportunity. While on the surface a project may look like something I have tackled before, it may not have the same dynamics. I am trying hard to remember that when I share my war stories I temper it with, “this is what I learned from this, but it does not mean we cannot try it again.” There may be other times when regardless of personal or professional experience it’s probably best to keep my war stories to myself and just be a supportive leader. After all, words matter and maybe some of my experiences should have an expiration date.
