CEO David C. Herman Video Script
Leadership Expectations
Q: Why is our organization setting leadership expectations?
Dr. Herman: I think expectations are important because people can then plan their behaviors
and their skills and the knowledge they need to gain to deliver. I don’t know who said it, but
someone somewhere along the line said, “Unarticulated expectations are the seeds of future
resentments.” And for me that means, unless you tell me what you expect of me, you and I are
going to have a difficult relationship at times because we’re not quite clear. And I don’t think
when anybody reads these expectations they are going to be an earth-shaking event. But being
clear and being able to plan what you are doing and being able to build your skills and being able
to reflect on what those expectations are, are very important. Those expectations go from what
should I do with me, what should I do with my team and what should I do with my organization.
So these expectations can work for anyone in the organization to help them gain clarity and help
them contribute to the teamwork we need to have here to take the best care of our patients.
Q: So, we are all considered leaders?
Dr. Herman: Everybody in our organization leads every day. I don’t think we need to define
leadership as the title that goes on your name badge or where you sit on the organizational chart.
Each and every one of us has an opportunity to lead everyday by the behaviors we demonstrate
to our patients, their families and to our co-workers.
Q: How will this benefit our organization?
Dr. Herman: Clear expectations and the ability and the framework to be able to deliver on those
expectations are important for each and every organization. I also think that by having a common
lexicon or common dictionary, we can have conversations that we need to have.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Dr. Herman: I think one of the biggest challenges we have as leaders no matter where we lead
is not managing the people we work with or managing the organization, but managing ourselves.
So some of those skills to do that, I think are very, very important. One that I’ve found that’s
worked well for me – someone described it as getting up on the balcony. When I’m in a situation
where I can’t quite figure out exactly what’s going on and I’m in the middle of it, I try to
consciously pull myself up on the balcony, take a look and see what’s happening around me,
almost as if it’s a play and say, okay, with that different perspective, what can I do better, what
can I do differently to be a better leader in this particular situation.