Dare to Be!

In today’s busy healthcare world, it is important to have the leadership skills to meet challenges with intelligence, fortitude, and strategy.  As I write those words it seems like a fairly straightforward idea. But what does it mean and how do you get there if you are new to leadership or new to rural health?

One of my favorite parts of my job with ICAHN Professional Education Services is designing learning curriculum for leadership courses. It’s a lot of puzzle pieces to put together, but our goal is always to help you go from good to great. We have several projects in the works right now, including our supervisor course that will be held in December, our Physician Academy scheduled for 2023, and our Rural Health Fellowship that starts in October.

This is the third year for the Fellowship, with 31 graduates to date. The Fellowship is an opportunity for new, emerging, or current leaders from CAHs to broaden their understanding of rural health leadership. There are four key pillars we focus on during the six-month period: leadership, operations, finance, and rural policy and advocacy. Fellows also work on a rural health project of their choice, participate in a leadership book club, and are paired with a seasoned mentor who provides guidance and insight.

The Next Step

If you have ever thought about moving your career forward, the Fellowship might be good choice for you.  We are holding an informational meeting on August 25 at 8:30 a.m. You can register here.

If you are on the fence about whether this is the right choice for you, here is what some past Fellows have said about the program:

• As a new employee to my organization, this was probably one of the finest things I could ever have done to propel my success and effectiveness for not only my organization, but for myself.
• This Fellowship was an amazing experience that grew my understanding of healthcare overall and especially rural health.
• I was very fortunate to be part of the ICAHN Fellowship program. My mentor and I connected, and he helped me grow my knowledge.
• Through the Fellowship, I learned to be a more successful leader and to grow into new roles.

Daring Greatly

Putting yourself out there is never easy but  participating in a leadership course is a good first step. For the last two weeks Liz has been leading a book discussion on Brene Brown’s book “Dare to Lead.” Brene starts her book with a Theodore Roosevelt quote:

“It is not the critic who counts; Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

This past week I have read several news stories about employees “quietly quitting."  These aren't employees who have quit, rather employees who have decided to limit their tasks to only what is in the job description. People are even making TikTok videos on how to only do minimal work and nothing more. It’s an attitude that won’t get you far. I challenge you to think like Theodore Roosevelt and not TikTok when it comes to growing your career!  That’s how I see it from where I sit.