I witness first-hand the impressive and deep talent of our DHA team. I believe in the servant-leader model of leadership, and my job is to help you excel.
We all have responsibilities to think at multiple levels: Strategic, Operational, and Tactical. Everyone needs to think through his or her proposed policy or process changes from the perspective of success as enterprise-wide policy down to patient-level execution.
Each of you has specific goals and objectives for your directorate, division or branch. I need a straightforward accounting of your progress in meeting the goals of your area of responsibility. If you are behind your targets - tell me. If there is something stuck at my level, or the Services, or above – let me know. It is fine to bring me problems, but bring me your proposed solutions too.
We need to learn from those processes that are not working and change them. Our worst error is to repeat the same process over and over again, and expect a different outcome. If something is not working, let’s fix it. I promise you the flexibility and top cover to operate – as long as we are communicating clearly.
Collaboration is vital in our decision-making process. And we need to move our system to get to “yes” and not endlessly study and admire our problems. But consensus does not mean we simply accept the lowest common denominator of solutions. If certain compromises are unacceptable to the integrity of our programs or services – I need to know that as well.
We have an inspiring and noble mission, a great team, and a joint perspective that make it a joy to come to work every day. I am proud and excited to be working with you, and for you, in the coming years.