Steven Covey defines an organization, in its most elemental level, as nothing more than a relationship with a purpose, and makes the observation that most of the world’s work is done in and through organizations (1). According to Covey, “the greatest challenge inside organizations is to set them up and run them in a way that enables each person to . . . contribute his or her unique talents and passion . . . to accomplish the organization’s purpose.” He refers to this as the “leadership challenge.” How well are organizations meeting this leadership challenge? According to Bill George, Harvard professor and former president and CEO of Medtronic, there is an enormous vacuum in leadership today in business, politics, government, education, religion, and non-profit organizations (2). It is not that there is a shortage of people with the capacity for leadership; rather, it is the failure to develop this capacity by not aligning people with an organization’s purpose and failing to deliberately empower them to serve.
The American Society of Extracorporeal Technology’s Forty-sixth International Convention was held in April at the Hilton Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. There was the usual abundance of rich content, including a workshop on blood management and the opportunity to obtain certification in blood management, a workshop on long term mechanical support; a virtual operating room session, and more than fifty original oral and posters presentations. However, the crown jewel of the conference was a Career Advancement Session. The session was an informal gathering that was designed to provide an opportunity for students to engage in open dialogue with seasoned professionals on a variety of topics related to professional life, including the society from regional and national perspectives, employment venues, resources, research, the future, and the many opportunities to actively participate as a member of the Society. There was rich dialog about the Society’s purpose and values, those critical qualities that hold us together and keep us moving forward as individual professionals and as a united profession. The leaders spoke from the heart and the students asked thought-provoking questions. Students were invited to be active participants in the Society, both as contributors and benefactors. This session was an exhibition of the essence of leadership in its purest and most practical form.
This session reminded me that, while we are often tempted to think that leadership is positional, we should not take this narrow view (3). Effective leadership is ubiquitous. The culture of effective leadership is a society where everyone recognizes their role to fulfill duel responsibilities as both: providers of direct care to patients and as leaders and initiators that come together with a shared purpose of improving care to patients. When each of us embraces these dual responsibilities, there will there be an acceleration in the translation of knowledge into clinical practice.
It is not uncommon for some to become disillusioned or critical toward their professional societies. Often, leaders in organizations face heartache, a loss of hope and perhaps inner strife. This should be expected since, in essence, organizations are simply individuals who have a relationship and a shared purpose. Individuals often disagree, relationships easily become strained, and shared purposes are sometimes momentarily misplaced. In these times, we would do well to focus on preserving relationships and rediscovering our shared purpose. Relationships are the salvation of leaders in strife. Albert Schweitzer once said, “In everyone’s life, at sometime, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” I truly admire those among us that have learned to quench less and rekindle more. Because of their mindfulness, we realize less apathy, more passion, and more of the world’s work accomplished in our professional organizations.
Robert C. Groom, MS, CCP
Editor-in-Chief