Many Paths: We continue to seek salvation from upside-down management in life
On a recent trip to the hospital, I was reminded how our many institutions try to manage from the top down versus the bottom up. This has led to numerous systematic problems in many of our institutions, including healthcare.
Six days in the hospital is a long time, particularly if you are not really sick. It is definitely not the most restful place to be. In six nights, I maybe got 3-4 hours of sleep per night.
Nurses and doctors checking on you, doing vitals. Of course it is not just for you, but your roommate as well. Lights are also an issue. They need to see what they are doing. For me, that doesn’t work.
More: Many Paths: Unions are needed to get us back on track
Fixing food for sick people is not an easy chore. I was on a heart restricted diet as well as diabetic restrictions. That doesn’t leave much room for fixing tasty foods. The dietary workers delivering the food were very cheerful and devoted. They were a pleasure to see each day, but I had trouble with the bland food. I’m a bit spoiled, with my son being a chef. I wouldn’t think they could do a whole lot better, with the restrictions they have to work with.
The general overall atmosphere seemed a bit depressed, although everyone performed their duties with care and enthusiasm. No one seemed happy with the way medicine is headed, though.
There seems to be a distance between those making the decisions and those carrying them out.
As a system theorist, this is a common mistake for top-down management. The top gets heavily financed, the bottom not so much. And it's always the bottom doing the work.
The staff seem deeply invested in what they are doing. From housekeeping to nurses, to nurse techs, to dietary, to specialty medical services (x-ray, echocardiogram, blood drawing), everyone was performing a difficult service, under difficult circumstances, in a caring, cheerful and competent manner.
Healthcare services are slipping, for a number of reasons. This is not uncommon in today’s world.
Our political system, our justice system, our policing system, our financial system, our environmental system, our educational system, are all experiencing systemic issues.
All the decision makers seem far removed from the people doing the work. Consequently, our federal, state, and local decision makers all seem out of touch with those who elected them. This is a systemic problem.
We get frustrated with our inability to solve problems. The longer the distance remains from the top to the bottom, the more each institution will suffer.
Our CEO’s and administrators need to reevaluate their management style to consider bottom-up management, which values employee participation in decision-making.
Not token participation, but meaningful engagement that gathers insights from all organizational levels, promoting innovation and engagement by involving those directly engaged in doing the work.
Of course this threatens many in management, but the good ones will understand that change is needed, and they will stand out as leaders for the future that we are looking for.
Bruce Weik was a longtime columnist for The Zephyr and is co-creator of Many Paths Galesburg since 2019.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Many Paths: We need more places to start managing from the bottom up