A podcast for healthcare’s middle managers
Middle management is in a golden age. But it’s harder than ever to be a middle manager. Central Management is stories, tips, and wisdom to make it easier to be better.
This week’s guest on the Central Management podcast is Jordan Woods, heart and vascular service line director for a large healthcare system located in the Midwest.
“I enjoy the challenge of trying to be a chameleon and work well with anybody and be effective and appreciated by a lot of different types of people.”
The highlights of our discussion:
2:50 — job responsibilities of executing on executive project vision, whether he participates in developing that vision or not
8:20 — the impact of dictated quick-turnaround deadlines on manager and employee engagement when implementing projects; and the flip side of that: organizations are under pressure to get lots of things done
14:00 — Jordan enjoys his job and the challenges it presents, especially developing people (he is measured(!) on his success in helping his employees develop new skills that allow them to move into other positions in the organization)
19:30 — the biggest challenge for a middle manager is managing executive expectations about project timelines — and navigating the desires of the executive versus employee engagement (Jordan recently had a conversation with a hospital president where the individual made it clear they think managers and directors are the most important people in the organization)
26:10 — the importance of spending time as a middle manager in becoming a visionary leader involved in organization strategy; middle management, though under appreciated, is a great platform for career development
30:56 — one last brilliant insight from Jordan
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Hi, I'm Drew Weilage. 