Trust…Internally, Why It Is Missing
I was having a conversation with a (client) system chief philanthropy officer and a system-level leader who has great engagement with local hospital leadership. He has risen through this exact power structure. We were talking about the needs of philanthropy as it pertains to the local chief executive officer. That then morphed into the challenge we have when it comes to engaging with these leaders and getting them to understand value.
The response, from a seasoned veteran, was so basic and yet so critical.
The entire issue comes down to trust.
This veteran clinical leader indicated that everyone is asking executives to better understand their portion of the overall business. Almost like service line leaders are entrepreneurs asking their financial backers to better understand the challenges. Whether that's why ORs don't work efficiently enough, why patient satisfaction numbers aren't where they should be, or why philanthropy needs more time in focus from the chief executive officer. His honest assessment was that the executives are overwhelmed and don't know who to trust. Even if someone has great data, they're not sure who to believe.
I found the conversation startling. Overwhelming. And I've reflected on it for three or four days, much more than I usually do with most issues. This one sat on me.
After some thought, I came to two major conclusions. Of course, that may change if I continue to think about it. But for me, the big takeaways were these,
Philanthropy leaders aren't doing a particularly good job of explaining cost/benefit and truly understanding what pressure this chief executive officer is under
From the executive side, there is a large chasm in understanding that there's no one else philanthropy can turn to (e.g., the CEO) to engage our largest donors
First, we need to advocate for ourselves to help executives understand that when we're not at the table during strategic planning, actively involved in the budget conversation, highly engaged with the executive team, or seen as a critical ally, what kind of results can executives expect from philanthropy? And beyond that, if not present in the above, how can we help them with their overall challenges, concerns, and/or problems? At the same time, we need to be more understanding and aware that overall the financial pressures of our hospitals right now have never been seen before and there are not a lot of great solutions.
With that said, I would argue that there are, well beyond the CEO or many Sr. Executives, a lot of internal leaders who can worry about how many ORs are in use or how many surgeries are being done, scores of people who are concerned about patient satisfaction daily, or any other number of internal issues. Our management teams are rife with individuals whose sole responsibility is to worry about the operations of the hospital. And, if the truth be known, solve those problems.
But philanthropy needs the uniqueness of the position of the chief executive officer. Our largest donors, while we may be the catalyst in connecting, want active and engaged time with the CEO because they set the agenda, they create the priorities, they lead the strategic planning effort, and they spend the money. The chief executive officer is the chief engagement officer for the community. And while philanthropy might be a huge part of the overall effort, it can't replace the CEO.
It's an evolving process, the give and take of executive clinical leadership and leaders within philanthropy. Yes, we have to be more understanding. Yes, we have to advocate for ourselves in a more meaningful way. But I'll keep pushing CEOs and other executives to be more understanding and engage with philanthropy if they want to see it grow to meet the ever-increasing needs of clinical care within the community.
