ELI Training Supports Leadership Development and Culture Change

The Challenge:

Barnes-Jewish Hospital wanted to achieve mutual and multilevel staff accountability, expand accountability to include frontline supervisors, and ensure that all hospital staff with management responsibilities gained the appropriate knowledge and skills to be successful. The institution’s overarching objective was to foster a culture of collaboration by encouraging individuals and teams to communicate and partner with hospital professionals outside their familiar interdisciplinary channels.

The Approach:

Wally Klein, Manager of Organizational Development, had participated in ELI’s Civil Treatment^® for Managers training while at a previous employer and believed that the program “fit in with what we wanted to accomplish from a leadership point of view.” To secure buy-in and commitment at the top, Klein arranged for ELI to present an executive program to the hospital’s president and approximately 20 department directors. Next, ELI worked with key hospital stakeholders to identify relevant program content, and then customized the training to align with the hospital’s policies and procedures. The training was rolled out in phases to hospital managers, who then recommended a tailored program be delivered to shift leaders as well. Six months after training, a follow-up survey is sent to participants to evaluate how and what they’re doing differently.

How the Learning Has Made a Difference:

According to Klein, the hospital has seen a number of positive outcomes as a result of implementing Civil Treatment for Managers. “The reaction evaluations we give following every session have been very, very strong. We also wanted managers to be proactive in seeking support from HR, and we’re seeing that number increase.”  Six-month follow-up surveys have also demonstrated that participants are retaining and continuing to use what they learned. Klein reports that the hospital has observed the culture change it was seeking. “CTM has given us an impetus for change – we’ve raised their behavior, they’re asking for help, using the Prescriptive Rules^®. It’s made them more savvy as to their role in this.”