Since I joined HCA IT&S in 2010 the organization has been talking about building “OneIT”. IT&S within the larger enterprise had, historically, been fragmented and operated in silos. This can be somewhat easy to understand when you realize that IT&S is an organization with about 3,000 employees spread out over five data centers, 14 regional support centers, and multiple corporate offices. Some of these employees had worked together on projects for years but had never met each other face-to-face. Much effort was being put in to building a culture where all IT&S employees, regardless of where they sit, viewed themselves as part of one team. This was the macro-level opportunity.
On a micro-level, I have experienced the same opportunity since I have moved inside an HCA facility, taking on leadership of all of IT for TriStar Centennial Medical Center. I am responsible for the service provided by a team of more than 25 dedicated IT&S professionals (both technical and clinical) but have only one direct report. While we may physically sit together, the teams still lean towards operating in silos at the very moment we need to be presenting one unified front to our colleagues in the facility.
I believe that there are several phases that a manager needs to both demonstrate and lead their teams through on the journey to building one team. I will discuss each phase in turn but here they are, in order:
- Communication
- Transparency
- Vulnerability
- Trust
- Voice
As I fill in the details on each phase, I will link through to the individual thought but I am excited about the journey I will be taking in my own mind as I share my ideas on how best to accomplish a feat that all managers should be driving towards: How do I create an environment where we operate as ONE TEAM?
