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In The Presence of Grace
Interview with Andrea Gilbert,
An Appreciative Thought and Action Leader
By Ferne Kuhn
I first met Andi Gilbert when we served
on the board of a Philadelphia based non-profit organization.
From the outset I was struck by her ability to listen
carefully to others, to contribute to the conversation
in a value-added way, to synthesize the conversation
and make recommendations for action in a timely and
articulate manner. She successfully assumed leadership
roles in areas where she did not necessarily have expertise,
but was clearly committed to achieving the goals she
and others had agreed to. In another context, when her
administrative assistant at the hospital (which was
in the midst of closing its doors forever) said, "I'm
able to get through this because I have such a wonderful
leader," I knew that Andi was someone special.
Throughout our conversations Andi revealed
great clarity about her role and the particular gifts
she brings as the leader of a Main Line Health, Bryn
Mawr Hospital, a major regional hospital. The hospital,
established in 1893, employs approximately 1200 staff
and is a full service, community, acute-care, teaching
hospital with 283 licensed beds. In speaking about bringing
out the best in people and organizations, Andi spoke
about her role as broker and facilitator of high engagement
processes. She intentionally brings together multiple
constituent groups such as physicians, nurses, and administrators;
helps them figure out their mutual interests; and then
aligns those interests to achieve the hospital's vision
and mission. She recognizes that in many ways she has
little control over the actions of the various stakeholders
in her world, but she can provide the processes necessary
to work toward the desired outcome. While bringing people
together in a participatory process, and working to
get multiple and sometimes conflicting needs satisfied,
she is also very honest about what can and cannot be
done, and what they can and can't control from inside
the institution.
Andi believes that the key to success
is building one-on-one relationships. She knows it is
important to do a lot of fact finding. She does that
by meeting with people, understanding their needs, enabling
them to become more receptive to hearing from others
and engaging in compromise. She sees group meetings
as the place to set the tone and to communicate information.
A lot of her work is a balancing act, brokering the
needs of various stakeholders within the hospital and
community, while keeping her eye on the hospital's mission
and vision. She has learned over the years that while
it is important to mobilize people to be involved and
to be part of a decision making process, that, "It
cannot be entirely democratic, because people want leadership."
Along with that realization comes having humility, and
defining and articulating a vision in concert with others.
A defining highpoint and yet very painful
process for Andi was the closing of City Avenue Hospital
in Philadelphia. The hospital had gone through a number
of experiences of being acquired by other health care
organizations. After trying for a year-and-a-half to
keep its doors open and provide its much-needed services
to the local community, the hospital's management and
owners realized it was not possible. Andi had a leading
role in bringing the medical staff together and engaging
them in the process of transitioning services, patients,
and staff to other hospitals, and closing the hospital
down completely. To fully understand the importance
of this is to know that during the year-and-a-half of
stabilizing the operations following a debilitating
bankruptcy, the hospital under Andi's leadership was
able to reduce its losses by over 50%. Andi accomplished
this by orchestrating political and medical staff support
for a bold restructuring and service realignment strategy.
Creating a partnership with the medical
staff and actively engaging them in the transition process
helped assure the best outcome for all concerned. Many
of the staff found excellent opportunities in sister
hospitals, and acknowledged the psychological, emotional,
and concrete benefits resulting from this kind of appreciative
leadership. There was little anger at the end, but there
was sadness. The partnering process made all the difference.
In addition to ongoing support from her senior management,
Andi was given public recognition for the way in which
she oversaw the transition and closing of the hospital.
"We were all in this together. Even though we closed,
we think you are great!"
As I listened to Andi's story I realized
that her success in the closing of a hospital was closely
tied to her beliefs about change. She is an optimist
and sees each new situation as an opportunity to learn
something new. She does all she can to learn about new
situations, whether they are mergers and acquisitions
or other major changes, and figures out how to get people
and the organization through the change. She sees it
as her responsibility to facilitate and to help preserve
and let go. While it was tough personally to go through
the loss of the hospital and experience all the "stages
of death and dying," she realized how real those
emotions were for others, yet "I don't belabor
things." She acknowledges that she moved through
the stages more quickly than others do and then set
about getting others in the change process moving forward.
When Andi came to Main Line Hospitals'
Bryn Mawr campus, the hospital was experiencing ambiguous
leadership and a real identity crisis. Andi's approach
was to get to know and understand the organization by
meeting with and talking to people at every level. She
believes it is important to understand the nature of
their work and to let them know they are valued and
respected for what they do. She is also certain about
the need to set clear expectations so people understand
where they fit and how they can contribute. "Little
messages mean a lot," so Andi meets people in their
offices knowing they will be more comfortable on their
own turf, rather than being called into the boss' office.
She believes that leadership starts with
your own value system. It's who you are. As one who
has always felt valued and well regarded, she knows
the importance of conveying respect and regard for others
Andi doesn't see herself as a great visionary. "I
don't have a vast imagination and vision, so I pull
people together and then create a vision. Is this picture
exciting? Is it Realistic? Will it energize others?
My talent lies in creating and facilitating a process
ending in concrete plans. As the new leader of this
hospital all my actions are under a microscope and I
am learning how to be in that place and in this role.
I stay abreast of what's happening in the world and
tap into people who have good ideas and a vested interest
in what we do-even people outside healthcare. It's important
to have group conversations and appreciate the issues
on a whole other level." She believes it is critical
for leaders to be conscious of broadening their range
and depth when seeking new ideas. Too often they rely
on their peers rather than seek ideas from other parts
of their systems to help craft the organization's vision.
When speaking about positive images, the
spirit of inquiry, hope and inspiration, Andi stated
passionately that her whole orientation is around being
positive and creating hopeful images of the future.
It's part of being an optimist: "It's who I am
and how I am in the world." She said, "Inquiry
is what I do." This is from the stories Andi tells
about her experiences as a leader. She uses inquiry
about people and processes to crystallize what she needs
to know, synthesizes this data, and takes action. It's
her modus operandi.
"Hope is essential. As a leader
I have to create hope by making people feel that they
are part of and fully invested in the process."
She spoke of seeing an inspirational leader as one who
pulls it all together, wraps it all up, and articulates
a clear vision and hope for the future. She has come
to understand how important this approach is, and how
responsive people have been when offered positive images
of the future. On her leadership journey she had has
come to appreciate that the buck stops with the leader.
She has learned the things she needs to do as a leader
and what leadership means to other people. "People
want to live and work in a democratic environment, they
also want a leader to make the most of their collective
wisdom and lead the way to achieving their vision and
goals."
Andrea Gilbert's advice to other leaders
is to touch people's lives, to deal with them with respect
and with humility. In addition to the rewards of leadership,
she also experiences the burden of having others depend
on her. She has learned to lead incrementally through
the process of leading. She knows one cannot be naïve.
" It's never a slam dunk, one always has to look
twice."
. . . . .
ANDREA
GILBERT | Andrea Gilbert is a Senior
Vice President of Operations for Main Line Hospitals'
Bryn Mawr Campus, a division of Jefferson Health System.
Prior to assuming this role she was the Chief Executive
Officer of City Avenue Hospital, part of the Tenant
Health System. She holds a MHS degree in Health Care
Administration and Planning from Johns Hopkins School
of Public Health.
FERNE F. KUHN
| Ferne F. Kuhn, M.Ed., is founder and principal of
The Kuhn Consulting Group (KCG). Ferne has worked in
a variety of organizations including small businesses,
large banking and financial services companies, and
health care organizations. She has a broad background
designing, implementing and facilitating organization-wide
change efforts, all with a clear focus on outcome and
building client capacity.
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