Leadership Insights

There’s a radio talk show host who’s known to use a simple phrase that carries a lot of heft. “Words mean things,” he often says in response to those who take seemingly plain words and interpret them in creative ways. He’s right in a way – words do mean things. They must have some common, easily understandable meaning in order for us to communicate clearly with one another. But the English language is nuanced, and there are some – politicians, lawyers, comedians and advertisers come to mind – whose job it is to parse the language and amplify (sometimes exploit) the nuances to make their points. Words do mean things, but they may not mean the same things to everyone.

This is one of the reasons it’s so important for organizations to write mission, vision and values statements with as much clarity as possible. Show me a list of values written by an organization’s attorneys, and I’ll show you an organization that’s confused. Values must be written from the gut – by the people who can’t separate their own identity from that of the company. They’re the ones who know what the organization was meant to be, what it is and what it hopes to be.

Thankfully such is the case with Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy wrote a list of values that have words that are quite common. They aren’t unique to Mercy or Catholic health care or even non-secular health care. Dignity, Service, Stewardship, Justice and Excellence could be the values of any organization – even those outside of health care. But they have clarity. They mean things.

I would ask you to think about one of those values in particular. Excellence in Mercy’s tradition is defined as giving “only the best for those entrusted to our care.” From a leadership perspective, the challenging thing about excellence is that it can’t be ordered. We can require people to be satisfactory, and we can correct people or in rare and extreme cases even dismiss people if they’re not satisfactory. But no one can make someone else be excellent. That is their choice. As a leader in this organization, the best I can hope to do is to inspire or influence others to choose to be excellent, but that’s where my influence ends and their autonomy takes over in full.

As you go about your busy workday at Mercy, I’d like to know what inspires you to choose to be excellent? What pushes you in the opposite direction toward mediocrity? I’m interested in your thoughts. Please email me at alan.scarrow@mercy.net.