Quoteworthy
What teaming means to me is creating a learning environment where you can make mistakes, pick yourself back up and keep trying to get better. It’s the ability for a group of people to tackle a problem together in a safe-to-fail environment.
Tracey Nixon

Most Recent
Recognize Your Staff at Ground Level

Effective recognition is key to engaging your team in the increasingly tough work we ask them to do. Luckily, we have an expert to guide us. HR’s senior director of employee experience, Christian Sherwood shares how you can better recognize your team – starting today.

The Complete Clinician Model Toolkit

Effective relationships are key to creating a safe and supportive environment for clinicians and patients alike. Use this toolkit to explore how to build and integrate relationship management skills into your daily work.

Feedback is a Gift: Making the Most of WellCheck Survey Results

Chris Fairbank, director of organizational development, gives practical advice for using feedback from the Hospitals and Clinics WellCheck survey as a springboard for dialogue and growth, rather than a yardstick of personal leadership.

Learning to Lead & Leading to Learn

Although her employees are scattered across multiple University of Utah Health locations, Jessica Rivera, director of environmental services for community clinics, maintains a tight-knit team that works and learns together. To strengthen that bond, Rivera has focused on five leadership lessons spanning value improvement, institutional standards, and good old-fashioned trust.

My Name Is Tom, and This Is My Patient Experience

Taped on the wall above my head was a sign that read, “My name is Tom.” As a cardiothoracic surgeon, making the transition from doctor to patient was humbling. I would like to share with you what the experience has taught me, and how it has changed the way I practice medicine.

Translating Passion into Individual and System Impact

Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician Brett Einerson is passionate about reducing uncertainty for women and their families and excited to improve health care on a grander scale. Here's the important part: He knows how to do it. Learn how he translates passion into team-based action.

Build Trust By Spending Time

Every productive relationship begins with trust, and trust rests on creating positive connections with people. How do you connect with those on your team? How do you understand their concerns? U of U Health's all-star connector Alison Flynn Gaffney experiments with a new approach.

This Is What I See, What Do You See?

Continually speaking up is one of the most challenging things an employee does, and making it safe to speak up takes consistent supportive leadership. Members of the patient support services team share how to empower employees to highlight issues and provide solutions.

More Than One Way to Say Thanks: How the Danish Concept of Hygge Can Help in Winter and in Work

Rewarding staff might seem overwhelming amid all the responsibilities that come with being a leader. Yet, we know it has a significant effect on morale and retention. HR’s director of communication and recognition Christian Sherwood suggests a layered approach to show your appreciation that won’t necessarily hit your bottom line.

Find the Right Words to Communicate Flexibility

Our work lives are changing as some of our homes once again become schools. The Effective Communicator reached out to HR experts Christian Sherwood and Rosemary Norton for advice about how managers can talk with their teams about being flexible with where, how, and when we work.

How To Put WellCheck Feedback to Work (For You and Your Team)

Feedback is a gift—even when it doesn’t feel like it. Senior Director of Care Navigation Stacy Silwany teams up with Organizational Development’s Michael Danielson to share how Care Navigation uses WellCheck survey data to learn from and engage employees in making the workplace better.

Five Ways to Practice Trauma-informed Leadership

We are surrounded by trauma—from patients, to coworkers, to our own experiences. University of Utah Health Madsen family practice leaders share how we recognize and normalize employees’ trauma experiences so they can continue to heal and provide quality care.