How do you convince a burned-out team to feel the fire in their belly again? Chris Hause knew that the employees she inherited at Kaiser Permanente didn’t need pretty PowerPoint presentations—they needed authentic leadership. Through time-tested best practices and rock-solid leadership, Hause helped her team regain their spark and guided Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i to its highest membership growth yet.
How she turned things around:
Face challenges head on. When I started my job in 2011, I had to quickly sum up the deficiencies and deal with them honestly. Regular communication with staff—informing them of both the good news and bad, and how the organization is addressing the challenges—goes a long way toward making employees feel trusted and secure in knowing they are unlikely to be hit with unpleasant surprises. People can make it through dark times if they see a way to get to the light.
On earning respect:
You have to model the traits you want to see in others. For me, that meant showing the team that they truly were respected and valued. They regained their pride in the organization, our values and our leadership. Customers sensed this change in attitude and became more willing to do business with us.
On building trust:
My approach was to show employees that I cared about them and the environment they work in. It was low-hanging fruit—I installed a coffee machine, bought tea and hot chocolate and provided filtered water. I had several areas painted and buckling carpet remediated. I then started to get to know them beyond the workplace, making regular rounds and just sitting and talking story with them.
The more I focused on building relationships, the more effective I was in getting my messages across to the team and helping them understand our challenges. While it took persistence and patience, the team started to trust that I was committed to staying on my mission and that my efforts to reward and course-correct were being done in a thoughtful way.
On staying level-headed:
Don’t get emotional about potential roadblocks or challenges. Everyone is looking to you for leadership, and if you get upset, the team can start to panic. A grounded leader stays calm and helps navigate the team through rough waters.
On women in the workplace:
I believe that women leaders tend to be more participative and collaborative and less transactional and authoritative. These differences allowed me to build rapport with my team more quickly. I am incredibly fortunate that I work in an industry that has many women leaders and in which there tends to be more equality in the workplace.
Words to live by:
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success.” —Henry Ford
