For the past two decades, Human Resource leaders have been playing defense – focusing on policies, procedures and administrative tasks to help mitigate risk and protect the status quo – rather than playing offense with a primary focus on creating value and enabling the advancement of an organization. With the marketplace changing so fast and a demographic shift in full bloom, it’s time for HR leaders to shift their thinking from being transactional to being more strategic. 

The objective we face in healthcare today is: How do we create a workforce to mirror the population we serve and deliver more culturally competent care? How do we develop a relationship and engage a community to support our efforts? How do we create a bigger more sustainable impact than a single organization could create on its own?

It's the perfect time to reflect on where opportunities were not maximized in 2014 and how to learn and grow in the New Year.

High anxiety, defensive behaviors, and emotional blame are all common reactions to the word "feedback." Yet, if we are striving for excellence, how do we improve and make real time corrections if we are not open to continuous learning?

Prevalent in modern education is the cognitive theory, based on Gestalt psychology, that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Twenty-first century leadership requires this same kind of thinking. We need individuals, or groups, coming together to create something bigger than they could create on their own; bringing groups together and leveraging their collective knowledge, relationships and resources for bigger and better mutual outcomes That is, we need collaborative leadership that adds up to more than the sum of its parts.