Management Muse

EP2 Organizational Culture: Values Unmasked with Welela Tereffe

In this episode of Management Muse, we’re joined by Welela Tereffe, the Chief Medical Executive at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Welela talks about strengthening culture in a large organization and what a healthy work culture looks like. Welela also shares how the pandemic taught her the importance of narrative in bringing together people and improving work culture. Finally, Welela shares how COVID caused people to reprioritize their life’s goals and strengthen their gratitude practices. Welela explains that by openly and consistently communicating with employees in times of uncertainty, you build trust and strengthen an organization’s culture. Episode Highlights:Systems and processes sometimes erect unnecessary obstacles for employees.In times of uncertainty, managerial support is more important than ever.There’s immense cultural power in story and narrative.An intentional gratitude practice confers many benefits.Allow employees to correct from mistakes and well-intentioned errors.Timestamps: [1:41] How to impact the culture in a large organization.[2:20] The challenges to instilling a good culture in an organization.[5:05] The most surprising thing Welela learned about culture as a leader.[12:23] The benefits of verbalizing gratitude to one another in an organization.[14:42] The stigma around receiving mental health care, and how it could be overcome.[15:47] Anderson Cancer Center's 'Code Lavender' and 'Code Blue' for managing the mental health of teams.[23:30] Conflicts at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and how they deal with them even in a virtual setting.[28:41] What does it mean to go the extra mile for patients and employees? Welela talks about MD Anderson’s initiatives for employees and patients during the pandemic.[33:16] MD Anderson’s two-part wellness strategy: address all problems, make sure people feel cared for.[35:48] It takes more than four positive interactions to counteract a negative one—the impact of negativity bias.[39:18] Assume good intent; the vast majority of the people want to learn if they're missing the mark at work.[42:36] Welela explains why, after the COVID pandemic, MD Anderson’s employee engagement scores shot up.[44:55] Ramping up employee care and well-being at MD Anderson Cancer Center.[46:18] Key points we've learned from Welela today. Episode Quote from Welela Tereffe: “I think the first thing is to recognize that culture drives everything else, so you have to be thinking about it, talking about it, and moving it forward. You've heard the saying that culture eats strategy for lunch. It eats everything else for breakfast: employee engagement in hospitals, and patient experience. And so much of how we feel about going to work every day is a reflection of our shared norms and behaviors and our sense of engagement on mission. And that's all about culture.” About Welela Tereffe: Welela Tereffe, M.D., is the Chief Medical Executive at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She’s a graduate of Brown University, New York University Medical School, and Harvard University. Her medical specialization is in radiation oncology. Episode Resources:https://culsure.com/coaching/https://ondemandleadership.com/strategic-planning/Watch this podcast on YouTubehttps://managementmuse.com/

EP1 Decision Making: Know Who Shouldn’t Hold the Remote Control With Spencer Fraseur

Are you the kind of person who tries to optimize your decisions, but then often ends up regretting your choice because you might have missed something better? This means you are probably a maximizer. Or are you the kind of person who decides quickly and confidently, and then seldom looks back on decisions with regret? You are probably a satisficer. In this episode of Management Muse, we're joined by Spencer Fraseur, Cindi and Geoff’s nephew, and a doctoral candidate in management at the University of Texas at Arlington. In this episode, the Muse dives into the difference between maximizers and satisficers, and explores the work implications of each decision-making style. Episode Highlights:In organizations, maximizers may be most beneficial in the early stages of decision-making because they are thorough researchers.In organizations, satisficers may be most beneficial in the later stages of decision-making because they are excellent at putting the research down and selecting an option.While maximizers and satisficers can drive each other nuts, understanding the styles can help coworkers work more effectively together and better appreciate what each brings to the table.When selecting decision-makers on a particular topic, weigh the importance of the decision because the time spent researcher may be overkill for most decisions, where good enough would have, in fact, been good enough.Timestamps: [5:13] The three main factors that distinguish Maximizers and Satisficers.[8:36] An example of how a Satisficer and how a Maximizer view opportunities.[12:46] How a Maximizer’s extensive research and negotiation ability helps them optimize their decisions.[14:42] A Satisficer’s ability to speed up the decision-making process and stick with a choice.[22:44] How to speed up your decision-making process as a Maximizer.[23:26] How to make better decisions as a Satisficer.[26:19] How Maximizers and Satisficers can collectively make better decisions at work.[36:25] How a Maximizer might accidentally send a Satisficer the message that they don’t trust them.About Spencer Fraseur: Spencer James Fraseur is a doctoral candidate in management at the University of Texas at Arlington. His first book, The Irrational Mind, won the Royal Dragonfly Book Award in 2020. Episode Resources: Maximizing Versus Satisficing: Happiness Is a Matter of ChoiceThe Irrational Mind – Book by Spencer Fraseur available on Goodreads and Amazonhttps://culsure.com/product/organizational-benchmark/https://ondemandleadership.com/executive-team-building/https://spencerfraseur.com/Watch this podcast on YouTubehttps://managementmuse.com/ Reference: Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 83(5), 1178.