Collaboration is Key to Addressing Healthcare Solutions

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Sandra Powell-Elliott, Hackensack Meridian Health's Vice President of Life Sciences and Innovation, to discuss the importance of collaboration in addressing healthcare solutions.

12/6/18 #2180

Excerpt:

"We are pleased to welcome Sandra Powell-Elliott, Vice President, Life Sciences and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health. Good to see you. Hi, good to see you! This is a twofer. This is part of our Women in Leadership series. Yes. Great women who happen to be leaders. And also the Future of Healthcare, particularly the focus on innovation? Mm hmm. Right? Yeah. By the way, where did you learn to be a great leader? Oh my God. Actually from my father. My father was a great leader. How so? He listened to people, and he collaborated a lot with the folks that he worked with. It's interesting you talk about collaboration, because you argue that innovation, quote, "is about collaboration"? Absolutely. And then you say that you believe strongly, from your professional experience, that women are better at collaborating, therefore engaged in innovation Absolutely. ...than men? Humbly, I will give you that. And... please make the case. [laughter] As I argue with you? As we... Well, absolutely. You know. ...talk about collaboration? [laughter] What do you got? I think women are very good at collaborating, because they're very... they're used to collaborating, because it's... it requires a lot of, number one, focus on a core problem, and then bringing elements together of people and pieces of problem-solving elements together to solve that problem. And sometimes men are not as comfortable bringing a lot of people to solve the problem, and more focused in on being the person, or the key, to solving that problem. I'm sorry. Are you talking about men in general? Men in general. Or men sitting across from you right now? No. Men in general. Men in general. I want to clarify this. Yes. So you say men, sometimes, disproportionately... Sometimes. ...come in and say, "Here's the problem, here's what we're gonna do, let's fix it." Yes. Yeah. That's not collaboration? That's not collaboration. Isn't that leadership? Oh, that's not necessarily leadership. No. And leadership is more about helping people get to core goals and core outcomes. Sometimes that takes a lot of time the way you describe it? It takes a lot of... No? It does take a lot of time. But the question is what's most important? Getting to the goal? Or... and making sure that people have the skills to get to the next goal the next time? Hmm. Or is it about getting to the goal quickly? And so the how is just as important as the what. By the way, you know I'm playing Devil's Advocate? I know you are. And I agree with everything you're saying. Thank you. [laughter] That's good! Women? Yes. STEM. Science, technology, engineering, math? Yes. Talk about that whole piece. You know, it's interesting, because I'm..."