Transition Memo #2

To our Senior Leaders who have gotten us to this point:

With all the work that has been done on behalf of our respective organizations and the community, I want to first take a moment to say thank you.  The effort each of you has invested for us to be at this point is monumental, and everyone has played an important role.  Honestly, few people could possibly comprehend the amount of dedication, thought, intellect, conflict and serious lift that went into all you and our boards did.

Now that we are at the point where we have received approval, it is time to move toward execution.

Before moving forward, there are a couple of thoughts I have.  First, it should not be lost on each of us that we have been given a rare opportunity to dedicate ourselves and our focus to a broader mission of improving the health of our communities.  We have to perform financially, of course, but we have created something new, and we get the privilege of implementing it.  As long-time competitors, it will be easy for each of us to revert to thinking about Wellmont or Mountain States, or even to default to parochialism.  Wellmont and Mountain States are great organizations, and we should cherish what each system built.  But WE MUST MOVE FORWARD.  With every decision we make, it will be natural for people to assume one system or another has the upper hand, or one system benefits from a decision while the other does not.  We can’t avoid this, and it will happen.  I believe, however, that if we conduct ourselves in a certain way, we can minimize the effect of this, because the foundations of our decisions will be beyond reproach.  Each decision must be based on what is best for Ballad Health and what is best for our region.

Today, we are appointing the transition team, which will lead us toward closing and position us for the post-closing tasks that must be accomplished.  You have been appointed to the transition team.  Over the next several weeks, Bart and I will begin putting together the framework for an organizational structure and begin filling out the team for post-transition.  Your role during the transition is not predictive of the role you may be asked to fill post-transition, and your presence on the team, or any individual’s lack of presence, should not be construed as a decision with respect to the Ballad Health organizational structure.  The organizational structure will be definitive once it is complete.

The first and most important order of business as we enter the transition is the culture we want to establish.  As you know, culture is the defining factor for success, and it is important we be clear about the type of management culture we want to have.

The culture of Ballad Health begins today, and it begins with us.

So, as we begin to contemplate the leadership team, I want to share with you the expectations I will have for each member of our senior team, if asked to serve.  These expectations are important, as they will set the tone for the kind of organization we will become.

In our dealings with each other and with our fellow team members:

1. We will always act with respect for each other’s roles, and for each other as people who deserve to be treated with kindness, dignity and respect.  And we each will work each day to continue earning this treatment from others.

2. We will always lead with integrity.

3. We will always be transparent, never pursuing hidden agendas or objectives.

4. We will always seek to manage each other up.  As members of the Ballad Health leadership team, we should want each other to shine, and we should always seek to lift up our colleagues.  This must be earned each day, and we should always seek to strengthen our colleagues.  As it relates to managing up when it comes to decisions we make, each of us should always seek input and honest feedback from others, even when there is passionate disagreement.  But when decisions are made, the team will own the decision, support it, advocate for it, and help ensure successful implementation of it.  Each of us on the senior team, irrespective of our title, will offer important experience or perspective, and we each must seek to accept that perspective as we make important decisions.

5. We will always seek to ensure quality in our work.  If we can’t do it right, we will not do it.

6. We will trust each other.  BUT, in order to give trust, there are typically 3 judgments we each make as we determine whether someone is worthy of investing our trust into:

   1. First, is competence.  I commit to you that we will attempt to fill each role with individuals who are highly competent with the necessary skills for their role.  Each member of the senior team should continue to enhance his/her competency and skills so as to ensure the continued perception of competence.

   2. Second is the judgment of motives.  As I stated above with respect to being transparent with our agendas, if any one of us is viewed as having selfish motives, or motives that are undisclosed or not consistent with what has been established as the purpose of our effort, then we will not have earned trust.  We should each focus on serving the team, not ourselves or our own objectives.

   3. And third, we should deliver on any promises we make to each other or to our team.  It does not take much to lose trust based on lack of follow-through or demonstrable commitment to keep your word.

7. We should each be transparent with our personal values.  Your values are important, and will be an important consideration in what role you will fill on the team.  Your values will be part of why you may be asked to serve.  Don’t leave your values at home.  They are important.

8. We will hold each other accountable.  And I expect you will hold yourself accountable.  This means we should each expect to seek and offer feedback from and to each other, and we will accept constructive advice or criticism.

9. We will focus on the achievement of the collective goals for the organization.  We each want to look good, and we want to feel good about our contributions, no doubt.  But first, we must each focus on making the team look good by putting the genuine success of the team ahead of personal recognition.

10. We will genuinely celebrate each other’s victories and successes.   Each member of the team will have great success, and we will each need to make sure we recognize the contributions of others as we each make something great happen.  This must be genuine.

11. We will not cast blame on each other when there is a failure.  We will all own our successes and failures as a team, and we will be honest about how we each could have contributed differently as we evaluate the result.

12. We will not “manage down.”  By this, I mean we will never say something like, “Well, I agree this is a bad decision.  It was made by someone above me, and I agree it is not a good decision, but it is what we have to do.”  I want to be clear about something.  This is a terminable offense.  First, it undermines your own authority, and makes you look weak in the eyes of the person you are dealing with.  And second, it is perhaps the most disrespectful thing you can do to your colleagues.  It won’t be tolerated if it happens.  We function as a team.  We share our perspectives, make sure our voice is heard, and then we work as a team to implement decisions.

13. We will not lie, or misrepresent ourselves to each other, to our team members, physicians, vendors or any stakeholder.

14. We will not undermine each other or our colleagues in the conduct of our work.  Rather, we will do all we can to support each other.

15. We will avoid unconstructive criticism about our team, our organization, our board or our mission.  You are always encouraged to share your thoughts about how to make Ballad Health a better organization, but our leadership team will refrain from petty criticism.

16. We will not permit Mountain States or Wellmont to creep into our culture…we will be Ballad Health!

My commitment to our senior team:

1. I will support you with my words and actions.  If you fail, I will not let you fail alone. I will own your failure with you, particularly if you are forthcoming and introspective about what you learned.

2. I will hold you accountable, just as I will hold myself accountable.

3. I will be respectful of you, ensure you have the opportunity to be heard, and while I may disagree with you, I will always be transparent with my thoughts.

4. I will be guided by what is best for our health system and community, and I will strive for my decisions and positions to be predictable.

5. I will always seek to support you professionally, help you enhance your skills, and advance when opportunities present themselves.  If I’ve agreed to put you on our team, then I WANT you to be successful.

6. I will always be open to your criticism, and will foster an environment where you can share your thoughts appropriately without fear of retribution.

7. I will always try to bring a sense of humor and levity to our workplace, and I expect you to do the same.  Life is too short to take ourselves too seriously.

8. I will advocate enthusiastically for decisions our board has made, and will fiercely defend our board members when they take actions that are controversial or difficult. I expect our management team to do the same.

9. I will not shy away from making difficult decisions.  In each case, I will always seek input from the team, and will expect you to be forthright with your advice.

10. I will always make myself available to offer advice, listen to your concerns or just talk from time to time, so we can better know each other.

These are pretty basic things, but they are important to establishing our culture.  We should each strive to bring positivity to Ballad Health. People will be watching us, and we have little room for error.  From this moment forward, we really must consider how our actions are viewed in the context of Ballad Health.  Many will want us to fail, and others will want to find divisions between Wellmont and Mountain States.  We are the ones who will either help them find success in tearing down the organization, or we will be the ones who achieve the vision we have established.  My perspective is that our actions going forward are both within our control, and ultimately will be determinative with respect to successful establishment of a winning culture.

I know this is long, but to me, it is important I be transparent with you about my hopes for the team we will be assembling.

Thank you,

Alan Levine

Executive Chair/President Designate

Ballad Health