When University of Mississippi Medical Center leaders asked employees face-to-face their feelings on communication and respect on campus, they got honest feedback. Their conversations were part of Leadership Rounds, a key element of UMMC's journey to becoming a high-reliability organization. More than 100 Medical Center executives, physicians, managers and administrators fanned out across campus shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday. They met employees where they were, be it at labor and delivery in Wiser Hospital or on a shuttle bus circling the stadium parking lot. “What does respect mean to you in the workplace? How do you feel disrespected?” Shannon Wentz, administrator to Chief Medical Officer Michael Henderson, asked those riding the bus piloted by Charles “Coach” Ward. One employee said she felt disrespected when she and her supervisor met confidentially, yet she later discovered some of her coworkers knew details of the conversation. “You should be able to talk to your supervisor and it not go back to everybody else,” she said. Sometimes, lack of respect in the workplace can be conveyed in a more subtle way. “Attitude,” said April Thornton, a pediatric neurology scheduler. |