high performing teams

Below is the most recent table showing unit-based team performance across Kaiser Permanente. Our National Agreement goal was to have 658 high-achieving teams by the end of 2011. With 1,097 teams rated at level 4 or 5 in early January, we have almost doubled our goal for the year – and more than tripled the number of high performing teams in place in January 2011.

As we come into the home stretch of 2011, we are on track to double the number of high- performing unit-based teams by December. It has us thinking about what structural elements exist in places we consistently find high-performing teams. We find that the facilities with the greatest number of high-performing teams have some consistent ingredients. Our recent visit to the Fresno Medical Center in Northern California demonstrated what facilities with lots of high-performing teams have in common.

Over the past couple of months, I have visited with frontline teams in Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, Los Angeles and Oakland. Without exception, I observed a broad cross-section of our unionized workers and their partners struggling for positive outcomes.

“Struggle” describes what is involved in unit-by-unit improvement work. Struggle can be positive. It’s necessary for people to transform, and not just make a few cosmetic or ephemeral changes.

Urgency!

This is the word that comes to mind as we begin the New Year. Merriam-Webster defines urgency as:

The quality or state of being urgent : insistence

A force or impulse that impels or constrains : urge 

We just returned from the beautiful Northwest Region, where we spent several days visiting with UBT co-leads, Performance Improvement staff, senior leadership and the UBT Resource Team.

With 79 unit-based teams, the Ohio region has made significant progress in becoming a high performance improvement organization. The challenge now, according to Belva Denmark-Tibbs, vice president of medical operations, is for all 79 UBTs to perform at the highest level. She recently caught up with LMP Senior VEEP Barb Grimm, and shared these thoughts.