For nearly two dozen General Electric professionals who took classes at Harvard Medical School in November, study was far removed from a typical day at the office. They operated on (simulated) patients, shadowed health professionals serving homeless people, evaluated an ethical dilemma, and even grabbed a hula hoop during an activity break.
“You are taken out of your normal context and allowed to reframe your thinking on a particular topic,” said Raghu Krishnamoorthy, vice president of human resources for GE Healthcare, referring to one of the company’s approaches to creating transformational leadership experiences. When we learn about courage, we go to Normandy,” he said. “When we learn about speed, we go to Silicon Valley.”
I think the heart, for me, is the appreciation of the complexity of what we are dealing with in health care, the fact that there are multiple truths in this area, depending on who’s the stakeholder. This requires an ongoing, evolutionary conversation across many parties. It’s not simple.
Raghu Krishnamoorthy
Vice President, Human Resources, GE Healthcare (Title at time of program)