Leadership Journeys: Patricia Johnson of Woman’s Hospital on the Power of Yes
Patricia Johnson has been in leadership positions since 1979. She knows her strengths and abilities. But she had to call upon everything she knew to meet the challenge of receiving women and children evacuated from New Orleans during Katrina.“We had a census in the NICU on the Monday after Katrina of 53; it was 108 by Friday,” says Johnson, who was senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge then. “I had never seen anything like that in my life. It was such a catastrophic situation; it really challenged me to prioritize as I had to set up new units overnight with staff and equipment and supplies. It was life-changing.”She stayed at work for four days and continued to put in extended hours for weeks in the aftermath. The lessons she learned from it, she says, were lifelong.
Be Ready for Anything
Johnson says one of the reasons the hospital was able to react so effectively was the emphasis it puts on preparation for emergencies. “Whether you do a table-top drill or an actual drill where you move patients, it’s all about the preparation,” she says. In fact, earlier in 2005 the NICU had done a physical drill that highlighted many shortcomings in its emergency plan. “When we got the influx, we knew we could create another NICU quickly, setting it up overnight,” she says.Johnson says she’s proud of the hospital’s response to Katrina and has since then continued to emphasize preparation for anything unexpected. She’s also since presented at a national conference about emergency response, talking about the how being ready for anything can keep people moving and helping in a crisis.
Let Your Mission Guide You
Johnson was faced with many hard decisions during and after the hurricane. Having a strong mission made it easier to make those decisions, she says. “Our mission was the improve the health of women and infants,” she says — which sometimes meant they had to say no to other people who needed help, such as evacuees from nursing homes. And while that was hard, it was necessary.Johnson stayed at the hospital for four days when the storm hit, and then it was time to prepare for evacuees. While finding places for evacuated patients was the first priority, Johnson also worked with HR to set up an emergency hiring process to bring on extra nurses — some of whom had also been evacuated to Baton Rouge. She went on radio and TV to call for nurses who were licensed in Louisiana, interviewed them on a Saturday and Sunday, and they went to work on Monday, all to uphold the hospital’s mission of helping women and infants .Through it all, Johnson says it was important to her to stay on site. “We stayed here. We didn’t leave; we made the rounds. We printed updates and walked around to distribute it.” Health care is all about building relationships with patients, but being on the front lines in such dire circumstances made that mandate even more important.When it was all over, Johnson says she and the staff felt a great sense of accomplishment and teamwork. They had had to make tough decisions, often without time to think, and came out of it as a stronger team. “I really got to know a lot of front-line staff I had never interacted with,” she says. “It was so rewarding to work with everybody. We’ve been closer ever since then. The relationships we made have been lifelong.”
Say Yes When You Can
Johnson says that through her career, she’s learned that good leaders need the basics, such as strong communication and collaboration skills. But in her experience, leadership is often really about courage, and not just for dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes. “You have to be willing to take a risk or a stand,” she says. She’s taken inspiration from Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In,” and says people need to have courage to say yes to opportunities that come their way, even if they’re not initially comfortable with them.“You have to say yes when given opportunity — you have to be willing to be at the table,” she says. “That’s part of my philosophy. Say yes when you have the opportunity, even when it’s not comfortable to do so.”You also have to take care of yourself, so you can take advantage of those opportunities. “I’ve tried to focus on my career as a marathon, not a sprint, and I encourage others to do so too,” she says. “You have to have stamina — particularly in health care, but in all leadership positions.”Looking for ways to develop leaders at your organization? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
