By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    December 22, 2021
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    April 6, 2022
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    August 30, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Why are Girls Being Abandoned and Battered ?
    August 20, 2012
    biopharma beat innovation and imagination
    BioPharma Beat: Imagination Is More Important Than Innovation
    August 5, 2014
    HIPAA Compliance Breaches Higher Than Ever: What Are You Doing About It?
    April 26, 2016
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Informal Influence in Healthcare: #NPSFLLI7
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > Informal Influence in Healthcare: #NPSFLLI7
BusinessPublic Health

Informal Influence in Healthcare: #NPSFLLI7

Tracy Granzyk
Tracy Granzyk
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

The 7th Annual National Patient Safety Foundation and Lucian Leape Institute Forum and Gala was held last week in Boston, gathering patient safety leaders together to share knowledge, recharge and re-energize their efforts in making care safer for healthcare professionals and patients. The opening keynote, Using Informal Influence to Drive Positive Change in Healthcare, was given by Andrew Knight, PhD.

The 7th Annual National Patient Safety Foundation and Lucian Leape Institute Forum and Gala was held last week in Boston, gathering patient safety leaders together to share knowledge, recharge and re-energize their efforts in making care safer for healthcare professionals and patients. The opening keynote, Using Informal Influence to Drive Positive Change in Healthcare, was given by Andrew Knight, PhD. Assistant Professor, Organizational Behavior, Olin Business School, Washington University. Knight has studied innovation implementation, leadership and teams in high risk environments, such as the surgical suite, ICUs, Emergency Departments and the military.

patient safetyKnight’s talk provided a number of take home tools for healthcare leaders to approach internal change with new power. He supplied a different lens through which to view company politics, one that allows for consideration of “the other” versus leaving a footprint on even your mother’s forehead to reach the top. He shared insight into the influence skills and the collaboration across teams necessary to move quality and safety initiatives forward. And, he stressed that data alone has not been the sole catalyst for the large-scale adoption of change needed to make the healthcare workplace as safe as we need it to be, using the tragic story of Ignac Semmelweis as evidence. Many are familiar with Semmelweis’ story–the doctor who discovered hand washing as a “cure” for the high number of deaths related to childbirth in Vienna clinics. His findings at the time went against the medical community’s thinking of the day, with physicians even taking offense at the request to wash their hands before caring for a patient. Unable to convince, or influence, others of his findings during his lifetime, Semmelweis was ultimately committed to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 47, and beaten by guards two weeks after his arrival. As the story goes, Semmelweis died shortly after from the same infection he was trying to protect patients from through hand washing. This simple, cost-effective step in the delivery of care at the desired 100% adoption rate still eludes health systems today.

Additional takeaways from Knight’s talk include the following. He is an excellent speaker and the topic couldn’t be more timely for healthcare.

More Read

Image
High Quality, Low Cost HealthCare – Video Interview Series: Dr David Arterburn and Decision Aids
4 Key Components Your Hospital Marketing Plan Could be Missing
How Hospital Marketing is Thinking Beyond the Ivory Tower
Bill McGuire on Wireless Health and Technology
The Nurse Practitioner vs. Doctor Debate
  • When it comes to navigating the waters of company politics, do you consider yourself an innocent lamb, a straight shooter, a survivalist, company politician or Machiavellian? Knight asked the group to respond via a text message survey. Results showed a normal distribution, the majority claiming to be survivalists with one Machiavellian in the group, prompting Knight to tongue-in-cheek, warn all to watch their backs.
  • A more realistic view of company politics was offered, such as: Instead of considering what tactics might be used to influence someone, walk a mile in their shoes to understand exactly how what you offer might affect another. Or, instead of kissing up to those in power, feel free to compliment those you admire!
  • Driving positive change is hard work! A 2005 study showed more than 50% of attempts to implement innovations end in failure, and that over $500 Billion is wasted annually on new technology implementations, according to Morgan Stanley
  • To implement change, groups outside one’s direct circle of influence need to buy-in, collaborate, support, and supply resources to be successful. Influence skills can help gain the buy-in!
  • Informal influence at all levels of the organization is what makes for the successful adoption of new initiatives.
  • A numeric equation to map the political landscape related to change was provided, quantifying the amount of current support for any given project, by any given stakeholder, indicating likelihood of success.
  • “For most change initiatives we need commitment. Compliance is rarely enough.”
TAGGED:patient safety
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

The Silent Epidemic: Nursing and Addiction

May 14, 2016
Image
BusinessPolicy & Law

Meeting the Deductible: Cancer Drugs, Insurance and a Happy Ending

July 29, 2014

#TEDMED Day Two: The Reinvention Continues

October 29, 2011

This Week In Diagnostics

October 12, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?