Areas of Expertise
If you heard someone call Margo Karsten a positive deviant, you might think she'd
take some measure of offense.
Not a chance.
Positive deviance—the theory that in every community there is a group experiencing
uncommon success without having any material or knowledge advantages—is something
Margo has always embraced. "I think I was just born this way," she says. "As a leader, at
every engagement, I always went in looking for what was good in an organization. Even
in a dark place, there's some light. I look for that light—that good—and try to extend it
across the culture of the hospital."
She's been a leader at all levels—CEO/President, COO/VP, CNO, director—in several
hospitals, and at every one her focus on working with people—leading them, listening to
them—instead of commanding them has paid off, both personally and for the
organization. "It's so rewarding to bring everyone in the room and unleash their
creativity. You ask them to make a difference, and they do—but you have to invite them
in." And in every case, that difference could be measured: in ROI, improved patient
outcomes, and employee satisfaction. "It's not the technical work," she says. "Everyone
can do that. The important thing is building trust, and understanding people."
That urge to understand people is what drove Margo to earn a Ph. D. in Human
Resource/Organizational Development at Colorado State University (she has her Master's
in Nursing Administration from the University of New Mexico, and her BSN from the
University of Minnesota). Her soaring energy inspires the people she works with, and her
sincerity ensures that when she says "All of us add equal value. Titles are not important,"
people believe her, and trust her, and feel free to make suggestions, think of creative
solutions, and collaborate to achieve greater success than they've known. "Our job as
leaders is to tap into everyone's strengths, so they can be expressed," she says.
The result is a hospital staffed by a team of caring and dedicated employees, one where
patients and families are treated with respect, and one where the organization's finances
run in the black. Now that is positive deviance.
Margo lives in Colorado.
Areas of Focus:
- Culture
- Leadership development at all levels
- Patient safety and quality
- Productivity and staffing
- Pursuing excellence: Magnet® and Malcolm Baldrige®
E-mail Margo A. Karsten
|
