Today I attended a professional panel focused on health care finance where we had 4 professionals talk to us about their careers and current policies. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was when Dr. Bonica asked the Assistant VP of Finance about the stigma that so many people who work in finance are stuck behind their computers crunching numbers all day. I really didn't anticipate that her response would be that this is not the case, and the biggest part of her job is building relationships. Another woman who worked in insurance and the CEO of a small critical access hospital both agreed that this skill is essential to their job. The CEO came from a background of law enforcement and said that the reason he was an effective hospital CEO was because of emotional intelligence and his ability to connect with people.
This made me think back to my job and the skills that it has instilled in me. When asked in my job interview why I thought I would be good for the promotion my answer was that I had built extremely strong relationships both with my peers, my supervisor, and with those who I oversee. What drew me to my current position was how tight knit of a group we are. There are smaller subgroups in my position, grouped by what sports track you are on. And when I was answering why I would be successful at being a program coordinator I was able to speak to how good of relationships I have within my organization. I speak openly with my supervisor most days that I work. He has been there for me to rely on for any support and I have been there for him to keep day to day operations running smoothly. We often have bounced ideas off of each other for ways to improve our program or how to better train our officials. My sports have had the fewest amount of issues the entire year and I am certain that is because of how well my colleagues and I work together. I think that knowing how to build relationships is a hard skill to teach but I am very fortunate enough to be in an environment that has fostered such good connections in my life. The connections I have make my work more efficient and enjoyable.
The idea that your character and EQ may be more important than your IQ is an idea that we have been discussing all semester. Hearing that from professionals in the health care industry really reinforced that idea for me.
I had to ask her that question because I know so many HMP students think jobs in the finance department are just sitting behind a desk crunching numbers. You have to be able to crunch numbers, but most of the real work is understanding your customers' needs.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did because I have thoroughly enjoyed finance and will admit that this stigma has concerned me about actually pursuing it. But I definitely am going to make sure I am exposed to it this summer.
DeleteYou should check out the next HLF podcast with Rich Silveria, the CFO of BMC. He says a lot of the same things.
DeleteI agree with how relationships are so effective in the workplace. When I was in my interview for my internship they asked me the same question on "what are your strengths in the workplace?" I responded by saying that I get along with everyone and that I work well with a team. At that time I didn't realize how important that quality actually is, especially in the health care field.
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