Time to Dream

Walk like a Jayhawk may not have the same ring to it as Walk This Way by Aerosmith...but, it is the upbeat premise behind a wave of change that is taking hold at the University of Kansas Medical Center's Administration division. The burning desire among those leading the charge is to give each employee a direction, tools they know well and a reason to walk with a purpose.

Last June, Steffani Webb, KUMC's vice chancellor of Administration brought The Carden Group inside the walls of the organization to help establish a world-class culture.

"KUMC is on journey to excellence," said Webb. "Effective management and an engaged workforce are key to achieving the strategic goals we have set for our organization."

As The Carden Group listened and learned about the people whom we were committed to helping improve, we found much that was stellar and worthy of repeating. We also found room for opportunity and growth.

A vision was established and a plan was designed. Once everyone was on board the bus - the engine sprang to life.

By September, Chad Carden and several TCG inreach experts, including Adam Carroll, Rick Leffke, BJ Windhorst and others brought energy and excitement to the learning sessions. They helped employees hone their skills through tactics like speed dating, where employees rapidly practice new skills with a variety of colleagues, and they sometimes took to standing on chairs to garner attention.

"That first day I had a mix of people," said Carroll. "There were some studentsthere to learn and apply, and some tourists who were just checking things out, and a few inmates who were there because they had to be."

In the last seven months, the changes made are evident and the project continues to focus on excellence, positivity and creating energy inside the organization.

"Results thus far are simply remarkable," said Webb. "There is already a noticeable improvement in the work environment, in morale, and in performance.  In short, this is bringing about a major change in our culture."

As different employees were introduced to the program and skills and knowledge were transferred during their days of learning, responses were overwhelmingly positive. These are a few:

• I came to this with a healthy dose of skepticism. Now I look forward to the sea of change that this could bring about.
• New look at things that I thought I had down cold.
• This is GREAT! Motivating, fun, innovative. I will be a better employee because of this!
• This is an excellent program that has opened my eyes to many things. I feel that what I have learned can help me not only in the office, but in my personal life as well.
• This training has more practical tools than any other training I have ever attended.
• Now we're moving forward -- and it is time to dream. 

An article in KU Med's Center eXpress from last November says The Jayhawk Way emphasizes effective communication, clear expectations, effective meetings, appreciation and motivation. These principles fall in line with the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program, a world-renowned framework for improving the way organizations function.

Webb describes The Carden Group as partners that have become friends and advisors.

• They are GOOD -- exceptionally good -- at what they do.  And yet they continue to raise the bar for themselves. It is inspiring to watch them model their philosophy of "continuous, never-ending improvement".
• They  really care.  They take this very seriously and very personally.  They get to know our people and our organization so well that they actually become "one of us".    
• They are big on execution, not theory.  So they deliver effective, practical, and easily applicable "tools".
• They deliver results, starting immediately.  There is zero lag time -- the needle begins to move from the very beginning of the very first session.

"We are dedicated to continuous and never-ending improvement for our clients," said Carden. "The Jayhawk Way is our method to build excellence inside KU Med. The University is fired up and well on their way to amazing results."