Blog — Michael J. Zappa, MD, FACEP

Joy in Leaders = Joy in Work

By Dr. Michael J. Zappa

Focusing on joy, especially in work, is guiding momentum. It has my attention as I study it, it is clear to me that the mindset and habits are exactly what great leaders have and do and what developing leaders should concentrate on.

It is very tempting for any leader, especially those in healthcare, to focus on what’s wrong, what needs to be fixed. It’s time to view the situation through a different lens…we need to focus on the meaning and purpose of our work. This is a distinct advantage for those of us in healthcare, our mission is making peoples lives better. Joy is not in things, it is in US. IHI describes pride in workmanship as a fundamental right; having the connection to meaning and purpose promotes such pride and is the basis of joy.

Leadership DevelopmentMichael J. Zappa, MD, FACEPApril 25, 2019joy, leaders, work balance, inspiration

Recap of Becker's Panel Discussion on April 4

By Dr. Michael J. Zappa

On April 4th, I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion with Dennis Jolley, Vi-Anne Antrum, and Alan Lieber centering around the challenge of being a comprehensive hospital system vs one that is specialty focused. Alexis Reynolds did a wonderful job moderating a very thought provoking discussion.

It is no surprise that there is not a simple direct answer; the most accurate answer is it depends. It depends on your location, your competition, your resources, and degree of integration.

Influencing Your Team: 10 Leadership Traits that Drive the Ability to Influence Teams

By Dr. Michael J. Zappa

There is not a single leader who will not publicly state that he/she could not do their job without their them. However, as humans, I’d bet that most of them, in a moment of frustration ,have thought “it would be easier if I just did it myself.” Why? Because influencing people is a gradual process, not simply a decision with immediate results.

Accepting the reality that no matter how brilliant or hard-working you are, you will always need your team which means you need to learn how to influence them.

Master the following attributes and you will be well on your way.

Becker's 10th Annual Meeting Speaker Series: 3 Questions with Michael Zappa, President of Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital

(Re-posted from Becker’s Hospital Review, published March 13, 2019.)

Michael Zappa, MD, FACEP, serves as President of Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital and Associate Chief Medical Officer of Acute Care Services for Cape Fear Valley Health System.

On April 4th, Dr, Zappa will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.

Developing leaders must navigate the hallway of hell

Enhancing our own leadership development along with the novice and advanced leaders on our teams is mission critical in healthcare today. The environment that we are challenged to be successful in is very harsh — increasing the cost of technology and pharmaceuticals, the ever increasing cost of labor, on top of declining reimbursement.

The formula for success appears simple enough, but the challenge (as always) is the execution. Clearly, educating leaders and enhancing their skills will yield great outcomes; yet the material that must be mastered is not intuitive, and the skills must be practiced over and over to be mastered.