Joanne Handy, KILP-1, President and CEO, Visiting Nurse Association of Boston.
This article was originally published in the January 2003 issue of the KFLA Newsletter.
Joanne Handy Quick Fact: Winner, 2002 Leadership Award from the American Society on Aging
How have you, though your leadership, made a difference In one of your communities?
The availability of home health care services to frail elders, chronically ill children, and terminally ill persons living in poor, inner city neighborhoods of Boston is a key health access issue. My organization, Visiting Nurse Association of Boston, the largest provider of these services in the state, was contemplating a wrenching decision to stop providing services to thousands of patients because we were losing millions of dollars per year. To avert such a decision, I pulled together a community coalition involving the mayor, top state and city officials, the major teaching hospitals, the business community and legislators to join in an effort to find a solution. Working with this group, we were able to develop several solutions and leverage the group’s collective influence to preserve all these safety net services.
What sustains you in your practice of leadership and your commitment to change?
When I am having a really bad day (or days), the best solution is for me to go out with a nurse on a home visit. There’s nothing like it to connect with the reason we exist and our impact on people’s lives. When I see nurses in action, watch them comfort a dying person, witness the way a patient’s face lights up when they enter a home, observe them teach a new mother, I renew my understanding and commitment. As one of our aides said, ”You cannot do this work unless it comes from the heart.”
I also regularly read leadership books, keeping up with most of the new books as they are published, and am on the e-mail distribution lists for Harvard Business Review articles and other leadership resources. I talk frequently with colleagues who are in similar positions around the country, sharing challenges and successes Finally, I belong to a women’s executive leadership club in Boston, which is a wonderful opportunity to engage with leaders outside of my field around leadership issues and avoid the tendency to become too insular in my focus.
What is your passion?
I have two professional passions. One is to assure that people can choose to stay in their own homes amongst their loved ones when they are sick, disabled or dying. The second is a passion about leadership. ..to continually develop my own leadership, to have the wisdom to do the right thing in every leadership decision I make, and to mentor others in their leadership journeys.
How do you practice good self-care?
My Kellogg fellowship was instrumental in helping me balance my personal and professional worlds. Its emphasis on having a Personal Development Plan and its focus on self-leadership was pivotal. I feel quite strongly about the issue of balance and personal time, usually in the form of exercise, so fitness is a regular part of my life. As I get older, the balance among my work, family, outside interests, time with friends, fitness, and self-development has gotten both more important and easier. I owe a lot of this to my children because the needs kids have as they are growing up can be a great equalizing force. I think I might have become an obsessed workaholic if I wasn’t a mother. A few years ago, I went through diagnosis and successful treatment for cancer, which in itself strengthens one’s commitment to self-care and balance. As a leader, self-care is one of the traits I model for others.
If you had to give an aspiring leader one piece of advice, what would it be?
Leader…know thyself! Self-awareness is an essential foundation of effective leadership. Leaders need to be confident of their strengths and open to their weaknesses. Aspiring leaders benefit from exposing themselves to lots of personal development activities.
How are you different or what do you do differently as a result of your experience as a Kellogg Fellow? Why?
As I described above, the fellowship provided a range of personal development activities that significantly enhanced my self-awareness and frankly changed my leadership style. I was a very goal-oriented, task-oriented leader when I entered the program; when I finished, I was able to balance that with respect and patience for process. As a result, my style became warmer, more approachable, and more applicable to a variety of situations. I realized through the Kellogg fellowship that I was a risk taker, which enhanced my confidence to take risks in the future. The fellowship was a ”crucible” experience.