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Everyone Seems to be Talking, but is Anyone Listening?

Listening is an unsung hero, the game-changing foundation of an extraordinary workplace. But let's confront the truth head-on: mastering the art of listening is no walk in the park.

Working with others without excellent listening skills is like watching a movie in a foreign language without subtitles. Try sharing the plotline with someone who has yet to see the film. It isn't easy to connect, and it creates division.

We can categorize listening into focus in three basic categories:

1. Internalized Listening - is a transactional type of listening. You might focus on the speaker, but all the while, part of your focus is concerned with what you can do for this person. Or what can this person do for you. You are thinking about how to solve their problem or what you can say to console or commiserate. Unfortunately, this causes you to miss the opportunity to understand in depth what the person is communicating.
2. Attentive Listening - you are intensely focused on what the other person is saying and do not want the conversation uninterrupted. You are curious and seek to understand the essence of what the other person is saying. Nothing's distracting you. Even your ideas are quickly dispelled and don't get in the way of you hearing the other person.
3. Multi-sensory Listening - requires the most effort and focus. You listen with all your senses. Observing and absorbing non-verbal cues and subtle nuances while gaining a deeper understanding of the speaker's thoughts and emotions, listening with a "third ear" to explore a deeper meaning. You know you are in this state of focus when you can hear sound effects in their mind – the clink of a penny dropping, the thud as they talk about hitting a wall. You can feel them straining to avoid something or pulling towards something – and you have a sense of what that might be. Practicing this listening enhances understanding and empathy and can lead to more prosperous, more nuanced interactions. It requires a high level of self-awareness.

Listening helps us evolve our perspective and feeds our intuition with better information. I agree wholeheartedly with Albert Einstein's statement, "Problems cannot be solved with the same level of awareness that created them."

If you repeatedly encounter the same problems, listening better can change your awareness.

Reaching Our Highest Human Potential Together

Merriam-Webster defines “together” as “by combined action: JOINTLY; in agreement or harmony; in a unified or coherent structure or an integrated whole.”

When we come together and share experiences, we gain empathy and understanding for one another. This helps us better understand the world around us and how our actions can impact others. That is the intention of The Green Promise, to create harmony and unity while we fulfill our mission of delivering top-quality hospice care to patients and families, every day.

When we are present with the importance of treating one another with respect and empathy, by being ethical and nurturing in our work and being grateful for the top-quality care we provide to patients and families, we can do out very best work.

In February, we will begin introducing and implementing the practice of being G.R.E.E.N. through The Green Promise.

Grateful – We are an amazing team working together to deliver top-quality care
Respectful – We choose our words carefully, we’re mindful of our actions
Empathetic – We are always aware of coworkers’ feelings
Ethical – We hold ourselves to the highest standards every day
Nurturing – Hospice work can be draining, so we’re reminded to be kind to ourselves and others

Be on the lookout for posters and decks of “promise cards” to help your teams exchange meaningful dialogue and shared experiences in meetings and other work gatherings. Here’s a preview of prompting questions:

• How do you actively listen to colleagues?
• How do you express gratitude to your colleagues?
• How can you prioritize well-being?
• How do you encourage mutual support?

We hope this proves to be a valuable tool for inspiration and openness.

New Onboarding Program is Ready for New Team Members

NEO’s Successful Approach is now Company-Wide

Our onboarding program for new Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care team members got a makeover at the end of last year and the new approach is progressing nicely. Both new team members and Crossroads leaders are pleased.

While all sites have had their version of what we used to call new employee “orientation” now, every other week from Tuesday – Friday on Microsoft Teams, new team members beginning their new positions at all 11 Crossroads sites receive the same onboarding program.

Crossroads of NEO Site Educator Dainah Love-Kent is coordinating and leading the onboarding program, which is modeled after NEO’s success in operationalizing onboarding and providing new team members with a deliberate and broad introduction to the company.

Local Site Educators, under the direction of Heather Slone, are an integral part of the program, providing regulatory information that differs from state to state. Successful programs and personalities from throughout the company are featured during the one-week onboarding programs and this new approach is also creating new energy.

There is also exposure to all the different positions that make Crossroads work including clinical, social support and administrative professionals. This eliminates silos and furthers an understanding of what it takes to deliver the best end-of-life care, regardless of position.

It’s also beneficial for new team members who hold a sole position at a site. Thanks to the new onboarding, they now know they have peers at 10 other locations, creating another level of support and community.

We thank our outstanding onboarding mentors in NEO who have the highest of standards. We also recognize the impact of technology and the versatility of Microsoft Teams.

From NEO to Infinity & Beyond!

Onboarding Perfected after more than 10 Years in Practice

Our new site-wide onboarding program for new team members is an example of how a successful program at one of our sites can be scaled and delivered to all of our locations.

But it wasn’t created overnight. The onboarding program NEO Site Educator Dainah Love-Kent leads every other week for all 11 sites was developed and perfected over many years.

NEO Site Educator Dainah Love-Kent

Dainah’s colleague fellow NEO Site Educator Debra Wagner was charged with beginning a new orientation approach for new team members shortly after she was hired in July of 2013.

The person bestowing the task upon Debra was Crossroads’ Vice President of Executive Support Christine Vincent, the prior Executive Director in NEO.

According to Crossroads Senior Vice President of Operations Terri Doughty, Crossroads’ new onboarding program was driven by Christine. She wanted to scale what was accomplished in NEO.

Terri commends Christine, Debra and Dainah for their incredible efforts in evolving Crossroads’ company-wide onboarding approach. She is also quick to point out that great ideas and outstanding programs taking place at every site have the potential to be scaled across the company.

Sallie in Cincy Gives Crossroads Onboarding High Marks

With Many Years in Healthcare Marketing, She’s been through a Few

Hearing from senior-level people from every discipline was “very professional and enlightening,” according to Sallie Osborne, a new team member who works in marketing at Crossroads of Cincinnati.

Sallie may be new to Crossroads, but she has more than 33 years of experience in healthcare marketing and has worked for several hospice companies. She said after listening to leaders articulate the company's core values on end-of-life care, she immediately felt being part of the Crossroads team was a great fit.

“It wasn’t just sitting and watching training videos, the orientation was interactive with each discipline, and I liked that.” Sallie said.  She “loved the personality exercise" that was part of the onboarding. Incorporating this into the training process truly shows that Crossroads leadership want employees to feel supported and part of the team, she said.

With just a couple of months at Crossroads under her belt, Sallie shared she is grateful to be working in hospice, and at Crossroads she has felt welcomed, supported, and encouraged since day one. "It's wonderful to feel at home and comfortable at Crossroads and with my teammates. There will always be challenges in the business of healthcare, and I am thankful to be with a company that is committed to doing what is best for their employees and the patients they serve. It feels good to have leaders whose moral compass is like my own."