Many successful businesses today turn to outside experts for help in improving the performance of their executive teams, as well as to help build teamwork, to manage a significant organizational change (like a merger or acquisition), or to help ensure the success of new executives that are joining a leadership team.

Dr. Doug McKinley is president of Naperville-based McKinley Leadership (http://tmgleader.com/), a leading provider of executive leadership development services for professional services companies. Dr. McKinley and his team have helped many local companies to overcome a variety of common leadership issues and improve organizational performance. Among Dr. McKinley’s recent success stories is the executive team at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, which recently was recognized with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (http://triblocal.com/naperville/community/stories/2011/04/mckinley-leadership-provides-leadership-training-for-baldrige-award-winner-advocate-good-samaritan-hospital/).

Dr. McKinley sat down recently to offer insight into a number of common business management issues and trends, which he shares with TribLocal here.

1. Business leaders are so inundated with people’s conflicts. Why are people so demanding of my time and energy?

A-Business leaders are demanding of time and energy mainly because they aren't self-aware and so they project responsibility. This is a fairly common issue that we see when training or coaching executives. And what it means is that an executive just hasn't take time to understand himself or herself.

Most executives haven't reconciled or come to accept that they are people managers, that they are mediators of people issues.

On the leader side, they need to accept that conflict is a normal part of work-life, and accept that they will be engaging in opposing ideas with strong emotion added to it. Most executives know that is part of their role, but have a hard time embracing it.

2. Healthcare is changing so much, thanks to compliance issues, new technology and changing lifestyles. What do leaders need to do different to be able to manage the emerging complexity?

A-We believe the new leadership competency that is required is agility. Today's business leaders need to move away from linear, knowable, predictable sequence of events and become comfortable with flexibility and agility in the moment.

The complexity of today's typical business culture requires business leaders to hold looser to definitive answers, and move toward more intuitive responses that still contain strategy but also incorporate flexibility.

3. What lessons can health care leaders learn from other industry leaders?

A- The most profound transfer of knowledge recently is the comparison of health care quality to airline safety that was published by Health Affairs in June 2009 (http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/3/w479.abstract?sid=e9a57c79-c262-4504-878e-aeaf5bc231cf), and the way that safety is managed and maintained, to hospital quality and patient safety. The findings from this 2009 study found that we would have 50 times more accidents if airport safety operations were run like hospital quality controls.

The issue is that airline traffic controllers have a much greater focus on reducing errors, for obvious reasons. So just learning quality, outcomes, and controls are key points for hospitals. And many hospitals have been able to apply some of these lessons from the airline industry.

One of the bottom-line lessons that I've seen hospitals learn from the airline study, and attributable to this study, is that quality yields measurable outcomes.

Today's health care leaders need to see the hospital running not only as a center of healing, but as a business.

4. Managing people can be an immense challenge. If managing people is a weakness of mine, how can I surround myself with people who either can do it for me or make me better at it?

A-If you know that you have an identifiable weakness, then first get one or two accountability partners that know you have a blind spot there, and ask them to give you frequent feedback.

Despite knowing it is a weak area, you can still improve on that weakness. It may never be a natural skill set, but you have to teach yourself and script it to overcome your weaknesses. But only spend 20 percent of your time on that. Eighty percent of your time should still be spent on developing your strengths.

Also, partner with another department, like HR, that has championed people development. And if that is not possible, then find an outside consultant to help coach you to overcome your weaknesses.

5. Strength-based leadership seems too simplistic and unrealistic. What do we do with this emerging trend toward strengths?

A-I recommend you read the research, because strength-based leadership is becoming mainstream. Working solely on weaknesses is not only ineffective, but a waste of time. You grow the most in the area you know the most.

6. Work-life balance is such a big deal for leaders and their teams. What is your favorite advice on finding more balance in your life?

A-There is no such thing as balance. Work on prioritization. This is my favorite advice. If you are looking for all things to be equal, you'll never find it.

My advice is, daily, if not hourly, keep re-prioritizing your urgent and important quadrants.

7. Leaders thrive on stress and rarely get overwhelmed by it, but when and what are the best ways for leaders to get revitalized?

A-First, effective and great leaders run fast and run hard. But they need to realize that recovery is essential.

For example, Michael Jordan was masterful at finding places during a game, while playing, when he could rest and not push himself. You can't follow a script on this either. You've got to find your particular space for something to re-ignite you. And recovery time is needed more than you realize.

So whatever reignites you, whether it is hiking, driving a fast car, meditation, you need to use it.

Also, remember that stress is stupid. Your body doesn't recognize the difference between good stress and bad stress, either.

8. Are leaders made or born?

A-The answer is yes to both.

There are some natural-born leaders. However, I also believe that with self-awareness and appropriate discipline to learning, anyone can grow and develop in a unique area of their strengths. I don't accept the position that there are some people that just can't be a leader.

So yes, you can build a leader.

9. Health care leaders have to be able to engage physicians in their mission. What works best for physician/organizational relationship development?

A-Start with empathy. Understand 'what's in it for me?' (WIFM).

If a hospital wants to work with a physician group, then they have to get in the shoes of the physician's group and figure out the WIFM.

Empathy is the most powerful tool of communication. To start a collaboration or partnership, you have to start with empathy. Because it leads to understanding. And from understanding, you can easily get to win-win outcomes.

10. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are being talked about as a new, effective way to link provider reimbursements to metrics in order to help reduce health care costs. What do leaders need to know to face the ACO future?

A-They need to know that collaboration is now king. It is not intuitive. Collaboration is usurping competition. Today’s leaders need to learn to create market share through collaboration, instead of competition.

Not only the skill of collaboration, but the identification in what that means is key. And this applies across the board, because humans struggle with collaboration. So listen, and then try to meet needs without compromising.