Q&A with CIO Linda Stevenson, Part 2: “Everything We Do Is for The Patient.”

If an individual excels at programming or writing code, does it necessarily mean he or she is ready for a management title? Like many issues facing healthcare IT leaders, there is no simple answer, says Linda Stevenson, who recently became CIO at Fisher-Titus Medical Center. She believes the ability to determine whether an IT rock star has what it takes to climb the ladder is just of many soft skills leaders need to advance their organizations.

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Stevenson about the work her team is doing at Fisher-Titus, particularly around patient engagement, and the strategy she employed as the new CIO to assess readiness for change. She also talked about the need to market to consumers, how her organization remains independent while also partnering with large organizations, the unique opportunity for those in IT, and how she uses yoga to keep her grounded.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* Assessing change readiness – “Part of it is just getting to know people.”

* IT’s unique opportunity

* “Everything we do is for the patients.”

* Vendor conversations & the blame game

* Evolving CIO role: “We’re almost like a utility.”

* “Attitude, not aptitude”

* Achieving balance through yoga – “It forces me to let go of my day job”

* Realistic expectations about work/life balance



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Bold Statements

The more you can be a champion, the better off you are. You need to get in front of people and say, ‘here’s what happens when we improve our change control process,’ or, ‘here’s what happens when we put the decisions back on the department and let them be part of the process,’ so it’s not IT making decisions for everyone.

The CIO is at the table as part of the strategic planning process at every organization, because they can’t move forward without our input. We’re almost like a utility. You can’t do things without electricity, and you can’t do things without IT anymore.

You’ve got to treat your rock stars well and make them feel rewarded. But that doesn’t mean you have to promote them. Promote the people who really are on the management track by virtue of their aptitude — not because they’ve been in the role so long and it’s time to move on.

It’s that part of me that forces me to let go of my job. When I’m in a classroom full of people, I can’t think about this place. It allows me to totally let go and absorb a different type of energy that’s creative, and nurturing, and healing.

Work-life balance isn’t just about what happens on an individual day. There may be weeks where my role as a CIO is very heavy and demanding, and then there are weeks when it’s lighter and I can have a more rich life at home. But not every day is going to be the same.

Gamble:  How do you work to assess ready for change and willingness to take on big projects?

Stevenson:  It’s something I’m still dealing with. Part of it was just getting to know the people. By having conversations, you start to get a sense of who is all in and excited for whatever comes, and who is going to be reluctant, and then figuring out where they fit into those changes.

The other piece is finding out what I’m working with. As you approach change, you have to know where you’re starting before you know where you’re going. And so you’re going to need to do skills assessments and get some of that together to understand who has the skills, and what we’re ready for.

One thing I think I do well — and I’ve been trying to do more of that here — is to get in front of people as often as possible, and meet with the IT team,