The power of “influencers”

At this week’s Partnership for Patients meeting, hosted by the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Medical Foundation and Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation, one of the most intriguing presentations was the power of “influencers.” It set me to thinking about our wonderful employee nominees and award recipients at the Employee of the Year event on April 18. Their lives and stories influence me to do better, and the positive energy from the event seemed to buoy the entire room as we celebrated our work for patients in the community. Positive influences can make the difference in good outcomes – and now there is growing research to show just how much “influencers” affect our world.

The concept of influencers has become popular in recent years thanks to the books “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Influencer: The Power to Change Anything,” by Joseph Grenny, et al. The idea is based in marketing – an influencer motivates others to purchase, change, replace bad behaviors and generally makes things happen. In this month’s Harvard Business Review, Sinan Aral asks, “What would Ashton Kutcher do – and does it matter?” when discussing new research revealing the power and limits of influencers.

Our discussion at Partnership for Patients focused on making positive change in the care delivery model by using the power of influencers. The goal of harnessing this power for improvements in patient safety focused on the efficiency of peer-to-peer, word-of-mouth campaigns to achieve results. Further, we discussed how positive health maintenance and prevention behaviors could be enhanced through influencers.

It is difficult to measure the impact of human-influencers when evaluating the positive changes adopted in a healthcare setting. But there is no doubt influencers can improve performance. They can be one of the most powerful of the influential elements needed to change behaviors.

And we have video to prove it! See this amazing short video on hand washing – I promise it is fun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osUwukXSd0k). I think it is a great example demonstrating the power of an influencer – obvious peer support for positive behavioral change.

I hope this will help you think of your influence as you move around your hospital and community. Someone is always watching and listening to you as a leader and colleague. Your positive influence could change a life for the better. Your influence matters.