Helping leaders understand variation

What does your leader do when you put a control chart or run chart in front of them? There is an excellent paper available from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on the topic of helping leaders understand variation.

Lloyd R. Helping leaders blink correctly: Split-second decisions have patient safety implications (Part 1). Healthcare Executive. 2010 May/June;25(3):88-91.

This article describes two of four necessary skills health care leaders need to develop in order to "blink" appropriately (i.e., make decisions based on robust analysis and interpretation of data): understanding the messiness of improving health care, and determining why you are measuring.

Download part 1 here

Download part 2 here