CONTRIBUTORS
Senior Vice President, Commercial Technologies, Pharmaceutical Segment
Lisa Avedon
Brand Strategy Manager, Fuse by Cardinal Health
What does it take to drive innovative ideas that impact change in healthcare? Recently, Cardinal Health and our innovation center Fuse expanded our lens on innovation to look at why women must be a strategic part of driving change at our Women in Healthcare Innovation event.
In March 2018, Cardinal Health was awarded one of the top 70 companies for Women in the Workplace by NAFE (National Association for Female Executives), which reflects the company’s strong focus on gender parity and women’s representation across the organization. This focus led us to host an event that expanded the conversation on gender leadership to include change-agents and thought leaders who are driving innovation efforts.
With the theme “Be a catalyst for change,” the event highlighted leaders from across the healthcare industry who shared inspiring insights around empowering women to tackle their own innovation efforts.
The event kicked off with remarks from Mike Kaufmann, chief executive officer at Cardinal Health, who said that “innovation is thinking about things differently to find new solutions to challenges.”
“Having women be part – an integral part – of the innovation process is a powerful force and one that you must have in order to drive change. Men and women think differently and filter information differently,” Kaufmann added. “Because of that, they bring unique perspectives to conversations. That makes an enormous difference in outcomes.”
Debbie Weitzman, president of U.S. Pharmaceutical Distribution for Cardinal Health, gave the keynote, sharing her personal reflections as a female leader. Additionally, a panel discussion was led by Steve Light, vice president of Consumer Health at Cardinal Health, and included Marti Taylor, executive director of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and chief operating officer of the Ohio State Heart and Vascular Center; Sue Jablonski, senior vice president and chief communications officer of OhioHealth; and Lisa Whitty Bradley, MD, chief executive officer of Chicks with MDs.
Two key themes emerged from the robust remarks and discussions.
Innovation and driving change take many forms.
Event panelists L to R: Steve Light, Marti Taylor, Sue Jablonski, and Lisa Whitty Bradley, MD.
In her keynote, Weitzman told the audience she would define herself as adventurous, creative, fearless and strategic, but not necessarily as an “innovator.” That is, until she researched the definition of the word “innovation.” “It turns out,” she shared, “there is no consensus of what innovation is. What I discovered is that it is about making a significant positive change in something such as business approaches, processes, strategies and, yes, technology.”
The panelists shared specific thoughts on what it takes to execute on ideas and drive change.
Taylor said persistence is a big part of executing on innovative efforts. “Not giving up on an initiative, but rather digging in and believing in it moves idea execution forward,” she said.
Additionally, Jablonski encouraged the audience to challenge the status quo. “You have to be curious about ideas and invite people to the table. Sometimes you have to be the one to set the table, too,” she added.
While Dr. Bradley implored the audience to move beyond “the firewall of fear.” “Fear holds us back and is the biggest obstacle to change,” she said. “Moving through that firewall takes courage and perseverance.”
Diversity is not enough – organizations must be inclusive to encourage creative problem solving.
“Studies have shown that focusing on diversity isn’t enough,” Light said. “Building inclusive cultures that pair with a diversity mindset in order to have stronger and more engaged communities within organizations is key.”
The speakers said that most companies have a strategic imperative around diversity and inclusion. While the speakers agreed that this is important for bottom line results, they offered broader views of diversity and inclusion.
Taylor shared a saying she’s heard that she felt best captured diversity and inclusion: “Diversity is being asked to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Weitzman added that surrounding yourself with diverse opinions and thinking fosters creative problem solving and greater work satisfaction. “Authentically engaging with people at all levels, both men and women, will pay rewards, not only professionally, but will make your work-life that much more enjoyable,” she said.
Looking ahead
Women can—and must—play an integral part in driving innovation forward in healthcare. The unique skills we all bring to the table will help foster ideas and new ways of thinking, and women should feel empowered to help drive this change and included in their organizations’ efforts.
Cardinal Health and Fuse are committed to applying a cross-gender lens in innovation while advocating for women’s voices as part of these efforts. The “Women in Healthcare Innovation” platform represents an opportunity to bring people together to continue this important conversation.