Dr. Irv Rubin has been leading change in the healthcare industry for 35 years. I spoke with Irv recently to learn more about his approach, and in particular why he chose to write the novel, Dying for Compassion.  Here is what he said:

“I work with professionals to help them understand the fundamental correlation between quality of relationships and quality of care. I do this through workshops, consulting, and writing. My novel takes place in a hospital. I want to educate people about what I call managerial malpractice which can result in the death of patients.

“In the book, an attorney in a court of law holds the protagonist, a CEO, Joshua, accountable for the death of a patient he never touched.  The attorney has no difficulty proving through outside, empirical data that the toxicity Joshua helped stir, foster, and tolerate around the boardroom table trickled down to the culture. Ultimately it manifested at the patient interface where a nurse was fearful of giving feedback to a doctor in the same way that Joshua’s own board was fearful of giving feedback to him.

“For me, Dying for Compassion is about taking leaders to the edge of their own growth. It reminds them that they have a non-negotiable responsibility because of the power of their position to delve into those weaknesses and shortcomings which are hidden from their view – what psychologist Carl Jung called the shadow. They must work to understand the impact of this shadow on their day-to-day behavior and decision-making. This is not something that can be avoided. Everyone has a shadow side.

“Leaders must take responsible for transforming their hubris into humility.  It is absolutely critical for leaders to do whatever can be done to create a fear-free feedback environment. This creates a triple-win. (1) The leaders themselves profit from the feedback so they can take corrective action. (2) The senior team also profits from the fear-free environment, and as a result increases the quality of their collective impact. (3) A fear-free feedback environment is a critical element for achieving what Peter Senge called a learning organization. Peter was a former student of mine at MIT; his work is a world treasure.

“When leaders build their capacity to constructively examine their own behavior, they are providing invaluable gifts to themselves, their people, their organization, and their beneficiaries. This work saves lives. This type of healing is the basis of all effective growth. We need this today more than ever. We are suffering a crisis of leadership. It is imperative that our leaders have the opportunity to reflect on their behavior in constructive ways.

"This is why I named my organization, Temenos. It is a Greek term suggesting a sacred grove, a place where people are free to create and learn spontaneouslywithout criticism or judgment. Creating such an environment is essential to the success of all our leaders and our world.”

You can reach Dr. Irv Rubin through his website, www.TemenosInc.com

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com