Learning leadership at the AHRA 2015 Virtual Fall Conference

The AHRA 2015 Virtual Fall Conference kicks off this weekend, allowing attendees to experience live conferences, interactive Q&A sessions, and detailed presentations from the comfort of their own couch.

The virtual conference, running from Oct. 16 to Oct. 30, is the first of its kind for AHRA. Topics for the prerecorded virtual presentations include ICD-10 compliance, leadership techniques, Smart Dose CT, and recent updates to Joint Commission requirements.  

Keynote speaker Richard Duszak, MD, chief medical officer of the American College of Radiology’s Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, begins the conference on Oct. 16 with a live presentation about value in radiology. The other presentations will then be available for attendees to view on-demand until Oct. 30.

Discussing leadership techniques with speaker Kenneth Fazzino

Kenneth Fazzino, an implementation manager with Nuance Communications, is one of the many presenters who will have a session available on-demand at the conference. For his session, “Style Matters,” Fazzino draws from over three decades of experience in radiology to help those in leadership roles learn how to get the most out of their team.

Leadership in healthcare is different than it is in other industries, Fazzino told RadiologyBusiness.com, because you have to worry about providing excellent patient care, keeping up with regulations that are always changing, and managing a team of individuals who are passionate about what they do.

And if that’s not enough, Fazzino added, there is also the financial side of the job to consider.

“You’re running a business too,” Fazzino said. “You have to watch profit and loss. So how do you balance profit and loss, patient outcomes, empathy, compassion, and all of those things at the same time? I think it’s a challenge.”

One thing Fazzino shares during his session is the importance of “the little things.” Everything a leader does matters, and even something small can have a noticeable impact on the entire team. For example, Fazzino described why he doesn’t always like sitting behind the desk in his office.

“I feel the desk is a barrier,” Fazzino said. “It’s a power piece, a piece of wood, fiberglass, or whatever between you and I. So if I stand up and come around my desk—because there are always two chairs on the other side of my desk—and I sit in the chair beside you, then I’m not behind the desk in a power situation.”

There are, he adds, necessary exceptions to this rule.

“Now if I have to have you in my office to talk about something corrective, I’ll stay behind my desk, because I need to have that more authoritative discussion,” Fazzino said. “But otherwise, I eliminate that barrier by coming around. It’s more of a team. It’s not a boss and an employee.”

Fazzino also said leadership is not something that is mastered overnight, and that he has learned a great deal over the years from his own personal interaction with leaders throughout the radiology industry.   

“I don’t believe people are born as a leader,” Fazzino said. “I believe people develop their leadership styles, and it’s developed over what resonates with you. I’ve had some very good leaders that taught me good things about how to be respectful and how to remove the barriers and treat people with respect to earn respect. And I’ve had people where I absolutely have made a mental note that, ‘I’ll never do that.’

More information about the AHRA 2015 Virtual Fall Conference is available on the AHRA website.  Fazzino’s “Style Matters” session is available on demand for the full length of the conference.