RWL #211
Greetings from the LHH! I’ve been banging away on my syllabi and conducting outreach to find internships for my students for this summer. Hard to believe I’m talking about summer, but these things need to be arranged months in advance.
I felt a great relief that the political season finally ended this week. I hope Mr. Biden will deliver on his promise of being a president for all Americans. He has his work cut out for him. In other countries, the strife and violence we have seen these last several months would foretell a likely collapse. It is why so many countries employ repression against free political expression - they can not endure dissent. America continues to show that our fabric is resilient and we are made of tougher stuff capable of enduring dissent. I feel hopeful. It’s a new day in the greatest country in the world.
Stay well and stay safe!
Read
What: HBR, Research: To Be a Good Leader, Start By Being a Good Follower
https://hbr.org/2018/08/research-to-be-a-good-leader-start-by-being-a-good-follower
Why: I’ve been interested in the idea of followership for a while. This summary of research was interesting because it frames how leadership and followership interact, and a central problem with people who are identified as potential leaders. From the article:
we found that recruits who considered themselves to be natural leaders were not able to convince their peers that this was the case. Instead, it was the recruits who saw themselves (and were seen by commanders) as followers who ultimately emerged as leaders. In other words, it seems that those who want to lead are well served by first endeavoring to follow… Interestingly, though, alongside these results, we also found that recruits who saw themselves as natural leaders were seen by their commanders as having more leadership potential than recruits who saw themselves as followers.
**
What: AIHR Digital, What does high turnover mean? Turnover rates, jobs, and causes
https://www.digitalhrtech.com/high-turnover-meaning-rates/
Why: An interesting primer on turn-over. This is easy to skim - lots of graphics and tables. Hotels have a 100-300% turn over rate. I can’t even imagine trying to manage in such an environment. Some turn over is good for the organization. 300% is insane. But every industry develops methods for managing.
**
Watch
What: TEDx,The lies our culture tells us about what matters --- and a better way to live | David Brooks
Why: This talk is hard to summarize in a few words. David Brooks is a well-known conservative thinker (but not a populist nationalist). His message here is that we need to find a way to re-establish community. It is an antidote to Putnam’s Bowling Alone. It is the thing people are seeking when they join in the social violence we saw this past summer and culminated with an attack on the Capitol. The problem is universal, and it can’t be solved by a political party.
**
Listen
What: Health Leader Forge, Mary Helen McSweeney-Feld, PhD, Long-Term Care Educator and Author
https://healthleaderforge.blogspot.com/2021/01/mary-helen-mcsweeney-feld-phd-long-term.html
Why: My latest guest on the Health Leader Forge is Mary Helen McSweeney-Feld. Mary Helen is an associate professor at Towson University in the Department of Health Sciences. She is the author of one of the leading textbooks in the field of long-term care, Dimensions of Long-Term Care: An Introduction, and is a recognized leader in long-term care education nationally.
In this podcast I talk with Mary Helen about her journey from an early interest in political science and international affairs to discovering the nascent field of health economics in the 80’s, and her transition to an interest in long-term care as a result of having to care for both her father and father-in-law when they suffered from debilitating terminal illnesses. Mary Helen makes a passionate case for long-term care, pointing out the economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, as well as young people looking for a meaningful and well compensated career.
**
What: EconTalk, Katherine Levine Einstein on Neighborhood Defenders
https://www.econtalk.org/katherine-levine-einstein-on-neighborhood-defenders/
Why: I enjoyed this interview with Levine, who is a research at Boston University focused on housing regulation. She talks about how regulation of housing, especially by local authorities like planning boards, prevent affordable housing from being built. She talks especially about Massachusetts because the state has requirements for planning boards to keep detailed minutes. These minutes provide great records for qualitative research - the type I like to do.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)