Summary and Analysis of the Chief Administrative Officer Position at NYC Health + Hospitals

Management and leadership are interlinked but distinct concepts that are important for the success of a manager in a healthcare organization or institution, or for a career in the healthcare industry. Management refers to the ability to plan, direct and execute a team toward a specific goal, while leadership refers to the ability to inspire, influence and motivate a team toward a formulated strategy. (Hersey et al, 2007) This essay will discuss concepts of management and leadership based on the Chief Administrative Officer position at NYC Health + Hospitals, by analysing key skills and characteristics for the position, analysing keywords for leadership and management in the job description, and discussing the characteristics and traits of effective leadership. This essay will then conclude with a discussion of the relationship between personal characteristics and effective leadership, as well as the impact of an individual’s perspective on their leadership.

Based on an analysis of the Chief Administrative Officer position at NYC Health + Hospitals, the key skills and characteristics required for successful management in this position are experience, technical knowledge, and process management, while the key skills and characteristics required for successful leadership are motivation, integrity, intelligence and collaborativeness. This is because the management portion of the Chief Administrative Officer role involves managing technical domains related to data management, analytics, membership and enrollment, while the leadership portion of the role involves managing teams in pursuit of specific objectives, and creating and executive strategic objectives.

The key words for the position that represent a management skill or characteristic are responsibilities, operational areas, capability development, processes, and overseeing. This is because management is primarily concerned with operational planning, directing and executing of objectives, in areas such as capability development, organizational processes and operational areas. Furthermore, the responsibilities listed under the job, such as payment arrangements, membership, analytics, intelligence tools, and data glossaries all correspondent to an agenda for a manager, rather than a leader.

The key words for the position that represent a leadership skill or characteristic are strategic areas, relationship management, identification of opportunities, and collaboration. This is because a leader is primarily focused on inspiring and mobilising others through collaboration and relationship management, as well as keeping an eye on future developments such as strategic areas and opportunities.

The characteristics found in a leader are the ability to motivate, communicate and build teams. (Gilley et al, 2009) These characteristics are important as a leader’s primary goal is to mobilise an effective team to pursue a goal, for which motivating, communicating and collaborating with others is crucial.

The traits of an effective leader include drive, motivation, integrity, self-assurance, intelligence and familiarity. (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991) Drive refers to the ability to direct focus and progress toward a specific goal, while motivation refers to a leader’s ability to keep themselves and their teams energised and focused on the goal. Integrity is important for leadership as it is a way for leaders to build trust and respect. Self-assurance refers to a leader’s self-confidence and ability to lead steadfastly. Intelligence, also known as cognitive ability, refers to a leader’s ability to understand, analyse and make recommendations for a given solution. Finally, familiarity refers to a leader’s awareness and experience with the given situation.

These traits support an effective leader in a management position by allowing leaders to better understand a given situation and identifying its key challenges (through intelligence and familiarity), and then directing and mobilizing their team through drive and motivation, building on trust founded on integrity, to achieve the goal. For example, with reference to the job in the appendix, integrity, leadership and problem solving are listed as leadership competencies which are required for the Chief Administrative Officer position, as well as a minimum of 10 years experience (familiarity) in finance, IT or operations.

The relationship between personal characteristics and effective leadership is clear when the impact of characteristics on leadership is considered. For example, some individuals tend to be more extroverted and collaborative, which facilitates their ability to mobilise, work with and energise others in their team. Leaders who are more optimistic and forward-looking will also find the strategic part of leadership, which involves creating a strategy for the future, easier. Conversely, pathological liars will find it challenging to lead a team, given that it will be difficult for them to build trust through integrity.

Finally, an individual’s perspective influences their leadership style tremendously. Leadership styles may vary, and encompass styles such as transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles. (Eagly et al, 2003) An individual’s perspective on issues such as individual rights, the capabilities of their subordinates, and the degree to which they should invest in their subordinates will help determine their leadership style. For example, if a leader does not trust their subordinates or views them as tools to achieve the goal, a transactional leadership style, which focuses on task completion in exchange for rewards, may be adopted. Conversely, if a leader’s perspective is focused on the development and care for their subordinates, a transformational leadership style driven by values and vision may be used instead.

References

Clack, L. A. (2017). Examination of leadership and personality traits on the effectiveness of professional communication in healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Communications, 2(2), 2472-1654.

Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: a meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological bulletin, 129(4), 569.

Gilley, A., McMillan, H. S., & Gilley, J. W. (2009). Organizational change and characteristics of leadership effectiveness. Journal of leadership & organizational studies, 16(1), 38-47.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2007). Management of organizational behavior (Vol. 9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice hall.

Indeed. (2019, June 5). Chief Administrative Officer. Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=c7c0c37feb661410&tk=1dcvucq3mhol3803&from=serp&vjs=3

Kirkpatick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: do traits matter?. Academy of management perspectives, 5(2), 48-60.

Zaccaro, S. J. (2007). Trait-based perspectives of leadership. American psychologist, 62(1), 6.

Appendix

Job Description for: Chief Administrative Officer

Source: Indeed. (2019, June 5). Chief Administrative Officer. Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=c7c0c37feb661410&tk=1dcvucq3mhol3803&from=serp&vjs=3

Employer: NYC Health + Hospitals

Address: New York, NY 10038

Marketing Statement

MetroPlus Health Plan provides the highest quality healthcare services to residents of Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island through a comprehensive list of products, including, but not limited to, New York State Medicaid Managed Care, Medicare, Child Health Plus, Exchange, Partnership in Care, MetroPlus Gold, Essential Plan, etc. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health system in the United States, MetroPlus’ network includes over 27,000 primary care providers, specialists and participating clinics. For more than 30 years, MetroPlus has been committed to building strong relationships with its members and providers to enable New Yorkers to live their healthiest life.

Position Overview

Reporting to the President/Chief Executive Officer, the core responsibilities of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is to lead the strategic and operational areas of data: integrity, intelligence, analytics, reporting, business driven architecture; membership: enrollment and eligibility; and appropriate management, capturing and reporting of membership risk. This role works closely with the IT department and various business owners to structure the data warehouse in a systemic, functional, business driven structure and capture all appropriate data elements needed to perform all Plan operations. This area will bridge the gap between the business and the IT department.

Job Description

• Responsible for all the following data elements for the company:
  • Membership and eligibility
  • Encounter
  • Manage Medical Cost/trends for Population Health
  • NYSDOH regulatory reporting (operating reports)
  • Value Based Payment Arrangement
  • Community Provider Value Based Payment
  • Clinical Utilization Reporting
  • H+H Risk Contract Reporting/ H+H Facility Reporting Liaison
  • Network Relations encounter analytical liaison
  • Provider Profile Reporting
  • Maintain and inform on CRG
  • Fee Schedule Analytics
  • Official Data Snapshots process for BIDS (CMS, DFS, DOH)
• Oversees 3M Business Intelligence Tool
• Provides analytic expertise to create a QA process for all data assuring the accuracy and completeness of data utilized in all aspects of reporting and end user tools
• Provides analytic power to drive MetroPlus medical cost management and medical cost trend analysis, including maintaining regulatory NYDOH reporting
• Develops capabilities and drives processes to provide MetroPlus with enhanced clinical analytics that enables the organization to enhance productive provider relationships
• Provides informational and analytic support needed to drive Value-Based payment and risk-sharing contracting and operational efforts
• Provides informational and analytic capabilities to drive provider profiling, performance reporting and provider contract modeling in close collaboration with the contracting department.
• Develops and manages the relationship between the Analytics department and other business areas; establishing long-term and short-term strategies for analytics use in business areas
• Establishes and oversees the analytic/data management process with IT to document roles, responsibilities and actions for MetroPlus data
• Ensures that basic metrics for data information, systems and processes are identified, implemented and sustained
• Creation of data glossary and develop a transparent service category logic model to aide analysts in data grouping
• Membership and Enrollment:
  • Collaborates with IT to review the 834 process and create technical logic to minimize the number of transactions that require manual review
  • Collaborates with IT to determine long-term strategy, for managing the population membership reconciliation process
  • Creates an end to end process that improves the remittance reporting, by creating a master table that incorporates federal, state, and subscriber premium data.
  • Reviews member communication, in efforts to deliver a streamlined process that effectively communicates accurate and timely information regarding effectuation, and termination.
  • Reviews department policy and procedure, including Training and QA assurance
  • Reviews all downstream department processes, collaborates with end users and creates a work plan that will streamline creating an effective and efficient department that reports accurate MetroPlus membership timely
• Oversees all risk reports, risk capturing vendors and risk training and education to providers
• Collaborates closely with H+H to share appropriate data elements and data intelligence to enhance the performance of the System
• Identifies opportunities for improved monitoring of fraud, waste and abuse
• Develops and adheres to annual budget for the division
• Develops strategies and models to identify member engagement and retention

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred
• A minimum of three (3) years of senior or executive management experience required
• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in finance, IT, or operations in a Managed Care or similar setting
• Strong understanding of managed care data structure and reporting requirements
• Process improvement experience required

Professional Competencies

• Integrity and Trust
• Leadership
• Innovation
• Problem solver
• Customer Focus
• Functional/Technical Skills
• Written/Oral Communications

How To Apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please apply online by clicking the “Apply Now” button or forward your resume, noting the above Job ID #, to:

MetroPlus Health Plan

Human Resources Department

160 Water Street 8th Floor

New York, NY 10038

Attn: Recruitment Unit