What People Think a Lean Healthcare Consultant Does - From the Inside

If you are familiar with Mark Graban's Lean Blog you've seen this already, but I wanted to put my spin on it, as I am in a bit of a different position than that of a true consultant. I am employed by the hospital in a full-time process improvement role, and if you've ever worked in healthcare, you know how differently you are viewed by clinical staff depending on whether you work with them or were hired by their management as "outside eyes."  So here is what I think:

And please let me explain, because this isn't always the case. For what doctors, nurses, and managers/executives think I do, those perceptions usually change somewhat within the first 5 minutes of us meeting/talking. Once they understand why I am working with them, those feelings go away and we generally build a nice working relationship. Even more, once they've been to lean training, they can't believe they even thought that in the first place; I've had a couple of people apologize to me because they just didn't understand my role in the organization, and how I could help them.

• My Friends: My friends think I'm some sort of mad scientist/engineer
• My Mom: My Mom thinks I pretty much run the organization and that everyone should  be amazed at what I do.
• Doctors and Nurses: Doctors and Nurses think I'm trying to tell them what to do.
• Managers: Managers think I am there to be their project managers, do all the ground work so they can take credit.
• Me: I think I'm fostering a strategically aligned culture. I am trying to have everyone rowing at the same speed, in the same direction.
• What I Really Do: I am here to help solve problems. Coaching, Mentoring, and Teaching employees to become problem solvers so they can implement lean tools and make improvements that will  make a difference in the way they provide care to patients.