Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital Case Analysis

Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital Case Analysis

Problem Statement:

Andy Prescott recruited vascular surgeon, Ron Ventura, who had a national reputation and was a great fit for their Cardiovascular Center as Chief of Vascular. However, after some time, Prescott has learned of problems Ventura was creating with hospital staff from various complaints which led to a necessary 360-degree peer review of Ventura. Regardless of Ventura’s impeccable work, his negative behavior is affecting the hospital’s culture and staff.

Hypothesis 1: Ron Ventura suffers from an abrasive personality.

Mitchell Memorial Hospital has made many strides to clearly establish a culture and mission statement focused on teamwork between the staff and physicians in turn to increase quality outcomes for patients. The CEO of the hospital updated the mission statement and created a compact for the physicians called “Team Mitchell” that included a section focused on team collaboration. Coming in, Ventura had reservations about the position. He stated “Andy would support me, because he can cut through the red tape and focus on what matters at the end of the day” (Cespedes 2013, pg.5). As complaints came in overtime about Ventura, Prescott gave advice to Ventura, but never confronted him about his actions. He always had his back and came up with excuses for his behavior. However, this never solved any problems and concerns continued to roll in. A 360-degree peer evaluation was completed and the issues could no longer be ignored.

The following comments were recorded:

- Source of Administrative Headaches

- Critical of Administration and Colleagues

- Not a good behavioral role model for residents/fellows

- Openly critical of colleagues

- Difficult Personality (judgmental, narcissistic, short-tempered, abrasive, passive disrespect, etc.)

- Doesn’t consider others’ points of view

- Not collegial

- Personal Style Issues

- (comments borrowed from Cespedes 2013, pg. 9-12)

Based on the above comments, Ron Ventura seems to suffers from an abrasive personality, which was one specific comment in his peer review. Harry Levinson described it as “men and women of high, sometimes brilliant, achievement who stubbornly insist on having their own way and are contemptuous of others, are the bane of bosses, subordinates, peers and colleagues” (Levinson 1978, pg. 87). Comparing the past articles to the case study this week, they show that an abrasive personality is apparent. Ventura has a national reputation for his work and has stated that he is more worried about his hands-on work than his relationships with the hospital staff. Prescott, being his recruiter, often has his back which is common for a superior to help abrasive personalities fit into a group.

Hypothesis 2: Ron Ventura possesses a narcissistic personality.

After the evaluation, Ventura was labeled as a narcissist. While there can be productive and unproductive narcissism, Ron seems to have a more unproductive effect on his staff. His behavior and personality are not only causing staff to feel uncomfortable working with him, but is threatening the hospital because the staff are moving to other hospitals. “The challenge facing organizations is to ensure that such leaders do not self-destruct or lead the company to disaster...Employees must learn to recognize – and work around – narcissistic bosses” (Maccoby 2004, pg. 3). The narcissistic weaknesses are very apparent in the case describing Ventura and his actions. In Maccoby’s Narcissistic Leaders, he states that these types of leaders are poor listeners, lack empathy, have a distaste for mentoring and an intense desire to compete (2004, pg. 5-6). Each one of these qualities can be used when describing Ventura.

Hypothesis 3: Ron Ventura and the hospital staff, hired based on the hospital’s culture, have a conflict in VABEs.

“I wasn’t sure I would fit in Mitchell Memorial. I’m not like the other surgeons here. They’re academic types…The physical challenge of being a surgeon is what really motivates me” (Cespedes 2013, pg.4). From the get-go, Ventura knew he was entering into a workplace that had different priorities than he did. He was there to do his job, not to focus on relationships with staff. Ventura’s values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs) are different than his fellow staff member’s. VABEs are described as “beliefs we hold about the way the world should be or the way other people should behave” (Clawson 2001, pg. 11). VABEs are learned overtime from people around us; family, friends, co-workers, mentors and so on, play a vital part in the development of our VABEs. It is easy to tell that Ventura’s VABEs are very different than his peers. During his early stages in his career at the hospital, it is likely that his mentor passed along negative qualities. Past experiences with leaders and other hospital staff, may have helped developed his unique personality. As stated in hypothesis 1, the hospital hired people who fit into their culture and understand its importance. That proves that many people employed by the hospital share similar VABEs. Ventura was thrown into the mix in the hopes that his VABEs would eventually mesh regardless of the reservations from Prescott or Ventura.

Recommendations:

- To guide Ventura through the change process as the hospital successfully, Prescott needs to fully understands his VABEs. From complaints and peer evaluation, it is clear that his VABEs may not be aligning with the staffs’. Prescott will then be able to see if his behavior fits into the culture and objectives the hospital has or if he will continue causing problems. If the problems persist,