The High Stakes Of Going To Bat For Someone

“Hey, I have an interview that I’m pretty excited about. Can I use you as a reference?”

When I received this request from my friend (and former coworker), Chris, a few years ago, I didn’t hesitate one bit before replying, “Absolutely. Do you have my work number?”

It was a no-brainer. Chris was one of the best people I’ve ever worked with. He took pride in his work, was extremely dependable, and treated his colleagues with nothing but respect. He was the first person I’d ask if I needed help with a project, or if a piece I was writing needed a second eye.

I wanted his prospective employer to know these things, and so I agreed to put my name out there. To me, agreeing to be listed as a reference for someone is a big deal. By saying yes, you’re putting your reputation on the line. If the person is hired and succeeds at the job, it’s a feather in your cap; your opinion holds value. But on the flip side, if he or she gets the job and doesn’t perform well, it reflects badly on you.

I knew I wouldn’t regret going to bat for Chris and, as it turned out, I didn’t.

Shortly after he contacted me, another former coworker asked me to write a recommendation for his LinkedIn profile. This one was also an easy decision. But where I was willing to stake my reputation on Chris, I wasn’t keen on being associated with this person, who I’ll refer to as ‘Mike’. Although Mike did have strengths in the areas of concept development and marketing, he also had glaring weaknesses. His skills as a leader left much to be desired. Rather than cultivate an environment where the staff was encouraged to collaborate with each other and challenge the status quo, he preferred an environment where people did what they were told. Period.

So even though I do feel there are environments in which he could thrive, I didn’t feel comfortable recommending him. [In cases like this, by the way, healthsystemCIO.com’s LinkedIn guru Bonnie Siegel noted that you should “not feel obligated” to comply with the request. That’s all the confirmation I need.]

Let’s face it; there is a lot at stake when you go to bat for someone. When hospital and health system leaders go to the board to request funds for a new IT system, they’re going to bat for their chosen vendor. And if there are bumps in the road — as there often are — CIOs have to be willing to face the music.

It’s something that Flagler Hospital CIO Bill Rieger knows all too well. In a recent interview, Rieger talked about how he had to meet with the board when Allscripts announced it was going to discontinue MyWay in the midst of the organization’s EHR rollout. It was, as he said, “challenging” — not just for the hospital’s leadership team, but also for its physician champions and for the board.

“They trusted us. They trusted me. They trusted the CEO. They trusted the process that we used to select Allscripts. It was a physician-led process and they really trusted that,” he said, noting that the board was “not very comfortable” with Allscripts’ new strategy.

Reiger put his reputation on the line, and it proved costly. “I was probably the biggest Allscripts cheerleader,” he noted. “I wanted to do the right thing for my community and the right thing for the hospital. And then these changes started happening.”

To the company’s credit, Rieger said that Allscripts has been “very responsive” throughout the process and has maintained constant communication. And for that reason, he remains optimistic that Flagler will be able to continue down the EHR path without losing too much ground.

If not, Rieger might have to think twice before going to bat for them again.