Professional development

At the end of the day…you can’t win holding the Queen of Clubs

Building trust is not only about making the right decision, it's about sharing your decision with your team and providing insight on what led you to that decision.

I learned an important lesson in a leadership class many years ago that I’ve never forgotten. There are times in leadership to get opinions and gain consensus, and there are circumstances where the leader just needs to decide.  The lesson years ago was: if you’ve made the decision, communicate clearly that you have and why. Don’t portray that your people have choices to make or influence a decision if they really do not. They will always be frustrated when they realize you already had the answer.  A mentor of mine used to call this having “the Queen of Clubs” in your pocket.  If you have the answer, just share it.  Just say, ”I have decided…and here’s why…”  How many times in your career have you heard yourself say, “If they had just told me, it would have saved me a lot of time.”  I’ll bet we’ve all experienced this. You build trust and save everyone time and frustration by just sharing your decision

At the end of the day… is an expression meaning an assessment of essential facts and truths. It’s a summation of the pros and cons of any situation and a straightforward statement of what really matters. It’s also the title of this blog series by Brenda Hodge, Nuance Healthcare’s Chief Marketing Officer, with insights about leadership, empathetic customer relationships, and marketing techniques.

Brenda Hodge

About Brenda Hodge

Brenda leads all aspects of Nuance's marketing function working to develop the go-to-market approach, building the Nuance brand to drive growth, and expanding client relationships to increase loyalty. She joined Nuance from Optum where she most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for the Provider Market segment. Brenda’s career spans multinational sales and marketing leadership roles at companies such as GloStream, Allscripts/Misys Healthcare Systems, and SAS Institute.