Catherine S Giess

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, USA

Title: People Management: Navigating Conflict, Achieving Consensus

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Biography

Dr. Catherine Giess is Deputy Chair of Radiology for Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  Dr. Giess previously served in as Interim Chair of Radiology, Senior Vice Chair of Radiology Faculty, Division Chief of Breast Imaging, and Chief Wellness Officer in Radiology. She is an elected Fellow of the American College of Radiology and an elected Fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging. Dr. Giess received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  She did her diagnostic radiology residency at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and her breast imaging fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.   Dr. Giess is an Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.  Her current research focus is evaluating ways to improve improving specificity of screening mammography in diagnosing breast cancer.  She is a recipient of the 2015 and 2017 RSNA Honored Educator award.

Abstract

Learning objectives of this lecture include 1) review of the essential qualities of effective leaders and managers in professional work settings; 2) discuss factors needed to create trust and build collaborative teams; 3) illustrate challenging workplace conflicts, including addressing psychological safety and toxic work environments; 4) discuss to give effective feedback to team members.  

While successful leaders and managers have some overlapping tasks and skill sets (such as creativity and an innovation mindset), a manager focuses more on process, while a leader focuses on strategic planning and vision.  Several critical elements must be present for managers and leaders to effectively build trust and achieve consensus among diverse, highly individualistic team members.   Trust is critical to developing a collaborative work culture and coaxing commitment and high performance by the team; psychological safety arises from a culture of trust in the workplace.  Managing conflict successfully requires courage.  However, effective leaders have an obligation to their team members and their employer to successfully manage conflict.   This lecture will use an evidence-based approach supported by the business literature with selected real world case examples to illustrate central topics.