Improving organizational communication and cohesion in a health care setting through employee-leadership exchange

In the 1990s many health care organizations underwent reengineering. One of the unintended consequences of this process was a drop in employee morale. This article describes a project to improve morale in one hospital by fostering employees' constructive expression of dissatisfaction and of innovative ideas to senior leaders in the context of Employee Leadership Council meetings. Importantly, although formulated on the basis of employee suggestions, the hospital's president and chief executive officer initiated the project. After describing these councils, we examine the results of this experiment in employee-leadership exchange and explore the ramifications for the councils of the CEO's intimate involvement. Finally, we review lessons that might be transferable to other organizational settings as well as those that have implications for managerial understandings of organizational culture.