This article originally appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.
Looking to the future
In this CEO Update, I want to share with you some news about governance transformation at the OMA and also give you line of sight into the work your Association will undertake on your behalf in 2021.
The world is rapidly changing and change and disruption have been significantly accelerated by the pandemic. Every sector, including health care, has forever been disrupted. This presents new threats and opportunities that require an effective, modern and focused OMA. Your organization needs to enable you to lead and shape the outcomes of disruption instead of being shaped by them. Your lived experience in your daily practices are a sharp reminder. One only needs to open a newspaper or turn on a TV for a glimpse at some of the broader societal disruption.
While we have made a tremendous amount of progress in the past year toward better member engagement and alignment to organizational objectives and purpose, what has got us here will not keep us here. In 2021, we need to be even more disciplined in our focus for sustained performance, and that means satisfaction and purpose in our work, and continuing to learn and grow to deliver results.
Change often brings with it a feeling of ambiguity for many of us and that is to be expected. Adapting to the disruptive pressures on your profession will require us to be more aligned than ever on common purpose.
In the last edition of the Ontario Medical Review, I described the need for governance transformation at the OMA. At November’s Fall Council, delegates agreed to these changes proposed by the Governance Transformation 2020 Task Force.
Transformation will allow the OMA to represent members more effectively on key issues like compensation, policy, and advocacy. It will connect members more directly to their elected colleagues and decision-making bodies. It will also give members a chance to directly influence and develop policy in a way that was not possible under the old structure.
The new structure will also enable a smaller, skills-based Board and a General Assembly that promotes co-operation among constituencies and reflects the diversity of the profession.
It may be helpful to remind ourselves that perfection should not be the enemy of good.
Implementation of these changes will be the most important next step. As part of this, it will be vital to make sure that we have diversity and seize the expectation that all members are appropriately represented.
Read more about the changes coming to the OMA.
Next, I want to familiarize you with the OMA’s 2021 goals. These goals have been created through priority setting with Board and Council and informed by the most in-depth survey of our members in OMA history.
Shown below are the eight goals for the OMA in 2021 organized by our four “Ms:” Manage, Membership, Mandate, and Modernize.
Earlier this year, I started giving a full CEO Report to Members on the OMA website to update you quarterly on the work your Association is doing on your behalf in conjunction with the many town halls that we hold throughout the year. This is in the spirit of helping members better understand the functioning of their organization.
My 24 months representing physicians across Ontario have been the most rewarding and purposeful period of my entire career and I am more proud than ever to serve as your CEO.
Allan O’Dette
OMA Chief Executive Officer
Manage and strengthen the relationship with decision-makers and other Stakeholders
Improve membership satisfaction and engagement through improved value to members.
Manage and clarify roles, goals and objectives between the CEO, Board of Directors, Council and membership to drive organizational effectiveness.
Build an agile, cross-functional, effective and efficient OMA to improve the lives of doctors and patients.