Interview With Park Nicollet Foundation: the Strategic Planning Process
In October 2024, Collectivity shared a video interview with Hayley Mueller, a leader at Park Nicollet Foundation, reflecting on the impactful partnership between Collectivity and the foundation during their strategic planning process. In the video, Hayley discusses how Collectivity helped guide the foundation through a comprehensive discovery and visioning process, bringing clarity and collaboration to their work and enabling them to align their strategies with community needs. This full interview provides deeper insights into the journey, shedding light on how the foundation’s strategic plan is shaping their future and driving impact in the community.
What is Park Nicollet Foundation?
Park Nicollet Foundation is a foundation within HealthPartners, a large healthcare organization that provides both care and coverage in the community. I represent the Park Nicollet side of the services. We are mostly in the West Metro area, and our job is really to make sure that patients have access to the things that make their experience as positive as possible. All of those things that really help an experience go above and beyond—that’s what the foundation is here for. This could be things like capital funding, a ride to an appointment, or something as small as providing a blanket. It’s really about access to exceptional care, and we have been doing this for over 50 years. We’re growing up! And this strategic plan really helped us figure out what we want to be when we grow up.
I work closely with physicians and leaders at Park Nicollet to identify the needs they see as community demographics change. As these needs continue to change, the Park Nicollet Foundation needs to show up in different ways. We adapt our approach because we cannot maintain the status quo. Being side-by-side with them and walking through this process has been a hallmark of our work.
Additionally, I work closely with leadership at HealthPartners to determine what we are doing, where we are headed, and how we can help fill gaps. Often, the foundations will describe our work as representing the gap between operational and aspirational goals. We help create a margin of excellence that allows us to do fun, innovative, and interesting things that set us apart from our peers.
Every day involves collaboration with many people. We grant out millions of dollars a year. I am trying to understand how we can help. We are partnering all the time, all day long.
How has the Strategic Planning Process Played a Role in Supporting Your Impact in the Community?
I came into this role around 15 months ago to a great organization that had not had an effective strategic plan in over a decade. We were the wild west of HealthPartners. There is some fun in that; we got to do a lot of different things. However, there were no guardrails, clarity, or focus. I knew I needed to find a third-party perspective and a partner that has a mission at its core and is about collaboration, who could help me see the forest through the trees. We are very complex—healthcare in general is complex—and to see one piece of a bigger picture, I needed a partner who could help me sift through that.
I was super impressed with the process of discovery at the beginning. I needed that as a new leader, my team needed that having been through a transition, and perhaps most importantly, my board needed that. I needed a process that was going to engage them deeply in the work and invite them to ask really hard questions. We asked things that maybe weren’t asked before, or even taboo to ask before. This partnership with Collectivity helped us do that in so many ways—such as what people think of us, or that they don’t think of us at all. The impact we can have when we are better together is huge. I thought of Collectivity captaining our ship, and we are all under the deck making us sail—I always felt we had clarity, a true north, in the process. We would not have had that without Collectivity’s partnership.
What are your thoughts on Collectivity’s approach to strategic planning?
The discovery process at the beginning was fundamental and foundational to the experience. We needed to talk to our internal stakeholders, external stakeholders, and ourselves; asking ourselves who we are and where we’ve been. In order for us to get a really firm grounding on where we needed to go, we took time. We did a long discovery process, with lots of interviews. Every nugget we got from those interviews can be seen in the final plan. That process was great.
When we moved on to visioning, that was when our board really came alive. When we invited them to walk alongside us and say what they think, those meetings were long but fun and energizing, and the way they were facilitated through activity was critical. I needed somebody to get everyone out of their shells because I knew the passion and compassion were there—but they hadn’t been invited to the table. The really collaborative and fun way that we went about the work was important. It was also helpful that Collectivity participated! That felt more like Collectivity was doing strategic planning with us as a partner.
Going through the plan and building out the strategies, tactics, and measures—you never let us rest. In a good way and positive way! Collectivity always saw areas of improvement, and I appreciated that. Our final product is what it is because we were pushed in the kindest way to put our all into it and not let up. I appreciate it!
After Crafting a Strategic Plan, What Comes Next?
Our plan is not dramatically different from what we have been doing, but this plan gives us a lens of inquiry. We can look at our work and ask, “Why did we do that?” “Should we?” That is a change for us. There are a lot of emotions tied up in some of the programs we are digging into. There are countless headwinds coming at healthcare right now—we are being called in a different way than we have historically. That is a challenge, but now we have something to point to as our north star. Some of these conversations are already starting; you can feel it at our board meetings. We are a big organization, and having the process be as transparent and open as it was gives us a leg to stand on as we look at making change. We couldn’t have been more clear and open. I am proud of that! People feel like their fingerprints are on this plan.
Our plan has inspired a lot of people. Not that there is anything earth-shattering about it, but it is on paper, organized, and clear. I had the opportunity to present to my peers at the foundations across HealthPartners. We are all different sizes, personalities, and roles within the organization. The hunger for this clarity is insatiable. People want the clarity, and they want to know what our role is and how to do it well. I don’t feel the need to hang on to any of this; it is meant to be shared. From a senior leader perspective, I have also had an opportunity to bring this to Methodist Hospital leadership. Everyone is so excited—who knew strategic planning could be so fun and exciting for people!?
Those conversations are already starting, and as we have done a quiet rollout of our goals and strategies, they have been so well received by both internal and external stakeholders. We are just excited!
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Hayley Mueller for generously sharing her time and insights in this interview. We also want to express our gratitude to Zara Zanussi and Scott Cole for their thoughtful facilitation of the conversation, ensuring the depth and value of the discussion.
