A number of years ago, I read a book by Dr. Henry Cloud, entitled “Boundaries for Leaders”.
I highly recommend it to any dentist or physician who is leading a private practice and wants some great insights into leadership.
In the book, he quotes one of his clients who is expressing one of his frustrations in leading his business. See if his words resonate with you.
“When I started my organization, no one told me that half of my energy would be spent actually building and leading it and the other half, or even more, would be spent protecting and defending it against all of the things other people wanted it to be. It takes a ferocious amount of spinal fortitude to not end up making a crappy mix of your vision and endless bits and scraps from others who didn’t have the cojones to start something themselves.”
Can I get an “Amen”?
This is one of the many obstacles to the healthy and continual growth of an organization. Way too many people who have no capital investment into the establishment and growth of your practice are constantly trying to bring their abundant opinions and ideas into the vision for your practice.
While it is true that where there is no vision, the people perish, it is also true that when there are competing visions, confusion reigns supreme.
And that will not only cost you dearly, but it will also frustrate you without end.
This is why Dr. Cloud encourages his readers that they are “ridiculously in charge” of their business, organization, or in our case, our practice.
To be ridiculously in charge is not a call to becoming an arrogant, selfish, dictatorial jerk (doesn’t healthcare have enough of those kinds), but to take the responsibility to give your practice and your team a clear and compelling vision that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMING UP WITH.
This kind of vision clearly describes what kind of practice you want to become. It is realistic and aspirational. It is challenging and encouraging. It is something that is evident now and not yet.
It is a vision that is communicated and lived out by you. It is allowing your team to grow in their trust in you as you lead them to a place that they have never been.
But they are excited to get there.
And they want to journey to that place with you.
Competing visions chip away and dilute all these possibilities in your practice. When parts of your vision are chipped away and diluted, they are replaced with frustration, disappointment, and a lack of fruitful growth in your practice.
There are two great obstacles when bringing a clear and compelling vision to a practice.
One is that the doctor has no idea what his vision for the practice really is. He has never given it much thought or spent any focused time wrestling with this issue. As a result, someone else’s vision takes center stage.
Two, is that once a vision is established and communicated to his team, the doctor is not prepared to deal with the inevitable push back that occurs from those who are not in alignment with the vision. As we read earlier, he doesn’t have the cojones or spine to stand up for his vision.
At the Kalos Business Group, we help doctors develop the vision that they believe is the essence of what they want their practice to become. We also partner with them to help them navigate through the normal resistance, barriers, and difficulties that come with leading a team.
We also get a great deal of satisfaction watching them grow and lead their practices and enjoy the fruitfulness of following a clear and compelling vision.
Doctor, if you are frustrated with the nature of your practice, then may I ask, “What kind of practice do you really want to have? And why don’t you build that kind of practice instead”?
Grab a copy of Boundaries for Leaders. Check us out at www.kalosbusinessgroup.com as well.
It’s time to get ridiculously in charge.
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