Performance coaching might also be what some leaders do when they “coach” their teams around goals. For example, the leader might guide the team member through a 4-step process of establishing Goals, assessing Current State, identifying Obstacles, and then Planning a way forward. While the leader might use coaching communication during these  interactions, this is another example of performance coaching.

In both these examples, the “coach” (i.e. leader or trainer) has established the goal and direction for the coaching. The desired outcome is established as well. While the coachee may participate voluntarily and willingly, the objective of the coaching is narrowly focused on improving the measured performance of the coachee (e.g. improved Press-Ganey scores, or % increase in revenue).

By comparison, personal development coaching is driven by the coachee. The coachee articulates goals or topic areas that are current and relevant to them. The coach is in partnership with the coachee to support the goals and outcomes the coachee has identified. For example, a physician may identify that “reducing stress” is a relevant topic for them right now. Another relevant topic might be “improve the morale in my department.” The client might choose to include metrics to describe the outcomes they are aiming for, but this is not required.   Commonly they will describe the outcomes they want in non-quantitative terms, e.g. “I want to feel like I’m skipping to work each day.” In the coaching process, then, the personal development coach has a variety of coaching tools and structures to support their physician client self-awareness, personal growth, as well as forward movement to their stated goals.

I so appreciate all of our community members who are passionate about supporting physicians and clinicians. My mission is to create a culture of coaching.  This starts with a better understanding of professional coaching and the proven benefits for doctors.

The Physician Coaching Institute is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF); therefore  we are aligned with the ICF definition of coaching, which describes a partnership in support of the client’s growth. As stewards for coaching, we encourage everyone in our community—whether a grad or a newsletter subscriber—to also be stewards for coaching. Let’s be more deliberate in our use of the word “coaching” when it comes to clinicians and healthcare teams. Indeed, this may require that we educate healthcare leaders about what professional coaching IS and what it is NOT.

The post Physician Coaching: For Development or Performance? appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

1. You are your own best teacher

2. Accept responsibility.  Blame no one.

3. You can learn anything you want to learn.

4. True understanding comes from reflecting on your experience.

The post Physician, Know Thyself:  Your Key to Leadership appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

1. Everyone can be a leader.  NOT TRUE.  Many executives don’t have the self-knowledge or the authenticity necessary for leadership.

2. Leaders deliver business results.  NOT ALWAYS.  If results were always a matter of good leadership, picking leaders would be easy.  Things are not that simple.  Businesses in quasi-monopolistic industries can often do very well with competent management rather than great leadership.  Equally, some well-led businesses do not necessarily produce results, particularly in the short term.

3. People who get to the top are leaders.  NOT NECESSARILY. One of the most persistent misperceptions is that people in leadership positions are leaders.  But people who make it to the top may have done so because of political acumen, not necessarily because of true leadership quality.  What’s more, real leaders are found all over the organization, from the executive suite to the shop floor.  By definition, leaders are simply people who have followers, and rank doesn’t have much to do with that.

4. Leaders are great coaches.  RARELY. It is often taught that leaders ought to be good coaches.  That thinking assumes that a single person can both inspire the troops and impart technical skills.  It’s possible that great leaders may also be great coaches.  More typical are leaders like Steve Jobs whose distinctive strengths lie in their ability to excite others through their vision rather than through their coaching talents.

The post Physician Leader, Don’t Fall for These Myths About Leadership appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

Physician leaders ready to go to the next level in what they ask of themselves and of their organizations will find inspiration from The Corporate Mystic:  A Guidebook for Visionaries With Their Feet on the Ground, by Hendricks and Ludeman.  Here are their thoughts on Intuition:

“Intuition is a high-skill area of Corporate Mystics.  As leaders, they must be in touch with the intuitive as well as the logical aspects of themselves.  When the heart and soul connection is missing, no amount of data will fill the gap.

“Some call it a ‘gut feeling’, while others speak of an intuitive ‘flash’.  The dictionary says that intuition is ‘direct knowing of something without the conscious use of reasoning.’  It is what you might use to:

• Make a personnel decision.
• Tune in to where the problems are in a particular project.
• Get your timing right on an investment.
• Come up with a new market for an existing product.

“Intuition is a natural gift, something to which we all have access.  It is also a talent, something we can fine-tune with practice.  The main reason intuition is so important is this:  It is a clear sign that you are connecting with your inner spiritual guidance system.  Intuition is a direct signal from your deepest self that you are navigating from your true center.  When intuition is not working for you, it is a sign that you need to refresh your connection with your center.  As an Archbishop of Canterbury once said, ‘When I pray, miracles happen.  When I don’t, they don’t.’  The same is true with intuition.  When it’s there, you can rest assured that you have been nurturing your connecting with your own soul in some way.  When it’s not there, it’s time to spend some time in medication, or by a waterfall, or in you office with the door closed.”

Here are  additional supportive quotes on the power of intuition:

“The intuitive mind will tell the thinking mind where to look next.”    –Dr. Jonas Salk

“The really valuable thing is intuition.”  –Albert Einstein

“The leader who would create a vision sufficiently compelling to motivate associates to superior performances must draw on the intuitive mind.”  –John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene

“People with high levels of personal mastery do not set out to integrate reason and intuition.  Rather, they achieve it naturally—as a by-product of their commitment to use all the resources at their disposal.  They cannot afford to choose between reason and intuition, or head and heart, any more than they would choose to walk on one leg or see with one eye.”     –Peter Senge

“The mind, when it is quiet, delivers up phenomenal intuition which can then be focused to design a next-generation product or to understand what’s driving particular customers.”  –Ed McCracken, CEO, Silicon Graphics

I strongly encourage all physician leaders to read The Corporate Mystic, by Gay Hendricks, PhD and Kate Ludeman, PhD.

The post Using Intuition as a Physician Leader appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

Do you want to be in the driver’s seat? Do you want to communicate with clarity, power and intention? Listen to yourself speak and choose your words carefully.

Replace “should” with “choose, desire or want”.  

Examples:  Instead of saying “I really should start looking around at some new options”, say “I want to explore new options”.

Replace “can’t”, with “I choose not to”; replace “must” with “I choose to”.  

Example: Instead of saying “I know I must make a change, but I can’t fit it in”, say “I choose to spend my time on activities that will move me forward in transition.”

Replace references to forces outside of you with “I” language.  

Example: Instead of saying “the system makes me crazy”, say “I am frustrated by this situation where my values are not honored.”

“We have no integrity when we attribute . . . our feelings and emotions to someone else, or the weather, or to anything which we can’t control [and] deny our own ability to choose alternative behaviors.” —Julia Penelope

The Power of “And” 

Here is a powerful way to express your views in a way that is respectful of other people’s ideas and improves the chances that YOUR ideas will be heard.    Substitute the word “and” for “but”.

For example, rather than saying:  “I understand what your issue is, but I don’t agree with you,” say “I understand what your issue is, and my view is . . . .”      Having someone “but” your idea is much like getting a mild slap upside the head.

A “but” often turns off effective listening in those very individuals that you want to influence.  Another way to use “and” is to add to views already expressed.

Rather than saying,  “That is an important point, but you left out the most significant point,” say, “That is important point and I would add to that these other points.”

The post Physician, Employ the Power of “And” appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

1.      View your system through the lens of complexity, in addition to the metaphor of a machine or a military organization—uncover and work with paradox and tension, rather than shying away from them as if they were unnatural.

2.      Build a good-enough vision and provide minimum specifications, rather than trying to plan out every little detail.

3.      When life is far from certain, lead from the edge; that is, balance data and intuition, planning and acting, safety and risk, giving due honor to each.

4.      Go for multiple actions at the fringes, letting direction arise, rather than believing that you must be sure before proceeding with anything.

5.       Grow complex systems by chunking—allowing complex systems to emerge out of the links among simple systems that work well and are capable of operating independently.

For more on Complexity Theory, read:  Edgeware: insights from complexity science for healthcare leaders, by Zimmerman, Lindberg and Plsek

The post Physicians Leading Transformation Require a Taste for Complexity appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

1.   Public speaking is a learned skill, not an innate talent.  The best speakers have been willing to go out and fall on their faces in front of as many audiences as were necessary for them to “get it right.”  The attitude shared by speakers interviewed for the book is that: you cannot fail at anything in life; you can only learn from your experiences and grow in the process.

2.   Great speakers are true to themselves.  Each prepares and delivers his or her message in a way that is totally honest and consistent with who they are as an individual.  Furthermore, these individuals had a vision of themselves making a difference in people’s lives by sharing their message—a vision that was bigger than their fear of appearing foolish in front of an audience.

 Source:  Success Secrets of the Motivational Superstars, Michael Jeffreys

The post Speak Like a Superstar Physician Leader: Hone Your Skills and Be Authentic appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

The founding member of the group was convinced his technology/product was ready for market launch.

Problem was, the group hadn’t yet discussed what and who the market was and whether it was worth going after.

Don’t fall into the trap of being so enamored with your idea, venture or invention, that you forget to perform a thorough market analysis. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on fancy research (although at some point you’ll be wise to invest in some hard data). Start by answering the FIVE basic questions of a good Market Opportunity Analysis.

Question 1 (Customer Value): Why is someone going to buy your product?

What problem will your product solve and why would someone start using your method/product/service versus what they are doing right now? What pain will you relieve? “Benefits” are not enough! You must relieve pain or solve a real problem! Customer value is the key question to answer first—AND be honest. Don’t bother with the rest of the questions if you can’t answer this one.

Question 2 (Market Profile): What type of organizations/persons/users will buy your product?

Notice I didn’t say “use”. Is the user the same as the buyer? Where is the buyer? How many buyers are there? Where are they located? What is their current state? How will we get to them?

From this exercise you will arrive at a number that represents the “available buyers.”

Question 3 (Market Size): How big is the market for this product?

Multiply your estimated size of the market (number of available buyers) times your best estimate of a price for your product.

The price must be based on reason: how are comparable products priced? What is the ROI of the product?

Calculate a figure for market size that represents market size right now, and also a future projection based on trends that will impact market characteristics and “buyer pain.”

From this exercise you will calcuate your market size and growth in terms of dollars.

Note: This is NOT your projected revenues or profits!

Question 4 (Market Share): What percentage of the market will we have?

This is the other question (besides customer value) where entrepreneurs lose their sense of reason.

Approach this exercise by asking yourself these key questions about “ramp up”:

How many of my products can I sell in year 1, year 2, year 3, year 4, and year 5, based on my ability to: a) build the product, b)educate the user/buyer, c)approach the buyer, d)close the sale, e)deliver the product, and f)handle the competitors also entering the market.

Resist the temptation to take the short-cut of: “if we only capture 1% of the market, we’ll be millionaires.” If it’s that’s easy to capture 1% of the market you will have a million competitors.

Do your homework and work out a pro forma sales projection for the first 5 years to figure market share and growth—and be sure to factor in the “ramp up.”

Question 5 (Competitive landscape): Why will someone buy from us and not the competition?

What will you do that is different? Will you compete on the basis of: a) price, b) special features, or c) overall value?

What will the competition say about your product? What you will say to a potential buyer about the competition?

And puhhleease don’t say you have no competitors!

If you can walk through these five basic questions about your market and create a defensible market plan, you are well on your way to a successful business plan.

The post Business Planning Basics for Physicians:  Don’t Forget Your Market! appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

If you are a healthcare entrepreneur contemplating a new product or service launch, your most challenging task will be in explaining what your product is, and why anyone would be interested—–explaining in reasonable span of time.  Often called the “elevator test” or the “elevator pitch“, the goal is to explain your product in the time it takes to ride up in an elevator.  Venture capitalists use this as a test of investment potential.  Being succinct with your pitch demonstrates clarity, focus, and purposefulness.   Jeffrey Moore’s classic book on Marketing Strategy, Crossing the Chasm, offers a proven formula for getting it down: “The key is to define your position based on the target segment you intend to dominate and the value proposition you intend to dominate it with.  Within this context, you then set forth your competition and the unique differentiation that belongs to you and that you expect to drive the buying decision your way.”   Here is Moore’s template (just fill in the blanks in the parentheses) and then an example for how to use it:

• For (target customers – your main market segment only)
• who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative),
• our product/service is a (new product category)
• that provides (key problem-solving capability).
• Unlike (the product alternative),
• we have assembled (key whole product features for your specific application/solution).

Here’s an example of how it might work for hypothetical physicians contemplating starting a premium office practice:

• For patients and families who prefer and can afford a premium medical service
• who are dissatisfied with the impersonal service and hassles of managed care,
• our medical practice is a new personalized, limited enrollment member-fee-based expanded caring and wellness health service
• that provides our members with complete clinical services, with on-time, personal attention in our clinic or in their home.
• Unlike current medical practices operating under traditional indemnity or managed care arrangements,
• we have assembled a complete service that not only covers our patients’ illness under their traditional coverage, but also provides a comprehensive wellness program with dieticians, trainers and holistic medicine practitioners.

Even if you aren’t contemplating a new venture right now, Moore’s book is an intriguing look at how companies enter or develop a new market.

If you  have a business idea rolling in your head, download the  “Thumbnail Business Plan” from my Success Circle members area, and walk your idea through this simple, but effective new venture planning tool.  If you’re puzzled about how to make your vision a reality, contact me to arrange a business strategy consultation to explore how you can accelerate your launch and be more strategic in your business planning.

Business Planning:  Track Your Assumptions 

One of the most difficult aspects of business planning for a new venture, product or project, is documenting and tracking the assumptions you make going in.  Your projections for how customers will find your product, how they will use the product, how much they will pay, how many customers there are—– are all based on your assumptions, even if you have “research” to back them up.  Write down your assumptions AND a brief notation about how you will steer your project or venture differently if the assumption doesn’t pan out as expected.  An excellent and classic article to read on the subject is “Discovery-Driven Planning,” by McGrath and MacMillan, available from the Harvard Business School Publishing (HBR, July-August 1995, #95406). Go to the HBR site and download the article; the cost is about $5.00.  http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/index.html

The post Physicians Creating a Business Plan: Track Your Assumptions appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

The post Forty-one ideas of what you can do as a physician healthcare consultant appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

Are you completely happy with your practice? With your academic career?  With you leadership role?  If not, there is an emerging science, the Science of Happiness, and a new approach, the Positive Psychology movement, that is here to help you figure out how you can change things and get happy!

The Happy Equation

According to Martin Seligman, PhD, professor of Psychology at U Penn, and a notable researcher in the Positive Psychology movement, happiness results from three factors:

1. Your “set range” – your “biological” capacity for happiness
2. The circumstances and environment of your life, such as whether you live in a stable country at peace, have a job, a loving spouse, good partners.
3. Those factors and attitudes that are completely under your voluntary control to change.

In his book, Authentic Happiness, Seligman outlines a compelling prescription for creating more fulfillment and happiness in your life—your WHOLE life:  work, home, play, relationships.

Here are a few of Seligman’s Authentic Happiness principles:

• Let go of the false belief that your past negative experiences determine your present and future
• Increase your gratitude about the good things in your past
• Learn how to forgive past wrongs
• Distinguish between pleasures and gratifications: Pleasures are sensory experiences with a strong emotional component, but which don’t require a lot of thinking. By contrast, gratifications come from applying your unique strengths and virtues (hence “authentic”) and have a longer lasting quality.  Therefore, spend more energy creating gratifying experiences.

Core to achieving “authentic happiness” is uncovering your natural strengths—what Seligman calls “signature strengths.”

Know Your Strengths

We all have our own “top 4 or 5” strengths.  The key is to learn what they are and do everything we can to express them, particularly in our work!

When working with my own clients, I frequently have them complete Seligman’s “Values in Action” assessment, a 240-quesion survey that provides a means to gaining greater understanding of their underlying drivers and motivators. The survey computes their “top 5” signature strengths.

Seligman and his team describe 24 strengths and virtues in terms of “values in action,” and group them into these 6 overarching categories:

1. Wisdom and Knowledge
2. Courage
3. Humanity and Love
4. Justice
5. Temperance
6. Transcendence

Note: You have the opportunity to learn more about Authentic Happiness, to complete a Values in Action Assessment and get a complimentary debrief on your results. See Tele-class announcement below.

The purpose of delving more deeply into your personal strengths and virtues is to identify and create more opportunities whereby you use and express them.  From Seligman’s perspective, it is the difference between living a good life, versus living a meaningful life.

If you are interested learning more about the Positive Psychology movement and how to apply this new thinking to your own life, I encourage you to attend the Tele-class on May 16.  Or contact our office directly to arrange for you to complete the “Values in Action” survey and debrief the results.

The post The Science of Happiness Applies to Physicians Too appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.

Physician Career Expansioon:  If it’s not scary, you’re not stretching enough!

A natural feeling during expansion—whether expanding into clinical domain or to “something else,” or from being a physician executive to “something in business”—is FEAR.  Making big changes is akin to flying the high trapeze without a safety net.  If you’re NOT feeling some fear and anxiety, then chances are you’re not swinging high enough!  The FEAR FACTOR is what keeps most people from attempting change at all. Here is a secret:  Physicians who successfully expand their career are not fear-less; they are COURAGEOUS.  That is, they feel the fear, and do what they have to do anyway:  make the phone call, take the class, write the letter, talk to a stranger, set up an informational interview, take the qualifying exam, speak up at the meeting, sign up for the conference, write the article, make the list, leave their practice, cut back their hours, do the exercise, buy the supplies, get the kit, enroll in the training, send out the brochure.

Here are FOUR ways to help you feel the fear and do it anyway:

1.  For practical advice on fear and transition, read Barbara Jeffers’ Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway.
2. For a mystical perspective to personal transformation and an understanding of how transition is “death of the former self”, read Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth or Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul.
3. Find a personal mantra that supports you.  Here are a few suggestions:  “no pain, no gain”, “feel the fear and do it anyway”, “trust in God, all will be well”, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, “life is not a rehearsal”, “there is genius in boldness”, “carpe diem  – seize the day”, “go for it.”
4. Find a partner—friend, coach, spouse—that you can share your fear with.  When you express fear, their job is NOT to say: “everything will be ok”.  Their line is:  “What will support you in . . . making that phone call, setting up that meeting etc.”

The post Want to Expand Your Physician Career? Take Time to “I  A M” appeared first on The Physician Coaching Journey.