I have seen firsthand how healthcare providers often lack the leadership training required to wield the level of influence and relation-building skills they need to succeed.
They spend years perfecting their skills and refining their specialties, but very little time learning to be an effective leader. However, due to the nature of the industry, the most skilled among these professionals are eventually placed in positions of leadership.
After they assume these new leadership positions, they quickly find themselves struggling to inspire their teams and connect with their staff and patients.
Here are 3 signs that you should consider executive leadership coaching.
1. You have acquired a leadership position without any leadership training
In the healthcare industry, most of the training focuses on knowledge and skills. Rarely do you receive training in how to lead a team effectively. I call this the “Leadership Gap.”
If you can’t be an effective leader for your team, everyone will suffer — your fellow staff members and patients alike. It takes time and instruction to gain clarity around your goals, identify actionable changes that are personal to you, and work towards adjusting your behavior.
2. Your leadership challenges relate to low Emotional Intelligence
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time on conflict management? Do you struggle with not knowing how to communicate with your team and/or patients effectively? Have your patients and/or colleagues lodged complaints about your “bedside manner”?
In the healthcare industry, I correlate “bedside manner” as the equivalent of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). This can manifest itself in many ways, including disinterested body language, poor listening skills, a lack of empathy, constantly interrupting others, speaking in a way that does not make the other person feel comforted, etc.
Studies in this industry have shown that people respond best when they sense empathy and compassion from a colleague or provider. For your team, this means better performance, reduced burnout, and greater well-being. For patients, this leads to improved outcomes and greater adherence to recommendations. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
An executive leadership coach would help you develop your Emotional Intelligence so that you can build stronger professional relationships, better guide your team, inspire greater patient engagement, and turn your intentions into actions to achieve success.
3. You want to take the next step in your career but aren’t sure how to do it
You may be the most skilled healthcare practitioner in your field, but without knowing how to navigate an upward trajectory, your career may stagnate.
Career advancement in healthcare isn’t just about an accumulation of knowledge. It also requires knowing what you want, setting actionable goals, changing your behavior, and learning how to be an effective leader in the process. Your leadership coach will help guide you on this path.
About Dr. Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC.
Do you want to increase your impact? Do you want to increase profits under your leadership? Do you want to develop and use your abilities to the fullest to better connect with and lead others? Executive Leadership Coaching covers these bases. Dr. Jerrund Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC, has more than 30 years of successful executive leadership coaching in the United States and internationally.
As a licensed pharmacist, he is particularly passionate about helping develop effective leaders in the healthcare community. Dr. Wilkerson has coached and trained thousands of managers and leaders. He is a certified coach and member of the John Maxwell Leadership Team.
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