Coaching isn't playing Nov 12

rfp · Comments: 4
Whether you're a physician or non-physician administrator, you can't step in and play the game for your best physicians. You need to coach them to be their best, which means practicing best for the patient as well as for the team.
When I was a hospital and practice administrator I knew one thing for certain. I couldn't practice medicine. I'm not a physician. So if I was frustrated with the work a physician was doing, I couldn't take the reins in my hands and ask him or her to step aside.

Day to day, dealing with administrative issues, one of the strongest messages any leader can send is simply, step aside and I'll do it.... whatever it is. But when you literally can't do "it," what do you do. 

The short answer is you learn to be a good coach. Think about it, can John Fox step in for Peyton Manning? Can Coach Fox even likely offer Peyton tips on the finer points of the perfect spiral - I doubt it. 
But what Coach Fox, and any high calibre coach (administrator, executive, leader, manager), can do is provide the best players with the best tools, resources and venues in which to do their best work.

Think about it... what do you provide your players, your physicians to do their best work? 

You hire office staff, provide equipped exam rooms, diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, and a variety of resources. However, are they the "resources" your physicians want? Have you asked, and if you've asked, what have you asked?   That may sound like a tough-twister, but here's the question. It's the little things that help people be successful and happy. Finding out what those little things are is rarely an easy or a quick conversation. Coaches for professional sports teams spend an enormous amount of time with their players. They learn the nuances. That's what makes them good coaches and their players better both individually and as a team.

What are you doing to be the best coach you can be?

Comments: 4

Email again:

Add a comment


PCP is unique as the only consulting organization recognizing physicians as the drivers of healthcare with the objective of improving healthcare delivery by creating happy and successful physician practices. That means happy and successful physicians.