Last year I attended a high-energy 4-day seminar that was designed to teach participants how to take life to the next level by identifying those things that hold us back.
It was definitely a “get out of your comfort zone” type of event. Obviously, attending an event like this can be personally impactful, but it also sparked questions for my professional journey in healthcare.
Are we missing an opportunity as healthcare leaders to slow down and dissect what makes achieving world-class results such a frustrating, uphill battle? How can we as leaders “unleash” our team’s potential, drive and motivation to achieve greater fulfillment and inspired results for our patients?
In my consulting and coaching business I teach healthcare leaders and teams how to achieve Interpersonal Efficiency (IE). Interpersonal Efficiency is defined as a method to maximize the impact of every interaction with the LEAST amount of wasted time and effort and the MOST amount of skill and connection. The result of IE is inspired and efficient patient outcomes as well as a more balanced approach to work.
So how can Interpersonal Efficiency take your team to the next level?
The 6 Steps to Unleashing Your Team to Achieve Inspired Results
- Identify Your Team’s Expectations:
Having the expectation that one can achieve a big goal is key to actually achieving it! If you don’t expect (or believe) you can reach it, you likely won’t.
“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.” —Jim Rohn
For example, a man I know who was overweight, with high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol decided to train for and run a marathon. His wife told him it was unrealistic. He had never run a day in his life! His doctor told him that he might want to start with a smaller goal. But the man KNEW that he could reach this lofty goal. Even though he was overweight, not athletic and an unhealthy eater, he had a deep down belief and expectation that he would figure it out and cross the finish line. By committing to training, he crossed the finish line.
Does your team EXPECT that reaching the next level is achievable? Can they SEE themselves at that level? If the team does not view itself world class, it is unlikely they will achieve world class status.
Help your team identify their beliefs and expectations about what is possible. Are their expectations about what is possible limiting their progress? Help your team challenge themselves by getting curious. Describe in detail how you know that your team is uniquely qualified to accomplish its goals.
- Create Clarity on WHY:
We all need to have an intrinsic and extrinsic drive to achieve the next level. These aspects make up our personal WHY…our reminder of what’s important.
What are the internal benefits of taking the next step for each individual team member? Perhaps it’s personal pride, making a difference, connection to others, or accomplishment. It’s important to help your team make the connection to what is important for them.
In addition, external benefits that will come from achieving the next level are essential. Research on motivation shows that understanding the impact to the beneficiary of the work or goal is an important driver.
Provide your team with testimonials of those who were impacted by past successes. Stories of patients who were impacted or colleagues who were inspired or experienced professional growth from specific successes are highly motivating to others.
Help your team create clarity on their WHY by asking them the following:
- What would it mean to you personally to achieve this goal?
- What would change in your world? For example: less stress, more time with family, fewer distractions, professional fulfillment, accomplishment, etc.
- Who would be positivity impacted by meeting this goal?
- How does reaching this goal directly relate with your purpose?
- What is it about reaching this goal excites you?
- Identify & Honor the Dread
Healthcare is full of high achievers. Overcoming obstacles has elevated many with impressive milestones.
After major achievements, it is not uncommon to wonder as a healthcare professional, Do I have the energy to repeat that success? Is our team ready to do the same amount or more work AGAIN? This is where burnout can begin.
It’s like hiking up a mountain full of switchbacks, and you think you are almost to the summit, but around the next corner is even another switchback and another. You know the view will be worth it, but do you have it IN you? I mean, the view looks ok from where you stand!
Is your team dreading the next uphill climb? Teams often avoid taking definitive action to reach the next goal if the energy, effort and time it will take is daunting.
Remind your team of their why. Reassure them of their competencies. Help them identify the part of the journey they are dreading or avoiding and brainstorm new ways to approach these challenges.
Most importantly, reassure them that dread and avoidance are a normal part of the process that all high achievers experience and overcome.
- Dissect Past Success:
All too often we take for granted the amazing successes that our teams have accomplished. And even more often we don’t take the time to dissect what made them successful.
We can learn from our mistakes, and also be inspired by past successes.
Facilitate an exercise with your team that dissects every aspect of their last major success. Identify how they can do more of what worked well. By focusing on their achievements, confidence will be restored and the next level becomes possible. While conducting a simple SWOT on the process is helpful, take a deeper look by asking the following series of questions:
- What worked well?
- What did you believe about the goal (did you expect to achieve it)?
- What skills did you master to be successful?
- What strengths did you use?
- What did each member of the team uniquely bring to the table to help meet the goal
- What obstacles were encountered?
- What strategies were employed to overcome them?
- How did you communicate? At what intervals did you communicate and about what did you communicate?
- Simply Simplify:
I once attended a conference where one of the attendees was the head engineer responsible for developing the apparatus that took images of Pluto. When describing his project management tips, he told the audience that he achieved his goal by defining and focusing on the five big strategies needed and then taking action on the “Big 5”. In other words, he had only FIVE strategies to get to Pluto!
When a goal is lofty, it is easy to complicate matters. Yes, there are a lot of potential roadblocks and details that need to be considered. But when we lead with this focus, it’s hard to gain momentum. Sometimes we just need to chunk it up to the “Big 5” and take action.
Jack Canfield, in the book “The Success Principles”, suggests using the “Rule of 5” to make a complicated goal do-able. The rule of 5 is simply doing 5 things daily that will move you closer to your goal.
In achieving a lofty goal, it is helpful to extend the Rule of 5 by:
- Define your “Big 5” (big picture strategies) for reaching the lofty goal. For example; if you want to start a new service line, your 5 strategies might be:
A) Outline and write business plan for service line
B) Gain funding and approval for service line
C) Hire physicians and staff
D) Write and implement operational policies/procedures
E) Market services to potential patients and/or referring physicians
- Define 5 questions you have to answer to accomplish your Big 5. You will likely have 5 questions for each of the 5 strategies or you may just have 5 overarching questions that you need answered to move forward.
- Define 5 daily action steps that will take you closer to your goal
6. Celebrate:
I used to underestimate the power of celebration. I mean, who has time to celebrate when we are on to the next thing on our to-do list. That all changed when I made it a habit to celebrate both the smallest and largest of accomplishments. The celebrations were simple and effective. It boosted my mood and confidence and forced me to pause and appreciate. It inspired me to keep moving forward. It dawned on me that baby steps are the building blocks of progress.
So always celebrate — whether it is a handwritten thank you note, a private “happy dance” in your office, or public celebration. Celebrations will motivate your team to the next level.
Carrie Koh is a consultant, healthcare administrator, leadership coach, wife and mom who is passionate about alleviating tension and frustration in healthcare environments. Carrie is focused on increasing the speed of results in healthcare delivery through Interpersonal Efficiency. Her goal is to make life easier for those who give so much while serving others. Carrie welcomes you to connect at www.carriekoh.com
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