Communication skills predict success.All sorts of business, technical and commercial skills are needed to be successful as executives and leaders in any health care organization. However, the longer I work with physician executives, the more I am convinced that strong communication skills are the most important on the path to success. Necessary communication skills include: * Writing * Public speaking * Conflict resolution * Confrontation * Giving feedback * Dealing with disruptive disruptive /dis·rup·tive/ (-tiv) 1. bursting apart; rending. 2. causing confusion or disorder. physicians * Running meetings * Interviewing * Negotiation * Listening Writing Your writing needs to be concise and brief. Most of us do not want to read anything long. If we do, we can curl up curl v. curled, curl·ing, curls v.tr. 1. To twist (the hair, for example) into ringlets or coils. 2. on the sofa and read War and Peace. When we write, whether it is a brief e-mail, a business plan or an annual report, we need to think about who the audience is. Do they need lots of facts, process details, an intuitive or futuristic fu·tur·is·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to the future. 2. a. Of, characterized by, or expressing a vision of the future: futuristic decor. b. approach, or feelings and stories? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Public speaking Brevity Brevity Adonis’ garden of short life. [Br. Lit.: I Henry IV] bubbles symbolic of transitoriness of life. [Art: Hall, 54] cherry fair cherry orchards where fruit was briefly sold; symbolic of transience. is as important for speeches as it is for written documents. Also, significant attention must be given to delivery, since we know that audiences will remember what they thought of the speaker long after they have forgotten what he or she had to say. Unless you know you are a pro, practicing with a coach or at least a friend or family member who can give constructive feedback is advisable ad·vis·a·ble adj. Worthy of being recommended or suggested; prudent. ad·vis  a·bil . It is
particularly helpful to do that practicing in front of a video camera or
a mirror.
Conflict resolution This is a regular activity for physician executives in provider or payer organizations. The ability to listen impartially im·par·tial adj. Not partial or biased; unprejudiced. See Synonyms at fair1. im par·ti·al to all sides of a
conflict and help forge "win-win" solutions is paramount.
Also, knowing when to say, "I have decided," is a critical
skill.
An example of when a physician leader might need to facilitate conflict resolution is when physicians in a clinical department in a group practice are arguing about whether senior members should take less, or no, after-hours call. A resolution might allow senior physicians to get out of call by "paying" younger physicians to take extra call. Confrontation Confrontations are awkward for most of us. We tend to dread them and put them off. Tact and a non-judgmental approach work best. Good feedback skills get the job done. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Giving feedback Whether it is in a informal situation or in a more structured performance evaluation Performance evaluation The assessment of a manager's results, which involves, first, determining whether the money manager added value by outperforming the established benchmark (performance measurement) and, second, determining how the money manager achieved the calculated return , in order for feedback to be effective it must be positive as well as negative and constructive. The positive feedback really needs to be emphasized as it is human nature to hear the bad stuff more than the good. Also, constructive criticism must be descriptive and specific, not general. An example of negative feedback that is both descriptive and specific would be to say: "You missed three deadlines in the past two weeks." Do not say: "You are irresponsible ir·re·spon·si·ble adj. 1. Marked by a lack of responsibility: irresponsible accusations. 2. Lacking a sense of responsibility; unreliable or untrustworthy. 3. ." An example of positive feedback that is both descriptive and specific would be "You didn't want to take the job as department manager, and yet you are doing a great job of living within your budget, handling to complaints and making your staff more productive." Do not say: "You are doing a great job," which sounds good but is too general to keep getting the desired results. Dealing with disruptive behavior This involves many of the skills on this list: listening, confrontation, possibly negotiation, conflict resolution, and giving feedback. First of all, the person confronting the disruptive physician must be supported by clear by-laws and a written code of conduct and the unwavering backing of the chief executive officer, the board and the medical executive committee. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The confronter must remain calm, stay strong and be clearly in control of the situation. He or she must describe the alleged undesirable behavior clearly, get acknowledgment acknowledgment, in law, formal declaration or admission by a person who executed an instrument (e.g., a will or a deed) that the instrument is his. The acknowledgment is made before a court, a notary public, or any other authorized person. of what report or complaint was made (this is not an admission of guilt admission of guilt n. a statement by someone accused of a crime that he/she committed the offense. If the admission is made outside court to a police officer it may be introduced as evidence if the defendant was given the proper warnings as to his/her rights ), get acknowledgment of the consequences if the alleged behavior continues, and agreement on what the next step in the process will be. Doing this unpleasant task can be learned. Not doing it can have serious repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl for the whole organization. It sends a message that the behavior is acceptable, and it will spread like a contagious disease contagious disease n. See communicable disease. . Running meetings Effectively running meetings will make you an instant hit with your constituents. Such obvious things as starting the meeting on time, ending it on time, sticking to the agenda, getting opinions from everyone attending the meeting, managing the dominant talkers and complainers, and being sure that everyone understands what needs to happen before the next meeting will enhance the effectiveness of the meeting and improve the satisfaction of the participants. Interviewing From either side of the table, interviewing involves listening both for what is said and not said. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An example of something "not said" would be if the interviewer avoids talking about the organization's succession plan when asked about that by the candidate. That probably means there isn't one, this person doesn't want one or something negative. Both people need to prepare. If you are the interviewee, you need to know everything possible about the hiring organization and be prepared for all sorts of questions. If you are doing the interviewing, you need to be prepared to ask the candidate about his skills, accomplishments, personality traits and management style. Negotiation Negotiation also relies heavily on good listening to learn what the other party wants. The most effective negotiators strive to create "win-win" situations. An example of this could be when the hospital's chief medical officer has to talk to the surgeons and other physicians about coverage, and compensation for that coverage, of unassigned patients who present to the emergency department. A "win-win" solution would generally satisfy the doctors and not ruin the hospital's finances. Listening This is the most important skill of all. If you want to be an effective influencer, you must first be a good listener. When talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to a good listener, you know you have her full attention. You can tell it from the eye contact, posture posture /pos·ture/ (pos´choor) the attitude of the body.pos´tural pos·ture n. 1. A position of the body or of body parts. 2. , gestures and facial expressions--even from the kinds of questions she asks--open-ended, inviting you to tell more. Effective physician executives and leaders must also be good influencers. Often we need to influence people over whom we have no direct power (i.e., influencing physicians to adopt clinical guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. and protocols in the daily practices). Even if we are in a "boss" position, the followers followers see dairy herd. will not follow for long if you are not a skilled communicator and influencer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Openness is another hallmark hallmark, mark impressed on silverwork or goldwork to signify official approval of the standard of purity of the metal, also called plate mark. The hallmark was introduced by statute in England in 1300 and enforced by the Goldsmiths' Hall, London. of the most effective leaders. There are two aspects to openness: 1. Being open to the ideas of others especially when they differ from your own. This demands good listening, negotiation and giving and receiving feedback. 2. Another aspect of openness involves the leader's willingness to share his agendas rather than always holding his cards "close to the vest." I hope that your organization's annual performance evaluation process includes an assessment and feedback on all of these important communication skills. George Linney, MD, CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Communications equipment that resides on the customer's premises. CPE - Customer Premises Equipment , FACPE FACPE Fellow of the American College of Physician Executives , is vice president of Tyler & Company recruiting firm. He can be reached at 704-364-0746 or glinney@tylerandco.com By George Linney, MD, CPE, FACPE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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