R-E-S-P-E-C-T: bedrock of satisfaction and effectiveness for organizations and individuals.

Aretha Franklin captured the attention of audiences worldwide with her smash hit R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Embedded in the lyrics of this song is a leadership maxim: Find out what it means to me.

The Queen of Soul is telling listeners, including physician leaders, that respect is individually defined. The challenge for physician executives is to find out how each of their direct reports, colleagues and patients defines respect. Then, they must act accordingly.

Consider this case

A physician assistant who reports to one of your physicians at a clinic approaches you for the third time in a month with a complaint. "I know that you must be tired of me coming to you about Doctor X but I am sick and tired of Doctor X not respecting me. Doctor X has no respect for me or anybody else in this clinic."

In this case, Aretha Franklin's lyrics should be the prompt for your response. "In order for me to address this very important issue, it is critical for me to understand what you mean when you say Doctor X does not respect you. Can you give me some examples of when people at work respect you and when they don't respect you so that I can fully understand this from your perspective?"

At this point, most people will share stories with you or list a number of characteristics that demonstrate respect or the lack of it. Based on that information, you have the behavioral expressions of respect for this individual.

Now you are more fully prepared to approach Doctor X with some tailored behaviors that will signal a greater show of respect.

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Another way that physician executives approach the challenge of respect is to shape the organizational culture to show that respect is a cornerstone of that culture. Lynn Sharp Paine, author of Value Shift, shares the following perspective of culture shaping:

"Managers talk about values as essential for encouraging cooperation, inspiring commitment, nurturing creativity and innovation, and energizing the organization's members about a positive self image. They seek ideals like respect, honesty, and fair dealing as the building blocks of a high-performance culture ... [Employees] want to be respected, treated fairly, and recognized for their contributions. They prefer colleagues who are trustworthy and who can be counted on to keep their promises." (1)

Moreover, the benefits of taking action will accrue to the group and to the organization and shape the culture for the benefit of the patient.

Reference:

1. Paine LS. Value Shift. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003.

By Timothy Keogh, PhD and William Martin, MPH, PsyD