Who Am I and How Do I Lead?
Jul 12, 2022The number one cause of burnout is trying to navigate in this very volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous medical field. It can leave us feeling overwhelmed, questioning our professional identity, and so frustrated that we're not even sure we can stay in medicine. We must get honest with ourselves and our coping mechanisms - are they healthy and am I willing to ask for help?
As I reflect on my personal whirlwind, I’ve had to remember who I really am and seriously commit to my own self-care – more than I ever anticipated. I also had to accept that unexpected transitions didn't mean I failed, but that I had to return to the basics of Who Am I and What am I Here For? I had to revisit and really Stand Up, and Stand On the firm bedrock of my values, my mission and vision for my career. They hadn’t changed, but my circumstances had, so I had to look at them from a different vantage point. If I couldn't practice clinical medicine any longer, I could still have impact by sharing my leadership experience with other healthcare professionals outside the walls of a single organization.
Stress, burnout and the need for serious change are opportunities for an awakening because it is during these times that we must closely examine our lives. Are we going to stay on the burned-out, stormy path with the whirlwind going in the background? Or are we going to choose a better path by living out who we really are and going where we're meant to go with healthy means of getting there?
Burnout prevention is all about giving ourselves permission to do our healthcare lives differently by setting boundaries around our own self-care and being comfortable and unapologetic about that. We must put down our old mindset of how we have always done things in healthcare and invest in ourselves as influential, disciplined, emotionally intelligent leaders of change who can and do make a difference every day.
Leadership is not just about the hard skill competencies, but also about soft skills - building and maintaining healthy, influential relationships. Strong leadership is critical for any organization that is interested in achieving and sustaining excellence. Leadership development is a perpetual cycle that must be incorporated into an organization's culture, into the way it does business. This involves looking for hidden leaders at multiple levels, acknowledging their interest and potential and THEN actively developing them. This creates a legacy - when it is time for a successor to step up, they are ready to do so with confidence!
You can improve upon your leadership skills; to become victorious over your stress, burnout, and work-life balance. Once people know, like and trust who you are, what you stand for, and recognize how you consistently stand firm with integrity, they will follow your example. Join me in mastering these leadership strategies!
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