When Strategy Becomes a Roadblock
Sandy Scott, FACHE, MPA
I coach physician leaders to drive patient-centered change — and achieve their impossible goals with ease
Quick story for you:
A medical director worked on Saturday to plan his team's annual retreat.
He felt solely responsible to plan and manage the details of the event.?
He'd been procrastinating and getting bogged down at the same time.
They usually just met in the break room, and most people arrived late.??
(You can imagine the history?of lackluster gatherings)
But on this Saturday, he took a leap :?
He assigned a few tasks to his team.
Which opened him up to pick an off-site location — and craft a way more engaging agenda.? To his amazement, planning this retreat was actually fun.
The end result?
The team asked for their next retreat to be longer???
Question for you:
What if he had kept trying to do it alone?
If you’re settled with how things are going at work: you don't need this article.
If you're stuck on a project or task: keep reading :)??
With love,
Every day, I watch resourceful clinical leaders stuck in their heads trying to “figure it out”.
It makes sense why:
???? In medicine, mistakes can have serious consequences.? Since system-level decisions can create massive ripple effects,?we assume “I have one shot to get this right”.? Yet, we know striving for flawless execution in admin work limits our ability to adapt and overcome.
???? The transition away from full-time clinical work can suck the meaning and purpose out of work.? When we’re not connected to a sense of direction in our work, we lose motivation to take bold, meaningful action. We can’t help but think, “What’s the point?”
???? Clinical leaders unintentionally overcomplicate things when they feel an urge to solve problems without “burdening” others. ?Yet, when we lock ourselves in our office, we literally close ourselves off from meaningful opportunities and perspectives that move our work forward.??
???? Your medical training was about mastering consistent practices to create predictable outcomes. In admin work, inputs and pratices are all-over-the-ice. It's natural to doubt your readiness, to think you need to solve it all before acting. But here's the thing: growth comes from navigating these very uncertainties. Feeling unsure isn't a weakness; it's a call to learn and evolve.?
???? There are plenty of times where it’s valuable to thoughtfully reflect, clarify and strategize .? Many of us, however, tend to overplay the “strategize” card and erode our effectiveness.
Most of us experience a combo of these, every day.? ?I know I do.
We believe that if we “figure it out” in our head — the path forward will be easier.
The reality is:
???? You'll never have all the info
???? Projects are always shifting
???? Waiting for perfection stalls progress
???? Isolation overlooks the value of collective strength
???? The days of straightforward solutions in healthcare are over
Bottomline: when you feel stuck — planning and strategizing in your head is almost NEVER the solution.??
In fact, sometimes the more you strategize and plan, the harder it is to actually make progress.??
After coaching hundreds of physicians to navigate the trenches of healthcare leadership — I can tell you this:
When highly-effective leaders feel stuck — they make progress by taking a SINGLE action.
The secret is designing the right kind of action.
If the actions on our to-do list are boring and mediocre, we tend to not do them.
When you turn the tasks and projects you feel stuck on — into something that "wakes you up inside" — that's when you'll discover the true magic of progress.
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Here’s?the formula:
Step 1: Pick a project to move forward on?(1 min)
Look at your strategic dashboard or list of projects.
Pick one project you're procrastinating, avoiding or stuck on.
?
Step 2: Design a “leap"?to?pull?you forward?(9 min)
Brainstorm 7 actions you can take that meet these five criteria from Tara Mohr :
My pro-tips for designing a better leap:
?????Exaggerate the BOLD criteria for maximum impact.? It should feel scary and get you excited.??If you feel like you’re taking action before you feel “ready”, you’re on the right track.? Keep going.??
???? Success isn’t achieved by taking a lot of action.? It’s about taking a few actions consciously and deliberately.? Quality over quantity.??Most people think too small.? Take whatever you’re thinking about and multiply it by 10 .??
???? If you design a leap and it still feels boring, it means there’s a criteria missing.? Go ask a mentor or coach for a quick boost of support to design a better leap.??
???? If you have an urge to “get this leap perfect”, think about your role models and what they would do.
???? A common mistake is to design a leap that doesn’t get you “out of the office”.? That’s your brain keeping you in your comfort zone.? Remember to get in direct contact with your end-user.??
?
Step 3: Take a leap?
Do it.
If you’re doing it right, the leap you designed will transform something you’re putting-off or anxious about, into something that actually “pulls you forward” and gets you excited.
A powerful example of how a physician used a leap:
A medical director was eyeing a CMO position at a forward-thinking population health organization.
She felt extremely unqualified, to say the least.
With coaching, she?overcome her self-doubt and anxiety,?and?made the leap to apply. The gamble paid off.? She was hired and found herself on-fire for the organization's mission and culture that matched her own.?
Ironically, her leap was rewarded with another promotion within?a year .? ? What if she hadn't taken the leap to apply?
Do yourself a favor and pause right now to invest a few minutes in yourself — so you accomplish more with less effort today:
?? (5 min) Send a quick email to a mentor, coach, or colleague — suggesting a 15 minute coffee or walk. ?Send the leap PDF ahead of time and ask them to coach you through it, holding you accountable to the things that matter most to you.? If it feels awkward, say "my coach made me do this" or suggest you both coach each other through it.? You’ll get 10X more out of the experience if you talk to someone else vs DIY.
? (15 min)?Design a thoughtful action using the criteria for a leap ?(DIY).? If you can't do it right now, block 15 min on your calendar for later today.
? (5 min) Write a list of 7 projects or tasks you’re procrastinating.? You’ll be surprised by how many of those tasks you can, and will, get done as soon as you physically write the list (Schrager & Sadowski, 2016) .
?? (2 min) Order The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks . ?Highly recommend this if you find yourself wondering why you feel stuck, no matter what you do.?
?? (4 min) Get inspired to take action by reading this story from one of our clients. ?When an unexpected heart condition threatened to derail his 100-mile race, Dr. Jeff Albert discovered the source of resilience isn't in avoiding setbacks, but in the power of a single mindset shift. His journey from likely defeat to an epic comeback underscores a profound truth: victory doesn't happen at the finish line, it happens when we deploy the courage to adapt.? Read the full story here.
The punchline is this:?
If you want to be more effective at work and home — take more thoughtful actions outside your comfort zone.
Here’s how:
?
“We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles, but by a clear path to lesser goals.”?? ? —Robert Brault
The world is waiting for you.
?
With love,
Whenever you're ready, here's 2 ways I can support you:
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8 个月I think this applies to more than healthcare!