Working on the Edge of Life & Death

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Henry Ford

This quote gives a small insight into the miraculous and lifesaving world of teams of doctors and nurses and how despite the intense pressure of their working worlds, they somehow operate at a level, often day after day, that any other team of people could only hope for and imagine.

In the last year, medical professionals around the World faced unprecedented challenges and demands, on their skills, time, patience and physical resilience.

In many countries across the world over the last year, the hospital wards are at capacity, patients that have been admitted are having to sit and lie in the corridors and the staff have been overwhelmed with dealing with the fallout from the COVID global pandemic. This is particularly true in countries like the USA, Brazil, India, UK, Italy, France and Russia.

For those of us fortunate to live in comparative safety, be that in Australia or elsewhere, it is easy to not to fully comprehend or appreciate the seriousness and significance of this global phenomenon and the colossal loss of life, which at the time of writing this article has passed 103 million cases and over 2.2 million deaths globally.

The hindsight of History

This isn’t the first time in our history as a species that the World has faced such catastrophic threats and sadly it probably won’t be the last either. The various Influenza and other pandemics of 1918, 1957, 1968, late 1990s and 2009 along with other smaller outbreaks since, have infected around 600 million people worldwide and resulted in the region of 52.5 million deaths globally.

As with any of the seven past pandemics since the Spanish Flu in 1918, be that Influenza, COVID, SARs or Ebola, the pressure and responsibility of caring for the sick, supporting the dying and administering the millions always falls heavily and firmly on the shoulders of the medical profession.

Role Models for us All

It is the men and women in scrubs and uniforms of one kind or another who have to work tirelessly around the clock, endure long shift after shift and face sights, sounds and smells that would turn the stomach of the average member of public.

And when we think of these courageous men and women on the front line between life and death, we should also remember charities like Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) whose staff have tirelessly served in a similar way across the globe often in dangerous, remote and poor conditions to bring compassion, care and cures to the sick. They have provided a lifeline for thousands for whom they would otherwise be without.

This is what makes the medical profession for me a great team role model. The way they operate under pressure and yet maintain an attention to details that most business leaders would be envious of. So how do they do it?

The Root of their Strength

Firstly, from what I understand from the few medical professionals I know. Their profession is a calling and one that many have dreamed of from their childhood. They have, after all taken the Hippocratic Oath, which if you haven’t ever read, you should as it will make you better appreciate just what a responsibility they have taken on. Not for mere mortals! Thus, they are propelled with an inner drive, mission, vision and self-belief. This serves as an inner strength and undoubtedly provides them with an inner reservoir of energy to draw on when needed.

Secondly, the level of commitment that is required to qualify to practice is so demanding and onerous that it weeds out those not fit for purpose. So those that remain after the many years of training, practice and residency are hardened and resilient to a level that many others in other professionals rarely match.

Thirdly, the work they do brings them face to face with suffering and death and whilst this may be wearing for them, it is also what they signed up and a form of rite of passage to those that have chosen this path as a career.

The Essence of Teamwork

From the many discussions I have had over the years with doctors, surgeons, nurses, practice managers, hospital administrators… their secret ingredient is in fact teamwork in its purest sense. I’m not just talking just about surgical teams where the same people work together day after day, but groups of highly qualified professionals who don’t necessarily consistently work together with the same people.

So how do they do it?

Because each person has a role, a skill and a purpose. The others in the team know their place and purpose and respect the roles of others. That doesn’t mean they always agree. It just means that they have a higher commitment to the whole; the team and a common purpose of the patient and a vision for saving or improving that person’s life.

Each person has a unique skill and place and whilst they might be highly specialised, they know that success cannot come without the person beside them doing their bit. There may be egos, but their true strength comes through working together as many hands make light work and it's nigh impossible for one pair of hands to be able to do it all.

This requires higher levels of respect, trust, understanding and communication. It also requires empathy and softness at times and firmness at others. Even when the lines can get blurred and the chips are down, they all revert to their training, specialisation and ultimately their commitment to their (Hippocratic) oath to save and protect the lives of others.

This is why the thousands of doctors and nurses in our hospitals across our nation, Continent and World are equipped to face the wave after wave of admissions.

Their hallmarks of success?

If you have ever spent any time in a hospital, been treated by a great doctor or amazing nurse, you intuitively know the answer. Their success comes through passion, training, communication, collaboration, commitment, skill, professionalism, patience, empathy and leadership. These words are not unique to the medical profession. But they are made unique by them, sometimes out of necessity; a higher calling or a realisation that they are truly in some cases the difference between life and death.

The learning for the rest of us?

So, what can business leaders take from this analogy especially if the work they do doesn’t have the same sense of urgency or seriousness?

Well, apply the words in the main paragraph above to your own world and context and find that sense of urgency, meaning and value. Then put aside the time for you and your people to refine your understanding, dedicate to training and improvement of your ways and then practice, practice and practice (and reward and correct accordingly) the behaviours that will enable each member of the team to operate at the appropriate level of professionalism. This will then allow you all to return home after work each day knowing that you have done your best, made a difference and can be proud of your work like the hundreds of thousands of incredible healthcare professionals on our frontline across the World who face all kinds of risks and dangers.

"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." 

Phil Jackson