Is Your Doctor a Leader?

When it comes to discussions on leadership, the name Warren Bennis is bound to be mentioned - it's just common practice because what he said was after all common sense!

Managers do things right, Leaders do the right thing

is probably the best known saying, but this one captioned also gets a good airing.

So with the challenge from the British Medical Journal (BMJ May 2015) publishing an article about urging doctors to stop over–treating patients I started to think about the whole issue of advice and leadership in the NHS. One thought led to another then another and finally to me thinking personally about my family's health. Was it in safe hands?

Thankfully my experience with the local practice is one of understanding and looking for the cause and not just treating the effect. But some of my children are now registered elsewhere - what are their doctors like? Clearly the BMJ article 'suggested' my experience was the exception and perhaps not the rule.

It was difficult to get away from the media attention to this article and the apparent underlying behavioural traits 'suggesting' that doctors have an attitude of 

shut 'em up and give 'em a pill

driven by the 10 minute standard time allocation of consultancy and the need to satisfy the customer's expectations, all captured under the pressure doctors are under to meet the demand, and provide a 24/7 service. These are not my words by the way, it was what the journalists, doctors and the BMJ saying them.

Perhaps all of that is true. But is it? What is the truth?

Shouldn't doctors be looking for a cause of the ailment you have and not just treating the apparent effect? Why shouldn't we be satisfied with the "pills are not the solution" answer? Whose behaviour has to change? Do we, the patients have to take more responsibility?

Leaders do the right thing

In the UK it's been hard to miss the recent election of the new government and in the fallout the opposition parties now have the problem of who leads them next? An obvious and highly regarded candidate for the Labour Party is Chuka Umunna, but he has withdrawn from the leadership race, saying he is not comfortable with the "added level of pressure" that comes with being a candidate. He was considered by many to be a front-runner in the race to succeed Ed Miliband, but said he had "very real concerns and worry about this bid's impact on those close to me". Nothing wrong in that is there?

Or when Nick Clegg at the start of the coalition in 2010 did what he felt was right for the economy, but the consequence was his LibDem party suffered at the recent vote and he resigned from the leadership.   

So saying no, and doing the right thing isn't easy, but it's the right thing to do.

What if a doctor said 'no' to you asking for a 'quick fix', because that's what we are used to - a pill that takes my problem away. Knowing too well that the likelihood is it could return, much worse, or something else might happen that needs another pill.

For the simple question to ask your doctor to fix your health problem click here 

The Bigger Question

Doctors are being urged by the BMJ to get to know their patient better and then deal with the whole condition, a bit of future proofing.

Shouldn’t doctors be doing that anyway and aren’t they trained that way? The simple answer is clearly No they probably haven't been trained that way if the BMJ are now urging them to do it, perhaps like most training it's assumed they know it and then do it. And despite this being common sense, the evidence from the BMJ also suggests it’s not common practice either!

So the bigger question.

Have you leaders and managers that are doing the equivalent of popping pills? Plugging the gaps, dealing with the effects while the cause goes unnoticed, untreated and waiting to cause you pain in the future?

Are you storing up more what's known as "Behavioural Waste"?

Only you might know the answer to that and there is a cure available that's simple to understand, and once engaged in your organisation, it's sustainable. We're happy to show you how you can cure it. But as ever it's a choice.