Three steps to Stepping up
How can you feel ready to take on leadership roles?
Part of the privilege of being a physician is that leadership opportunities are there for you no matter where you are in your career. I have seen and studies prove that when we have diverse voices at the table, we get much better results for ourselves for our patients and for society.
Admittedly, taking on leadership roles isn’t always easy. It can feel really hard to step up and into new roles. We can ask, Am I enough? I assure you, you are enough. Grounding, refocusing and clarifying your goals might allow your feelings to more closely align with that truth. This straightforward exercise can help you boost your “leadership mojo,” that is, you ability to lead and feel good while doing it.
Three steps to stepping up are:
Know yourself.
Become your passion expert.
Find your voice and share it
Step 1: Know Yourself
It sounds deceivingly simple, but do not brush off this step. All of the others will build on this one. So take some time and play with this awhile. Know that this exercise can be used whenever you are feeling off-balance.
Answer these questions honestly:
How would you define yourself to a stranger?
What are the three words that describe you best?
What do you want in life? List 25 things you want in life and be sure that every other item is something you have already.
What are your three highest priorities?
Which among these are you passionate about?
What are you good at? What are you not so good at?
In one word, describe how you feel when you talk about your passion.
My quick response to Question #1 is… “I’m a general internist, married, mother of four, sister, daughter…” Importantly, all those things inform how your leadership approach, but they are really facts and are not who we are. These questions open the door to deeper thinking, planning, strategy and dreaming from an abundance mindset. Sometimes when we are looking for the what’s next, we are looking through eyes that only see what is missing, or scarcity mindset. Scarcity thinking can be small thinking and doesn’t serve you. Have fun dreaming!
Step 2 : Become Your Passion Expert
After formal medical training, we arrive at our new life, exhilarated and ready, but exhausted after such a long journey. My first physician job came with a high salary, status. And I was miserable. Why? Well, for one, I wasn’t doing anything that I cared deeply about. One day my husband said, after I had been long complaining, “Why don’t you spend some time working with homeless people? You love that.” What a revelation. Moving closer to things I cared about might allow me to be happy.
Answer these questions:
Name your passion or dream: ______________________________
Why do you want this? List every reason you can think of!
How do you feel when you think of question 1 & question 2?
Take Action:
a. What opportunities exist, or might be developed, to focus on your passion?
b. List all the challenges to each of these opportunities
c. List at least 2 strategies to overcome each of these challenges
d. Map out on your calendar time to explore each of these, call these appointments with yourself “Leadership expertise development”. I prefer weekly 90 minutes minimum.
One bit of advice, as you may feel anxiety and fear at this point. This is completely normal. Your brain wants to keep you safely in a comfort zone. Dreaming can introduce a level of discomfort, but remember that it is the currency for your future.
You are completely capable of great things: you are a doctor, and you save lives! Nevertheless, the stories we tell ourselves get in the way of our greatness.
I’m no stranger to this feeling. One of my dreams to take my leadership to the next level included pursuing an MBA. I was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University! Hooray? No! Instead, I felt anxiety and panic… That’s because my “story” or belief about myself was: I am not good at math and CMU is one of the most quantitative places on the planet…
One semester, I had economics, statistics and accounting and the college nightmares began—you know, the one where you’re in a final exam, and you hadn’t been in class?! It wasn’t until I shifted my focus to the bigger picture that I was able to change my thinking. Rather than focusing on my grades, I instead reoriented my perspective to why I wanted this degree. I wanted to lead.
In pre-med, med school and beyond we are hardwired to get the A and not getting the A meant that you weren't going in medical school, residency, and fellowship. However, perfectionism can hold you back when you are dreaming. In this step, have a learner’s mind, be curious, be playful and enjoy the process.
Step 3: Find your voice and share it
As you begin this process, first naming and then mapping out your dream, seek out and interact with like-minded people to learn, share, and support your journey. There are so many ways you can share what you've learned. However, recalling what I just mentioned about perfectionism in medicine, oftentimes we do not feel that we have anything to share unless it is an evidence-based, peer reviewed meta-analysis of 40 years of data!
This simply is not the case, your experience and perspective are important to share and speaking up will allow the conversation to move forward.
Get started:
Reach out to a group, specialty society, or interest forum on LinkedIn, Facebook or other professional networks.
Get to the table and become part of the conversation
Get out of your head
Once you know you have an interest, do your homework. Find where in your organization other people are doing this type of work and ask to join.
I recall when I was working in government, I approached the closed door of a cabinet member and asked the two assistants whose desks were outside her door whether the Secretary was holding a “principals only” meeting or whether I could attend. Mind you the door was closed; the meeting had clearly started. They both responded to me, “When has that ever stopped you?” And so I went into the room. I got to the table, listened and took opportunities to contribute.
I have shared these steps and examples with mentees and those I coach. Over the years each one of these pieces of advice have helped so many people. This is the first time I have complied them here this way. Life lessons are learned best when you can apply them in your work, in your life and see the results for yourself. I wish you all luck in the world and please let me know how these work for you!
