By: Tricia Anderson | tanderson@barlowmccarthy.com
Most of us will spend some time in December thinking about and planning for the new year. Maybe you didn’t meet your goals this year. Maybe you feel stagnant in your role and want more substance and challenge in 2025.
We make New Year’s resolutions that will challenge and stretch us to be better versions of ourselves. But then what happens? Researchers suggest that only 9 percent of Americans who make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23 percent of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43 percent quit by the end of January. I dare say, it has a lot to do with our comfort zones, or rather, how we define our comfort zones.
Most physician relations professionals are doers. We like people and we like to help others. We, therefore, get pulled in a thousand different directions. That busy stress feels safe and comfortable to the chronic doer.
Before setting your goals for the upcoming months, ask yourself a few questions about your comfort zone. Be brutally honest with yourself. Growth begins with reflection.
- What specific facets of your role sit comfortably in your protective cocoon?
- Calling on retention offices – where everybody knows your name?
- Internal meetings?
- Physician to physician meet and greets?
- The list goes on; be specific and honest!
Only by defining your unique comfort zone will you be able to identify opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- What keeps you tethered to the known and comfortable? What triggers send you running for the “comfy blanket” areas of your job?
- Fear is a big one for most people. Fear of hard questions you get asked in the field. Fear of addressing unresolved issues. Fear of presenting to leadership. Fear of staying relevant. Fear of saying “No” to a request. Any of these sound familiar?
- Familiarity is like a pair of soft, fuzzy socks. What service lines are you the most comfortable selling? Are you avoiding prospecting or making initial discovery calls? Are you sticking with the same questions or dialog in your target offices? It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. But it’s not stretching and growing. It’s not moving you closer to that elusive stretch goal.
- When you visualize your comfort zone, does it look like a concrete vault? What’s in is in and what’s out is out. Just choosing to get out of your comfort zone is not enough. You’ll never reach your full potential by sticking with the familiar and avoiding fear. It’s time to take action!
- Consider expanding your comfort zone to include “mild discomfort.”
- Select one thing you’ve been avoiding from your fear list. For example, selling a highly specialized procedure that your new heart surgeon is performing. Or, meeting with the PCP who is now participating in a value-based care program. Vow to learn everything you can.
- Research, ask questions and be comfortable with not knowing it all.
- Take back-up with you on your first few calls. Service line leaders might welcome the opportunity to get out of the hospital.
- Admit when you’re unsure. Saying, “I don’t know but will get back to you” builds credibility and gives you a reason to follow up with that office.
- Commit to ongoing growth. Once a fear becomes manageable, repeat the process with another, embracing discomfort as a tool for development.
Now, go grab that soft blanket, your favorite fuzzy socks, some warm cookies and watch that movie you’ve seen 1,000 times. You deserve it!
As 2025 approaches, break free from your comfort zone and embrace growth. Identify challenges, take action, and lean into discomfort. Partner with Barlow/McCarthy to make 2025 your year to thrive! Send an email to info@barlowmccarthy.com to start the conversation.