By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Author Unknown

For physician relations change is inevitable. As disruptive change sweeps across health care, physician relations leaders must recognize that change is required to remain relevant.

In a blog by Allen Karl, a national speaker, writer and photographer on pursuing dreams and embracing change, he writes, “Without change, things stay the same and ultimately will stagnate and die.” Doesn’t that say it all? Yet most of us resist change.

As good leaders our job is to embrace change and help our team members navigate the change jungle.

Let’s start by acknowledging the many personas team members display when faced with change. They can range from those who are excited and excel to those who are angry because they believe the way it’s always been done is the only right way. Then, there are those who can be very deceptive by cheering on the change with you, but behind your back they sabotage the process. Even for those who are with us, fear of leaving the known for the unknown is a natural and most common emotion driving resistance.

How you can help your team accept and embrace change.  Consider the three C’s of change management:

1. Communication. In fact, over-communicate. One of the biggest frustrations I hear from managers is what I would call selective amnesia – “I told the team yet they act like they never heard it before.” To accept change, the team needs to clearly understand what the change involves, why it’s important to the overall success of the organization (and, perhaps their own personal well being), and what success will look like after the change is implemented.

  • Be transparent. Transparency builds trust. During change, people are stressed. They want to know what is happening and how they are going to be impacted. They feel out of control. So, they want and need honest, candid, clear and detailed information from their leaders.
  • Breakdown the change into digestible phases. This is really important when the change is big and will take place over a long period of time.

2. Consistency. You can’t start and stop the journey. Once you set the expectations, stick to it. When looking at initiatives that were not successful, lack of consistency is often present.

  • Set clear and measurable expectations. Until you have tried something for a period of time and in a consistent manner, you can’t decide if it works or not. How do you measure effectiveness if what you are measuring isn’t performed consistently?
  • Manage consistently. Lead by example. Hold your team (and yourself) accountable and stay the course. Sometimes it’s as simple as setting consistent meetings. If you treat a meeting as unimportant, most likely your team will do the same.

3. Celebrate. Celebrate the small wins and individual accomplishments. Take advantage of every opportunity to harness momentum. Sometimes, I even recommend you talk through the setbacks with the team.  Let them vent but make it productive by asking them to identify the solutions.  Think about it as another way to help the team embrace change. Keep it fun and engaging.

Change is a constant and if we aren’t changing, we are stuck. Rise to the occasion and embrace change!

If you are looking for more information on this topic I would love to set up a free 30 minute call! Just email me at sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com and we can get something set up.