Self Protection is Self Defeating

By Robert Priddy
You’ve landed a great nonclinical job, you’re making headway in the corporation, people rely on you, ask for you help and advice, you’re getting great feedback and positive reviews; and now your boss is asking if you should think about expanding your department… should another physician be hired? Nooooooooo! Is the usual response.

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Most physicians come from a culture high on self-reliance. You may have belonged to a group practice, but you didn’t treat patients or perform surgery in a “group.” Medical practice is one patient at a by one physician at a time. It’s a pretty simple calculation. And anytime another physician is brought into a patient care situation it’s usually because that patient is being handed off… or taken away from you. Now you’re being asked to bring in another physician. Does this mean your job is being handed off… taken away from you? No, not if paragraph one accurately describes your work environment.
What this means is it is time to grow, to expand your span of influence and control. It’s time to offload some of your lesser tasks to someone else, and time to possibly acquire a slightly different skill set to open new opportunities – opportunities that will involve you if you allow them.

Shutting the door to staff expansion may appear to be self-protective, but you’re actually closing the door to growth, both intellectual and career. One of my adages when I was in the corporate world was that I could never have too many staff, have too much office space or too large a budget. In most corporate or organizational environments, the more your control, people, space and money, the more powerful you are and, and get this…, the more you have to give away if things get tight. Think about it, if you have a department of two and the corporate mantra becomes, we’re cutting back, you may soon be a department of one. Growth equals control, power, influence and viability. Don't shy away from adding that next physician, then the next and the next. There is safety in numbers.
More advice by Robert Priddy-The Resume Recruiters and HR People Hate, and Physician Career Change

If you’d like to strategize the new nonclinical job you have, one you hope to have or you’re just starting to test the nonclinical waters, call me, Robert F. Priddy, for a no charge, no hassle, hallway consult. Contact me at 720-339-3585 for voice or text or email rfp@thirdevo.com. You can also visit me anytime at http://www.thirdevo.com.