Physician Leadership On Nonprofit Boards

Practical insights for physician board members and chief executives.

Physician leaders are often asked to serve on boards of nonprofit organizations.  Physicians in transition may also want to explore this—not only as an opportunity to apply their leadership skills outside of clinical practice—but also as way to give back to their communities.

I have found that a lot of ink has been devoted to the theories that drive nonprofit board leadership—but perhaps, too little about the nuts and bolts of ensuring effective boards.  While serving on a nonprofit board can be richly rewarding, it can also present a leadership challenge.  Depending on your past experience, you may want to take a closer look at the practical aspects of nonprofit governance, including formulating board structure and process, developing a strong partnership between board and staff, and structuring effective board and

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Physicians Who Feel Relevant

I'm always surprised at the number of physicians I work with who worry about, discount, or do not see their relevance outside of clinical practice. I do, of course, recognize their relevance - the trick is to get the docs to.

For many physicians, venturing into positions of leadership, becoming a Department Chair, VP Medical Affairs or even Chief Medical Officer) is a logical step for those looking to expand their skills and take on new responsibilities that grow their career.  The physicians that pursue these roles have obvious relevance in this arena, particularly when they bring the years of relationships and their history with the hospital into the role.

But for docs actually leaving the familiarity of the hospital environment, the fear of being irrelevant seems to be a common (if not typically expressed) theme.  Many physicians worry that while they have developed very deep skills and expertise, their repertoire is relatively narrow, and this makes them fear that they lack the requisite skills to be successful in the non-clinical world.  For most, this is simply not true.

Physicians come to the table with a myriad of transferable skills, as well as a wealth of needed knowledge and expertise.  Many times organizations are hungry for what the doctors have to offer, and for the value that they provide.   

In my experience, one of the best parts of working with physicians interested in non-clinical pursuits has been accompanying these intelligent, creative and energetic professionals as they realize that they have a lot more to offer - and are more in demand - then they ever thought they would be.  

The truth of the matter is that you, as a physician, bring years worth of skills and experience that can position you to be a tremendous value to organizations that lack your unique combination of ability and expertise.  Value comes in the form of younger docs with years of disciplined schooling under their belts and a willingness to "jump in", or mid-career physicians who have enough experience to know what they didn't know in the beginning (and how to use that for the best outcome), or seasoned docs that bring decades of experience and perspective with them into their role.  

Many of the physicians I know that have transitioned completely outside of medicine into start-ups, biotechs, or pharma companies often remark that they cannot believe the organization functioned without a doc in their role.  It gives them a window into the need for physicians' skills and knowledge base outside of clinical work, and how they can impact many more lives than they would seeing patients one-by-one.

They feel validated.  And indeed, they feel relevant.

Physicians In Transition: Learning To Bounce Back

Overcoming setbacks to succeed in your career and in life

If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that nobody goes through life unscathed—no matter how rich, how smart, how talented, or how fortunate they may be.  One way or another, we can all relate to the raw emotion that strikes people when they are knocked down. 

Perhaps you’ve been fired.  Or you’ve been side-stepped for the promotion you wanted.  Maybe you reached for a golden opportunity—and did not get the nod.  Perhaps you’ve finally made it to the top—don’t like what you see—and you want out.    

These sorts of things may be setbacks—but they are only permanent if you allow them to be.  We can let the negative overcome us—and those around us—or we can plot a course to “bounce back” to make a life transition.  

First, know that you are not the first, worst, or only.  Others have been where you are, and they’re doing just fine now.  But it took some time and effort.

Tips and Action Steps

Evaluate, come to grips with what has happened
Acknowledge the event, but don’t be limited by it.  Learn from experience.  Let your emotions run their course, and then focus on starting to bounce back with a positive attitude.  Take stock of what has happened, and be prepared to attack your transition

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Working In Jeans: Life Replaces Career

It’s been more than three months since stepping down from ACPE.  Like many of the readers of this site, I’m in a transitional period.  After nearly four years of big responsibility - 24/7, 365 - the change to part-time work in health care has been wonderful!  Our lives, careers, events, and people are interconnected, but sometimes we have to make an effort to see those connections in hindsight.

I’m taking an Improv class now that I have more time.  After hearing that two of my role models for presentation skills attributed their success to Improv classes, I decided to try it.  Just as my friends told me the secret of Improv, I’ll share it with you.  Two or three words: “Yes.....And”, or “Always say Yes”.  

The point of Improv is to always keep the conversation going, and to link improbable thoughts.  All too often in business and health care, that doesn’t happen.  People frequently try to stop conversations and ideas from moving forward.  “That won’t work”.  “We tried that before.”  “There’s no money in the budget for that.”  Or my favorite: dead silence.  If we can laugh as hard in business as we do in our novice attempts at Improv when an idea moves through its zig zag path from the absurd to the sublime, we will be better off.  We’ll also provoke new ways of thinking or seeing something differently.

Like most of you, my life since finishing medical school has been pretty much pedal to the metal in private practice, management roles, and family responsibilities.  Mix in regular periodic sleep deprivation to the physician’s life of self and family sacrifice for patients and the expectations of our profession, and it becomes very difficult to step back and assess who we are, and how we want to live our lives.  It seemed like I always knew what my life was about, but seldom had the proper time and circumstances to reflect on the more existential questions.

I decided to continue doing health care related work no more than half-time after leaving  ACPE.  One part practical, another part passion for improving health care, the experiences from working at the bedside to the boardroom provide insight that I like to share with health system leaders - both clinical and non-clinical.  Now, as a free agent, I can be more provocative and take more risks in advocating for better leadership for health care.  For example, at the American College of Cardiology’s January leadership meeting in Las Vegas, the title of my topic was, “Venus and Mars: Why Can’t Hospital Administrators and Physicians Get Along?”  They chose the title, but I was excited about laying out the multiple reasons for conflict - and providing some ways to move beyond conflict to cooperation.  Judging by audience feedback, and the feeling of “flow” as I spoke, I hope to have more opportunities like that. 

Just before arriving in Las Vegas for the ACC meeting, I returned from my second visit to Saudi Arabia as an ACPE faculty member for a physician leadership development program at a major health system there.  The system’s determination to learn “American” principles of leadership, teamwork, and management was absolutely refreshing and motivating for me, and for Marty Martin, my fellow faculty member, and now frequent travel companion to the Middle East. 

In addition to being a witness to the profound changes happening in the world through international programs like this, I found myself enjoying even the unanticipated events associated with travel abroad: Missing a connecting flight in Amsterdam, and spending a night in that city; meeting Marty the next morning in the airline lounge for one of our usual discussions about insights into American health 

care (it feels like there’s ample time to listen when we’re far from home); and tagging along with Harry, the Dutch engineer with the gigantic handle bar mustache who was the only person in the Saudi customs lines that got smiles from the Saudi officials.  He sat next to Marty on the flight, and I’m sure our experience in customs would have been less cheery had Harry not given the impression that we were friends of his.

My attraction to international work continues.  I’ve also gotten involved in an interesting project based in China, with an American political connection.  Too early to tell if it will come to completion, I know it might never have come my way if I hadn’t traveled to China and Tibet in 2005.  On that trip I remember being drawn to the Tibetan symbol for interconnectedness, which was in all of the monasteries, including the Potala Palace, built in the 7th century, and home to several Dalai Lamas.  That symbol is prominently in my thoughts as I contemplate spending more time in the Himalaya doing something useful. 

Now the morning chill is gone, the snow is melting, and it’s time to resume my stonemasonry project that’s been on hold for too long.  Though my thoughts and activities are on a zig zag pattern, the stones are coming together in a beautiful, interconnected pattern that pleases my eye.

Who Is Your Ideal Client (and Why Should You Care?)

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year trying to identify who my “Ideal Client” is. 

The ideal client is that person, or group of people, you are most likely and able to help with your business’s product or service.  It’s a marketing term.  Knowing who your ideal client is also helps you identify who you most enjoy working with.  It doesn’t make much sense to serve a particular group of people if you don’t really like working with them or having them as customers.

The exercises that have helped me hone in on my ideal client have also added much to my understanding of what I actually do in my business, how I do it and why I do it.  I learned these exercises from one of my mentors, the creator of Conscious Marketing, Lisa Cherney http://consciousmarketing.com.  The first sentence of her website reads, “We specialize in identify your passions and helping you articulate it through your marketing communications.”

It becomes much easier to create a marketing message when you figure out what you are really passionate about doing, whom it is that you are meant to do it for, and whom you most enjoy serving.

I’ve determined over the course of my career that I’m passionate about helping many people see their own potential for living life fully and on their own terms, and then helping them move in a positive direction to achieve that.  It's not hard to see how being an ER doctor wasn't completely fulfilling that vision for myself.

Fast forward to 2011 when I began my coaching practice.  I initially decided to offer my services to doctors, because I know how many doctors would benefit from what I offer and I know how powerful it can be for doctors to find their true path and get re-inspired.  Everyone wins when that happens.

But as I was doing my exercises and soul-searching to hone in on my ideal client, I wasn’t visualizing a doctor. In fact, my ideal client didn’t have one specific job, or a specific age range, gender or skin color.  They might be married or single, have pets or not, drive a sports car or a pickup truck.

After more than a year of ongoing work in this critical element of my business, I'm happy to say that I have finally been able to identify three characteristics that every single one of my ideal clients shares:

1. They are at a transition point in their life and are trying to figure out how to best go forward
2. They are ready to do things differently than they have before- they are open to a new way
3. They want to have a positive impact on the world

Many doctors fall into this category, but so do many writers, teachers, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs, students, retirees, gardeners and coaches.  My ideal client is actually me, a few years back.  Not the “me” that was a doctor—the “me” that was a human being passionate about creating an amazing life of freedom, joy and abundance, and committed to serving humanity in a meaningful way.

The ideal client exercise is a great way to help you get clarity on who you are best able to and interested in serving.  Doctors should spend whatever time and money necessary to figure out who their ideal clients are.

If a doctor determines that they are especially passionate about working with people who share a certain set of characteristics (perhaps working with people trying to become more physically fit, or people trying to lose weight, or young parents) they can focus their marketing energy and dollars on reaching out to these groups and will ultimately develop a niche in that area. People will want to come to that doctor because the doctor wants to serve them. The doctor will surround themself with the people they most enjoy working with- a clear win-win.  It may not happen this way overnight, but it will happen if they're committed to it happening.

The ideal client exercise spreads out to other areas of life too.  As we start thinking about whom we most want to serve in our businesses, we can’t help but consider the characteristics and qualities of the people we want to spend time with in the rest of our lives.  We start to “weed out” those relationships that don’t add value and focus on surrounding ourselves with people of higher quality and substance with whom we are more aligned.

I hope this has stimulated some thoughts for you.  I would enjoy hearing from you about the ideal client concept and how you think it could apply to your life and career.

Wishing you health, happiness, peace and prosperity.

Are You Stuck? Here Are FIve Ways To Help You Get Unstuck!

Instead of writing a blog post about getting stuck, I thought I would do something in the spirit of Freelance MD and create a video slideshow.

In this video I go over some common reasons you may be getting stuck and ways for you to think about getting unstuck! My intention here is to show you that you can always think outside of the box--even with the very blogs you write!

We all get stuck in our lives and it can be difficult to get unstuck at times. I hope you enjoy and leave lots of comments--my contact info at the end of the video was merely me having fun and playing with video effects.

When was the last time you felt stuck? What did you do?

Making Things Happen As A Physician In Transition

Overcoming the obstacles between dream and reality.

You’ve thought a lot about leaving clinical practice and transitioning to a non-clinical career.  You considered starting your own internet business or writing a book or investing in real estate.  You thought you had a good idea at the time.  So, what’s keeping you from making it happen?   

As a physician, you’ve probably considered many great ideas—or dreams—about your future.  But those dreams have little value, if you don’t follow through and make them a reality.

If you have encountered obstacles in executing your ideas, you are not alone.  Countless ideas with the potential to transform lives—concepts for new medical products or models for new businesses—are probably conceived and misspent in the hands of talented physicians every day.  The ideas that move people forward are not the result of tremendous creative insight—or inspiration—but rather of masterful planning and management.

Successful entrepreneurs tell us that ideas don’t just happen by accident—or because they are great.  Whether you have a solution for an everyday problem or a bold new concept, you must transform your vision into reality.  Far from being some stroke of creative genius, this capacity to make ideas happen can be learned and developed by anyone. 

Success depends on making things happen

Whether you are in clinical practice or in industry, success depends on developing and executing new ideas.  You may come up with creative solutions to medical problems every

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