{"id":11214,"date":"2021-12-01T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T00:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=11214"},"modified":"2022-06-15T17:48:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T17:48:14","slug":"positive-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/positive-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"The Four P\u2019s of Positive Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Her tears \u2014 and the pain and distress behind them \u2014 stung somewhere deep in my heart. It was the early years of my veterinary adventure, and I was a trained-off-the-streets technician with little more than two years of experience. I was leaning against the wall in the corner of the clinic\u2019s exam room as the doctor, our chief medical officer, reviewed a cat\u2019s condition with the young woman standing before him. She couldn\u2019t have been more than 18 or 19 years old, a student at the large university in our city. The love she shared with her cat was palpable. Having moved away from home for the first time, she sought companionship at the local humane society.<\/p>\n

That is how Graybeard entered her life. He was a middle-aged cat with a soft demeanor and long, wavy hair that made him appear twice his actual weight. Yet, he was more than a pet to her. He was a source of strength and courage in a chapter of her life when she needed those qualities.<\/p>\n

So, when Graybeard stopped using one of his back legs, she was nearly frantic to get him the help he needed. That\u2019s what friends do.<\/p>\n

After the diagnostics, the doctor\u2019s explanation must have felt ominous to her. Graybeard needed hip surgery, and having a specialist perform the procedure likely would cost thousands of dollars. She muttered, \u201cI just can\u2019t afford that,\u201d and broke down as her boyfriend put his arm around her, helplessness filling his eyes. The veterinarian sank a bit and then stood up tall and said, \u201cWell, maybe I can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained his interest in growing his orthopedic surgical skills and was transparent about the status of those abilities. That is, he had never done the procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what,\u201d he said, \u201cso long as you understand that this will be my first time doing this surgery and that I am not a specialist, if you let us keep Graybeard until tomorrow, I\u2019ll do my best to fix his hip for $200.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an instant, the air in the room shifted and warmed. Graybeard\u2019s owner lit up and eagerly agreed.<\/p>\n

Safe, Needed,\u00a0Empowered, Connected<\/h3>\n

The surgery schedule was packed, so we decided to help Graybeard after-hours. I went home for dinner. I returned to find the doctor nose-deep in a medical text, reading through the details of the surgery we were about to perform. He looked up and explained all he had done to prepare. Then he asked, \u201cWhat am I missing, Josh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinking about the sterile environment of the operating room, I imagined a scenario in which we\u2019d need to refer to the textbook and, being thoroughly scrubbed in, how unfeasible that action would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we make photocopies of this chapter in the textbook and tape it up in the OR?\u201d That\u2019s what we did.<\/p>\n

During the procedure, I noticed the doctor doing something different from what I had seen in the text, so I spoke up. He paused, considered the situation and then chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah, this is how I\u2019d do it for a dog, not a cat. Thanks, Josh!\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point, as I monitored the patient\u2019s vitals and followed along on the procedure, he stopped and asked how I was doing and what I needed.<\/p>\n

Afterward, we recovered Graybeard together and made sure he was comfortable and cozy in his kennel. We waited long enough to give him a small meal, and then I left for home, the doctor still sitting in treatment alongside our patient.<\/p>\n

The next morning, I came into work to an elated veterinarian. \u201cCome look, Josh!\u201d Though gingerly and at a slow pace, Graybeard was walking on his newly repaired leg. \u201cYou helped with this, Josh. It\u2019s as much your win as mine. And the impact this is going to have on that college kid and her boyfriend. \u2026 Well, that\u2019s why we do what we do, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Positive Leadership<\/h3>\n

Veterinary leaders almost universally share a worthy mission. They seek to energize their teams and help everybody find the fulfillment they deserve in their work. However, the problem as I see it is that we rarely receive the training we need to learn, master and embody our leadership skills.<\/p>\n

Do not be fooled \u2014 leadership is not a personality trait we are born with or without. Instead, leadership is a set of skills, behaviors and actions we can acquire. Positive leadership, from my perspective, is a special kind of approach we need in the veterinary profession.<\/p>\n

You all know the statistics about our community\u2019s well-being challenges, so I won\u2019t regurgitate them here. Everyone in this profession deserves better. We deserve to be sustainably fulfilled in and by our work, not depleted by it. Positive leadership is the catalyst to get us there.<\/p>\n

As a leadership consultant and coach, I am routinely asked, \u201cHow do I motivate my people<\/a>?\u201d Besides the fact that they aren\u2019t your people, I don\u2019t think that is really the question for which leaders seek answers.<\/p>\n

Screaming can motivate people. Throwing large solid objects might work as well. Threatening employees with punishment \u2014 even termination \u2014 might get their engines started. But none of those tactics motivate people in a sustainable, energetic way.<\/p>\n

What leaders really want to know is how to instill energetic enthusiasm in the teams around them.<\/p>\n

Drs. Richard Ryan and Edward Deci have spent decades researching human motivation. In particular, they\u2019re interested in the motivation that elicits what psychologists call \u201csubjective vitality.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, imagine a kid who spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep in anticipation of what Santa\u2019s bringing this year. She dozes off at 4 a.m. Then, an hour later, her brother shakes her awake. Physically, she is exhausted, but the moment she realizes it\u2019s Christmas morning, her body comes alive, and she bolts down the stairs to the waiting pile of holiday joy.<\/p>\n

That is what subjective vitality feels like. We all have the capacity to experience it, even in the face of physical exhaustion.<\/p>\n

The research of Drs. Ryan and Deci shows that when people have a meaningful sense of control over their activities, experience some level of connectedness and can relate the activity to a contribution or connection, and enjoy the level of competence and resources needed to take on the task, they tend to internalize motivation.<\/p>\n

Positive leaders don\u2019t motivate people. Instead, they create an environment in which people are far more likely to motivate themselves enthusiastically. The science suggests that positive leaders do this by ensuring that four qualities are nurtured in the work environment: psychological safety, purpose, path and progress.<\/p>\n

You might think of these as the 4 P\u2019s of positive leadership.<\/p>\n

1. Psychological Safety<\/h3>\n

We have all experienced this in different ways. Maybe it was while assisting a veterinarian in an exam room. She suggested the wrong nutritional supplement, but you didn\u2019t say anything. Or it was the idea you had to improve the efficiency of your hospital\u2019s curbside appointment program but kept it to yourself. Or the time you didn\u2019t understand the policy the practice manager was explaining during the all-staff meeting, but you didn\u2019t ask questions because everyone else seemed to get it.<\/p>\n

All those scenarios are an indication of low psychological safety in the team.<\/p>\n

Dr. Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School and a research champion of psychological safety<\/a>, defines it as, \u201cA belief within a team that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

When psychological safety is present at high levels, teams learn more, innovate more and produce more. Teams with high psychological safety are more efficient and effective, have significantly lower turnover, are more resilient and tend to thrive.<\/p>\n

The problem is that psychological safety is not the natural state of affairs for a work team. My research suggests that as many as 75% of veterinary teams have room for growth in their psychological safety. The good news is it can be cultivated and nurtured, and leaders have an incredible amount of influence over this.<\/p>\n

When we were working on Graybeard and I shared my concern about the doctor\u2019s approach in midsurgery, that was what psychologists call interpersonal risk. He could have responded defensively or dismissed my comment. He could have told me to \u201cStay in your lane.\u201d Instead, in a genuine effort to be sure he was getting things right instead of feeding the need to be right, he paused and considered my comments. He responded by thanking me for speaking up.<\/p>\n

That is how leaders cultivate psychological safety.<\/p>\n

2. Purpose<\/h3>\n

People do not like being pushed around. When we feel pushed, our motivation tends to drive us to push back. That is why externalized forms of motivation don\u2019t get the kind of results that leaders strive for. Sure, things like bonuses, raises, fringe benefits and promotions are important. The problem arises when these are the only sources of motivation. Being pushed toward something has diminishing returns.<\/p>\n

Feeling pulled toward something, though, tends to be energizing, even life-giving.<\/p>\n

Purpose \u2014 in particular the experiencing of mattering and meaningfulness \u2014 is a pulling force. It lights us up with warmth and energy, and it motivates us to do more as we strive toward the best version of ourselves.<\/p>\n

One part of occupational burnout is the experience of depersonalization. It\u2019s the sense of utter detachment from everything to do with work, the exhaustion that comes from a sense that nothing we do really matters. This is anti-mattering and anti-meaningfulness.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, when we feel as if we matter and what we do matters, we tend to think that our efforts are positive, purposeful and impactful. It\u2019s almost impossible for human beings to feel anything but alive and energized under those conditions.<\/p>\n

The next day, when the doctor told me, \u201cYou helped do this, Josh,\u201d what he was saying was that when it came to Graybeard, I mattered, my efforts mattered, and the results of those efforts were positive, purposeful and impactful. That is why, over 20 years later, the experience is vivid in my mind and heart.<\/p>\n

Every day in a veterinary hospital, people who matter are doing things that matter. Purposeful leaders find ways to consistently show their teams the meaningfulness of what is already there. When they do, they improve workplace engagement and job satisfaction. In fact, the experience of purpose at work tends to be one of the top predictors of overall job satisfaction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Path<\/h3>\n

My next statement might feel a bit controversial, though I\u2019d argue it shouldn\u2019t. Here it is:<\/p>\n

In my 20-plus-year journey through veterinary medicine, psychology and leadership, I\u2019ve come to believe that the vast majority of veterinary team members \u2014 I\u2019m talking 99.999% \u2014 want to do the best they can in the work they do. They are naturally driven, compassionate, caring people who take pride in their jobs and the lives they impact.<\/p>\n

So, why do so many leaders find their teams disengaged and demotivated? Because when the path to success is broken, it\u2019s unfair to expect the success of the traveler.<\/p>\n

Three ingredients are necessary to unleash the best parts of who we are on our journey to accomplishing the best we can. They are role clarity, autonomy, and resources.<\/p>\n

That means:<\/p>\n