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Engage the interest of potential leadership candidates

Medical Staff Leader Connection, March 24, 2004

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Dear Medical Staff Leader:

Many physicians have strong prejudices regarding administrators and administrative roles. They see management as an exercise in unproductive bureaucracy and managers as individuals who can't make prompt decisions and who sit through endless, boring meetings. A medical staff member who holds such perceptions will be unwilling to assume leadership roles even if he or she has the talent to do the job well. An essential step in the recruitment of such individuals is to help them reframe their understanding of the work of medical staff leaders and its potential to affect physicians, patients, hospital staff, and community members.

One approach in the recruitment effort is to periodically invite potential leaders to attend medical executive (MEC) meetings as an observer or guest. In particular, these invitations should be considered when there are issues of significant importance on the MEC's agenda. Of course, it is not necessary to await an MEC discussion to involve potential leadership candidates in important discussions. Whenever medical staff leaders and management are working through an issue that is of known interest to a physician with leadership potential, that physician's input should be solicited. This is an opportunity for the physician recruit to realize that his or her input can make a difference in the way their institution operates and functions.

To learn more about engaging the interest of potential leadership candidates, take a look at the recently published HCPro, Inc. book "How to Recruit and Develop Physician Leaders: A Strategy for Medical Staff Leadership Development," at http://www.hcmarketplace.com/Prod.cfm?id=2056 

That's all for this week.

All the best,

Hugh Greeley

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