Heather Holmes Floyd | Wellesley Partners, Ltd.

Ways to Deal with A “Scary” Boss

December 11, 2014 by Heather Holmes Floyd 1 Comment

You pick up speed walking to the elevator or duck into the men’s room if you see your director approaching. Just trying to avoid a stressful interaction. You’re a professional, and good at what you do, yet you live in fear of your boss calling you out or judging you negatively. Avoiding your boss because of the fear of a potentially negative outburst is a huge distraction – both to delivering your best, most creative work and to your long term career. Whether your fear is based in reality, or not, here are some thoughts to help you to move past your self-defeating behavior:

Misplaced fear: could your emotions really be a fear of something or someone else that you’re attributing to your boss? Not sure? Why not call your coach and talk this through to find out what’s really bugging you?
Exaggerated fear: Is your boss stressed out and you’re getting the brunt of it? While your boss’s behavior may make you feel uncomfortable, odds are this will pass if you are not the cause of the boss’s outbursts.
Self fear: Do you, in your heart of hearts, know that you could, or should, be doing better or differently? In either of these cases the shortest way to resolution is to tackle the issue head-on. Are you avoiding your boss in order to avoid validating that your fear is based on your self-knowledge that you are, to some degree, actually failing? Sitting down with your boss may be exactly what you need to help map out a plan for improvement.

If the thought of a meaningful sit down with your boss seems impossible, ask your coach to do some role playing with you to help you find the correct tone and words for a positive conversation with your boss – other than you, the only person with the power to change the current dynamic. Creating value by anticipating your boss’ needs and consistently delivering against your responsibilities is sure to help reduce your fear factor. Regardless of the cause, fear of your boss is bound to have a negative effect on your performance. Turn your fear into a motivator for change. Work to get to the root cause. After successfully working on this, you can breathe a sigh of relief, stop avoiding and, instead, begin to reclaim who you are at work while focusing on your personal and professional growth and success. ….and you might want to hold that elevator the next time you see her coming!

4 Actions to Re-energize Your Career

March 11, 2014 by Heather Holmes Floyd Leave a Comment

My most motivated clients never get lulled into thinking that their current position/job is where they need to remain. When they talk about creating a new challenge from what is possible, rather than from strict necessity, their motivation to figure out what could possibly come next becomes infectious. In my recent work with a physician, it became apparent that her passion for medicine was old and needed to be renewed. Her alternative was to look elsewhere to bring passion into her career once again. Use these steps as a spring board to achieve “what’s next”.

What would I like to change; what needs to be different?

There is no need to settle for the status quo. Our clients find their passion in looking at: Who am I; What do I want and How do I get there? It’s a refreshing exercise and often yields a fresh perspective. Create that fresh vision and then build your goals and strategies to achieve them. If you want different results, it’s time to make a shift.

Keep and Commit or Let Go:

What is that dream or idea that you just can’t seem to get yourself to focus on, work toward or reach? Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge its importance and commit to doing it (assign a deadline). Maybe the dream doesn’t fit anymore and you should let it go. By making choices you will begin to separate out what is really important to you and what truly deserves your time and commitment.

Act on “Aha” moments in your life:

What have you learned about yourself that you should be paying more attention to? “Aha” or peak moments can be those that propel you forward or are stumbling blocks and barriers. Invest the time to reflect on these moments and learn from them. What do you want to repeat or never do again?

Create your own Individual Development Plan (IDP):

Creating a personal strategic plan is helpful and can get you on your way to seeing what’s next. However, if it goes into hiding in your desktop or desk drawer, it’s not useful. Schedule a time to review it regularly: once a week, once a month or at a significant time (your birthday, annual work review, anniversary, etc). Put it in your calendar like any other work or personal appointment. As you review your IDP, be sure to include thoughts from the above 3 points. These are easy ways you can invest time in yourself – your career – and make sure you are consciously pursuing your passion. The world is constantly evolving and changing – don’t you want be changing as well?

5 Ways You May Be Blocking Your Own Success

February 24, 2014 by Heather Holmes Floyd Leave a Comment

Have you succumbed to any of these self-defeating habits? What, or who, is standing the the way of your success?

1.) Your saboteur’s voice is louder than your own:
How loud is the voice in your head that tells you that you can’t, you’re not smart enough, don’t have the time, the talent, the resources to do what you really want to do with your life? Turn the volume down on the excuses and turn up the voice that knows you can and want to be successful.

2.) You’re too busy:
You’re moving too quickly, you’re stressed, there’s no time to slow down to figure out what needs to change. There is a barrier in the road and you “can’t” devote the time and energy necessary to move it out of the way.

3.) You have no roadmap (or definition of success):
You get in your car to program your GPS and don’t have an address. How can you possibly get there if you don’t know where you’re going? In terms of your personal success, defining our values, goals and vision of where you’re ultimately headed is the minimum you will need to get there.

4.) You’re a firm believer that if you want something done correctly, you must do it yourself:
There’s not enough time in your day to do it all yourself. What would it look like for you to delegate and give up some of the control? Teach those around you how to fish, rather than spending time out on the high seas and coming back with fish for them. Surround yourself with a talented team and then let go of their jobs.

5.) Have you become overly cautious?
That’s right, it’s about putting yourself out there and taking risks. How can you push beyond your comfort zone while daring to believe in you?

The Executive and Leadership Coaches at Wellesley Partners are well versed in helping individuals (and teams) discover their meaning of success and helping to create the road map to get there.

Physician Leaders: piloting the ship, or going down with it?

October 11, 2013 by Heather Holmes Floyd Leave a Comment

I’ve worked with and studied a lot of physician leaders. They have all been excellent clinicians, surgeons, and care givers. However, when tapped to lead (a clinic, department, or hospital) there is sometimes a lack of experience and skills that are needed to be an effective leader.

Trained as experts to make life-saving decisions, doctors are sometimes reluctant to listen to others’ opinions. Sometimes this is the result of a conscious decision and sometimes this is a result of an unconscious decision – which can be the result of the type of training they have experienced. Typically this trait of taking a “rely only on myself” quality is most pronounced when multi-tasking, under stress or in times of change, all of which a leader faces on a regular basis.

As we have all seen, leaders have significant impact on the individuals and teams in their organizations. This impact can be either very positive or very damaging. So, when you’re looking to promote a talented physician (and this also applies to other clinical staff as well) to a leadership role, please consider whether or not they possess the following qualities:

Good listener: one who can consistently listen and be open to others’ opinions and perspective. Is it “my way or the highway”? Do they always need to be right or act like they have something to prove?
Effective communicator: can this person talk to their peers, other leaders and subordinates with the same degree of effectiveness? Can they deliver difficult messages in a constructive manner?
Collaborates/relates well to others: does she/he behave in a way that indicates a core belief that functioning as a team is a preferred and productive way to manage? Or, is it more about the individual and trying to outwork any issue or challenge that needs addressing?
Has a shared group vision: is there a singular agenda or is this person open to what is best for the team and organization? Sometimes called collective thought—there needs to be a clearly defined mission, with ways to measure milestones, successes and, inevitably, failures (so you can learn from them).
Will lead, not dictate: ask yourself if this individual is truly a team player and willing to continue to roll up his/her sleeves and do the work and lead by example, not just sit behind a desk in their new corner office expecting the work to be done as they dictate.
Humble: Finally, I’ve found that being humble, open and willing to learn goes a long way. Yes, practitioners at this level have become experts in their specialty. However, when steering a larger ship, there are new qualities, skills and tools that need to be learned and integrated into their job. Are they humble enough to realize this and to do the development work that is required?

If the clinician you’re looking to promote has at least 3 of the above qualities, then there’s a good chance they will become successful and effective leaders. We all know it takes a solid foundation of non clinical skills in order to effectively navigate the stormy waters of clinical leadership.

If you have an already promoted a leader who needs some skill development, contact us. Or if you have a practitioner who you’re thinking about promoting and have some nagging questions, contact us. Coaching for skill development is what we do. Let us help!