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Leading Physicians Through Credibility - What It Takes

With growing consumer interest in medical care, the workforce shortage, and increasing competition among providers, the often-strained relationship between hospital leadership and physicians is playing a more critical role in a healthcare organization’s success.

Leveraging physicians’ market power and performing at peak operating efficiency – as with any business in any industry – demand high-quality, trusting relationships between individual healthcare executives and physicians.

The truth is it’s tough to manage professionals, whether they’re doctors, accountants or lawyers. They’re highly educated, driven, and intelligent, and with intelligence often comes a high degree of skepticism.

All good relationships start with trust, and that’s a basic that, even in the healthcare industry – especially in the healthcare industry – can’t be overlooked. Trust is built through a sustained reputation of credibility.

Think you’ve got it?

People often misjudge their own level of credibility, because they intend to have it. Just as we’d like to think we’re caring and good, we’d like to think we’re credible, too.

But whether you display a mere intention or an actual inclination of being credible, credibility can’t be self-measured, because it’s a judgment that others make about your reputation. Think you’re credible? Great. But if those two doctors down the hall don’t think so, then you aren’t.

Credibility requires a track record of ten behaviors:

• Always be honest. Truth-telling in organizations can be difficult and messy. Yet honesty – and its resulting flow of reliable information – is no longer just admired, ethical behavior but is fast becoming imperative to organizational success; a lack of honesty can lead to ineffective meetings, cynicism, low morale, and missed opportunities.
• Keep your promises. Your words must match your actions, policies, performance, principles, and plans, and hard lines between promises and intentions must be drawn.
• Admit your mistakes. Airing mistakes and – when appropriate – apologizing require excellent judgment in order to minimize possible risks and repercussions. Done well, admissions of failures show strength and build trust.
• Stay composed. Even positive emotions, if expressed too passionately, can decrease credibility.
• Let them know you. The concept of keeping work and personal life separate is sometimes taken too far. People can’t trust you if they don’t know you.
• Be consistent. A degree of predictability builds trust.
• Avoid destructive comments. If it doesn’t add value and doesn’t help get the job done, don’t say it.
• Make good of bad news. People like their bad news straight up and as soon as possible. Learn how to deliver negative information in a way that promotes understanding and keeps morale and trust in tact.
• Gather intelligence. Sounds simple, but credible leaders show others they respect and value them by asking for their opinions.
• Don’t hold your applause. Show your concern and appreciation for others. You can’t lead unless people believe you care about them.

Barbara Pagano is a leadership expert and executive coach for small businesses and Fortune 500 firms. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, “Beyond Reproach: How Personal Credibility Can Make Or Break You In Business” (McGraw-Hill, Fall 2003). For more information on Ms. Pagano and her services, visit www.executivepathways.com