In my coaching practice it is surprisingly common for me to encounter experienced and highly accomplished leaders riddled periodically with crippling self-doubt. Known as the “imposter syndrome” or “inner critic,” that internal voice of self-doubt is something that seemingly every leader battles to some extent at some time, regardless of overwhelming, objective evidence to the...Read More

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a must for high-performing leaders during regular times, but it is especially important during crises. When times are uncertain and decisions are especially complex, leaders need to tune in to their own emotions in order to better understand and manage them. They also need to be aware of others’ emotions to...Read More

How do you give feedback to someone on your team who is not self-aware?  So often, our feedback is judgmental, too general, and over-generalized. It looks something like this:   “Yesterday at our meeting, you acted like a jerk. Why do you have to keep interrupting people? We are really tired of you!”  This approach is...Read More

>> Access part 1, part 2, and part 3 of this series. The most common refrain we, as coaches, hear when we interview leaders in an organization is, “We need more accountability in this place!” That’s consistent with data compiled by Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, reporting accountability as the...Read More

How do you turn up performance, collaboration, and outcomes in a healthcare team? In the first installments in this series (see part 1 and part 2), we’ve discussed the traits of high-performing teams, the role of vulnerability-based trust, and how coaching differs from training. Put simply, trust enables a team to overcome the fear of...Read More

In the first post in this series, we explored why many groups of capable, well-intentioned leaders fail to function as a high-performing team. Today, we’ll dig a little deeper into a coach-led transformational process and the role of trust. In our story of the transplant team who engaged us for team coaching, the process began...Read More

“Matt” is a transplant surgeon who leads the startup of a transplant program for a large regional healthcare system. In two years, he recruited a “dream team” of experienced surgeons and support staff who have achieved the 10 organ transplant thresholds for livers and kidneys to qualify for CMS participation. It’s been a steep learning...Read More

How do you address sensitive or controversial issues effectively within your team? Often, healthcare leaders mistakenly feel they must choose between (a) addressing the issue and damaging relationships or (b) ignoring the issue for the sake of the relationship. High-performing leaders manage to do both, addressing delicate topics in a way that strengthens relationships, team...Read More

In our coaching work, we often encounter groups made up of highly talented, deeply dedicated members who are struggling to come together as a high-performing team due to interpersonal dynamics. Of course, we always need to explore the context in which the situation has arisen to address it effectively. We often find the key to...Read More

“I am going to make a confession. I too, along with thousands of doctors, once suffered from burnout.” Dr. Sanziana Roman, Professor of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco, posted those words in her Twitter feed earlier this spring, on National Doctors Day. In a thread that garnered thousands of “likes” and hundreds...Read More