Realization
Once you have hired a new staff person, you will move to the second of the Five Rs: Realization.
The social penetration theory, or onion theory as it is commonly called, tells us that self-disclosure occurs in phases. No one reveals him or herself completely at first—neither in their personal lives nor their professional lives. Therefore, physician leaders gradually will learn more about the personalities, abilities, values, and shortcomings of their employees and should make the effort to work toward that discovery on a regular basis—particularly at the beginning of employment.
Many of the things covered during realization will have been discussed during recruitment, but this is your opportunity to dig deeper and tap into your new employee’s personality, values, and work style. During realization, the physician leader should provide more information about:
- In-depth details about the job (including specifics about goals and objectives as well as expectations);
- Details about his or her management style; and
- Details about the culture of the practice, institution, or department.
The physician leader should also work to reveal more information about the new employee’s:
- Work and communication styles;
- Motivations;
- Professional goals; and
- Management preferences.
Realization doesn’t happen in one day, but investing in this part of the process is vitally important. Dr. O’Connor says, “It does take time to be an effective leader; that’s the simple truth. In reality, if one does not invest the time up front, one often pays the bill later in poor performance and by investing time to clean up problems that result. It’s rather like the old Fram Oil Filter commercial—‘You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.’ ”
Finding the Coach: Managers are often hyper-focused on filling a position and getting back to work. Because of this, these managers miss the opportunity to ensure a new employee starts off with everything he or she needs to successfully fill the position. A skilled coach will take the time to outline expectations and go over procedures and duties in detail. Skilled coaches also know that this cannot be accomplished in one day and, therefore, check back often throughout the new employee’s first several months on the job to ensure everything is crystal clear.
Recruitment and realization are just two of the Five Rs of physician leadership. A great leader is not only skilled at finding and placing quality employees, he or she is also skilled at guiding and retaining them. Next month, “From the College” will continue to look at the Five Rs of physician leadership and how you can use them to find, train, and keep the best employees.
