Finding Compassion

(This was originally written as a 3 part article in a radiology newsletter for a Michigan hospital.)

The first of “3 C’s” was connection. The second “C” is compassion.

In the TV series The West Wing, a staffer is going through a really tough time. This staff member is coming out of a particularly difficult meeting and discovers the chief of staff waiting in the lobby. The staff member is surprised and asks what his boss is doing there. The chief of staff tells this story.

There was this guy that fell into a deep hole and couldn’t get out. He was shouting for help when a doctor walked by. The guy yells, “Hey can ya help me get out?” The doctor writes a prescription and tosses it into the hole. Next a priest walks by and the guy yells, “Hey, can ya help me get out?” The priest writes a prayer and tosses it into the hole. Pretty soon a friend walks by and guy says, “Hey Joe, can ya help me get out of this hole?” The guy’s friend jumps down into the hole with his friend. The guy in the hole says, “What are you nuts? Why did you jump in the hole? Now we are both stuck!” The friend replies, “Listen I’ve been down here before, I know the way out.”

In the current atmosphere of payment reduction and cost cutting, every healthcare facility is scrambling to find the balance of providing good care and being fiscally responsible while maintaining market share. There is one thing that can change the landscape without costing a dime; compassion.

Merriam-Webster tells us compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others distress together with a desire to alleviate the distress. Sometimes compassion gets mistaken for pity or sympathy. The difference between these three is distance and commitment.  Pity is best done from far away. Pity is a strong feeling of sadness for someone or some situation. Often time, pity comes from gratitude we are not in that same situation. Sympathy is different in that we understand the circumstances and we are willing to get close enough to pat the person’s hand or touch their shoulder. Compassion contains similar feelings as pity and sympathy, but joins them with an up-close commitment to alleviate their distress. 

There are days when it is difficult to maintain a compassionate heart toward our patients. Some of our patients we see multiple times a month with conditions of their own making.  Whether it is a repeat patient or a brand new one, each deserves a sympathetic consciousness of their condition. But having a sympathetic consciousness is just the beginning. Those feelings must be coupled with a commitment to alleviate the patient’s distress. This is true compassion.

Compassion is the only thing that will set healthcare apart from Ford, IBM, Walmart and all the rest that offer great customer service. Our “customer service” must flow out of our compassion. Our Compassion is our service for the people who come to us in need, looking for help.

Looking for the Connection

(This was originally written as a 3 part series in a Radiology newsletter for a Michigan hospital)

In 1933 on the heels of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps, otherwise known as the CCC.  As a part of the New Deal, the CCC gave unemployed, unmarried men ages 17-28 jobs in rural areas focusing on the conservation and maintenance of natural resources owned by state or federal governments.

These men got up close and personal with rocks, dirt, trees, streams and rivers. The Northern part of Michigan came under the care of the CCC; most of which can still be seen. My family has camped many times at the CCC Bridge between Grayling and Kalkaska as we canoed the Manistee River.

There was something basic and fundamental to what the CCC accomplished. Their work, though elementary, was not easy, and has had a lasting impact. With that in mind, I would like for us to consider forming our own “CCC” in Radiology.

Our first “C” is connection.

For many us, what we do is “old hat”, "breezy", "piece of cake". We have been doing it for so long we could do it with our eyes closed (please don’t).But to our patients, it may be something new, different, or even scary.  This may be the final piece in the puzzle their doctor has been trying to figure out. This maybe the answer they have been fearing. So, some level of anxiety walks into our exam room with each patient.

A meaningful connection with our patients will only take a couple of moments. Think of it as an investment in your patient. A steady gaze coupled with soft and calming words of reassurance can reduce a good measure of nervousness. Asking if the patient has any question about the test or the procedure they are about to have can do wonders in helping the patient’s anxiety levels lessen. Don’t ask the question while preparing the much dreaded and unknown “instruments of torture”. Focus on the patient for this moment, your machinery isn't going anywhere. A reassuring touch on the shoulder or arm can also help your patient feel like they are important, cared for and connected.

Now, you can destroy all of this wonderful work by sprinkling an abundance of “Honey’s” and “Sweetie’s” in there. When I go out to a restaurant, I learn my waitresses name. Almost all of them have responded in kind. The TV series Cheers reminded us every week with it's theme song how important it is to "go where everybody knows your name".  Should we, as caregivers, be more indifferent to a person who places the physical well-being in our hands than the local watering hole? I hope not. Learn your patient’s name so they can see your interest in them as a person the moment you greet them. They will appreciate it.

We are not working with widgets. This is not an assembly line. These are people who are sick or hurting and afraid. They have come to us for help. Connection only takes a couple of minutes. This will be time well spend. You and I have the ability to make a world of difference to our patients.

Exorcising The Details

There is much that has been said about the need for "vision" in the leadership for any size or type organization.  We seem, by publishing and online post standards, to be very focused on this one aspect of leadership. As much as a company needs a vision, the leader needs a person or persons who can help implement the vision. Too many good "visions" have never got off the ground for lack of good strategic detail planning.

We are not talking about the super-unique visionary with big picture agenda and a playbook to match. These types are out there but are few and far between. So most companies are "stuck" with an "ordinary" leaders. These are folks who need some help getting their big picture into practice.

More often by accident rather than design, the visionary leaders of the successful companies I have been associated with, have what I call detail translators.  These people are a gifted lot, who have the uncanny ability to only catch the vision, but also see the steps to reach the vision. While the visionary may see the mile-markers in route to the fulfillment of the vision, the "detailers" see most of the individual steps between the mile markers.

The president of a company I know has a saying, "The devil is in the details. So, sweat the details." His company had a great deal of success given their small size. The reason? Great vision coupled with a focus on details. The real work of vision implementation comes in mapping out the details. Detail translators exorcise most of the demons of the details in the conference room before the vision is implemented.

Another company I worked with wanted to implement a new safety protocol within the organization. The vision was not only a good one but a necessary addition. The vision was given to the departmental managers with appropriate mile stones for implementation. The "go live" date had been given with percentage of compliance assigned. In this case, 70% in the first ninety days. (I have often wondered how one assigns a percentage of compliance less than 100 in a safety related matter.)

To make a long story short, more than a year later compliance was 80% with significant increase in frustration throughout the organization. All it would have taken was a few more hours of "detail translation" or "demon exorcising" in the conference room (rather than the daily work space) to reach higher compliance levels in a shorter time frame.

My advice to our visionary leaders; find, your detail translators. They are important to your vision. Cherish them, They are a valuable part of your organization. Release them upon your vision. Let them work their magic on the demons in your vision. Send time with them making sure they see what you see. They will then be better able to bring your vision to a successful reality, sooner.

Gauging the Flow

Water, in all of its various forms, has always fascinated me. Rivers and larger bodies of water attract 

me like metal shavings to a magnet.  So, I am fortunate to live in the midst of the Great Lakes. The state of Michigan is almost entirely surround by the lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair, and Erie, comprising the western, northern, and eastern borders. All of these lakes flow through one another relentlessly toward the St. Lawrence Seaway and empty into the Atlantic ocean.

One of the incredible things about water is how it moves. But, water only moves when acted on by another force; like wind or gravity. In lakes and oceans, winds can pile up massive amounts of water in waves. Roof top puddles will ripple with the slightest breeze. Streams and rivers are at the mercy of gravity and topography.

One of the things I liked to do as a kid, was release captured water. Digging trenches with sticks or other more sophisticated tools to release the water from its earthen captivity.  An activity I still like to do. When I walk to work in the rain, I watch with great interest how the water has to fight its way through the leaves next to the curb. More times than I can count, I have stopped, found a stick and moved just enough leaves so that the water can pick up a nice head of steam.

Maybe I’m a “water-whisperer”, seeking to release the “inner flow” of the water. I also imagine I look a lot like Robert Redford too. (The snickering you may be hearing in the background is my wife.)

When I get to work after my curbside water therapy, I am equally fascinated, negatively so, with the lack of movement in the organization I work for and other companies like it. I don't care what type of business your in, there is a dynamic present just below the surface.  This "life force" or "potential" that a business possesses comes from the magnificent collection of people who work as a part of the company. Many brilliant writers of business books have said in various ways "your people are your greatest asset". Well if this is true, why do we work so hard to keep them boxed up?

Some years ago, I worked for a company that every year leadership bemoaned the fact the organization had such great potential.  By my estimation, the statement was true.  However, not one ounce of thought or energy went into ways to release that untapped potential. It was like the story of Moses, if you tap the rock a certain number of times with the right stick, water comes out. Sadly, like the rock containing the unseen water, it just sat there in the dirt surrounded by ruminating managers. What if that organization had said, "How can we release our people into greater engagement or productivity?  What is hindering our people from becoming more than they are at this moment?"

I recently heard from a friend of mine who works for a good size company that was setting a new course for it's future.  The presentation was well thought out and compelling.  There was a clear sense in the room of readiness to grab the concept and run into the future. Until the fateful statement regarding employee engagement, "get engaged or get out". Even if this wasn't the only attempt at employee engagement, it was an epic fail! The already "engaged" associates in the room disengaged slightly.

There is such potential in people. The best companies see it and seek to release it. While at the same time, I see and hear, time and time again, of departments, divisions, whole companies, working overtime to quash creativity, out of the box thinking, deeper engagement and/or personal growth from it's most valuable asset. If the CFO treated the finances in the same manner many companies treated their associates, they would be fired within a year. But that fact in itself reveals money is the true asset for most organizations.

A small church near my home has done an amazing thing.  There are about 30 congregants mostly retired and over sixty. The roof leaks and the parking lot has weeds poking up through the disintegrating blacktop. Clearly, at first glance, this is not one of those wildly successful mega churches. But these 30 people give 100 homeless folks a week a hot meal. They receive no grants or outside monies.  They supply, cook, and serve all the meals. I wonder what a company of 100 or 500 or 1000 could do if so motivated.

What if the management team of a company decided together to send a gale force wind across the sea of their associates? Could the waves break over the heavy fortified seawalls and reach new areas?  What if a company's leadership made it their goal to remove the log jambs from the stream of their employees?  Could the released river current carry the organizational raft to new places as yet unexplored?

How are things flowing in you company? What would happen if...