Caught in the Middle - Avoiding Crucial Conversations

Functions as a liaison between hospital administration and medical staff leadership. If you're a Medical Staff Service Professional (MSSP), are those words in your job description? 

Used to (accurately) be in mine. 

Could have said: Caught in the middle of every disagreement between the CEO and the Chief of Staff.

Less politically correct, but also accurate.

And we're generally pretty good at it.  We smooth ruffled feathers and soothe battered egos with considerable style and grace.

But from time to time, haven't we all secretly wanted to lock the combatants in a room and just let them slug it out?

Enter Quint Studer.  Some of you may be familiar with the Studer Group. Quint and company worked to develop World Class Service within the large health system where I'm employed.  I enjoyed his presentations and witnessed some of his best ideas catching on and actually changing the culture of the place.

Therefore, I read with interest his recent article Cut Out the Middle Man.  Here's an excerpt:

It is 1993; I'm the COO of Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago. The Chief Nurse Officer doesn't report to me, but there are a few things I think she could do a little bit better and I'm sure there are a few things she feels I could do better. So during a supervisory meeting with my CEO, I find a little opening to mention my observations to him. Because the CNO reports to him, I share some concerns I have about what's going on in nursing.

And I really think I presented it quite well. I wait for the CEO to say, "Quint, let me talk to her." Instead, he turns to me and says, "Quint, those are good observations. What did she say when you told her this?"

There was silence. And then he said these words that could be interpreted as "It's time to grow up." He said, "Quint, I'll tell you what. It's best if you talk to her directly because you're both adults. You're both leaders, and if you can't resolve this then both of you can come to see me and we'll discuss it together."  (Read the rest.)

Good advice.  Allowing ourselves to be stuck in the middle is not always a wise career choice.

Worse yet, we may be using them the same way.  Ever find yourself complaining to B about A?  It's an easy trap to fall into, but it rarely solves any problems.

Try engaging in a crucial conversation directly with A instead.  Not always comfortable, but it gets easier with practice.  I'm not fond of confrontation, so this is something I'm working on.

Thanks for the reminder Quint.