Physician Coaching: Expectations and Outcomes

Whether you’re discussing a surgical treatment plan or reviewing the schedule of pending diagnostic tests with a patient, he or she will always want to know two things:

·      What can I expect?

·      What are possible outcomes?

Expectations and outcomes are two cornerstone elements of health care vernacular. Sometimes these two words are used interchangeably. However, when you break down the definition for each, you discover expectation is “assumed” or “presumed,” while outcome is a definitive result.

Clients often arrive at the virtual physician coaching door without expectation. They are curious about possible outcomes, but this is defined during the first coaching session. While there are many types of coaches out there, the entire concept of “professional coaching” is a remarkably new phenomenon. There is disagreement about the true origins, but Thomas Leonard frequently gets credit for originating the idea in the early 1990s. 

Leonard was a personal financial planner who transformed himself into a “coach” after realizing that his clients were asking for much more than investment advice.  Having recognized the need for the service, he attempted to organize and codify the coach training process but was ultimately thwarted in that effort and tragically died at the age of 49. Although the discipline of executive coaching has progressed substantially beyond its infancy, it is currently in a period of adolescence, and one should take care when selecting a coach.

Your first coaching session must give a space for expectations and outcomes to come to light. Be certain that goals and methods are fully understood and agreed upon by both coach and client. With that preamble, here are three important benefits that one should expect to gain within the coaching framework.

Awareness of Values and Goals. When Alice was lost in Wonderland, she inquired of the Cheshire Cat, “would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” When the cat replied, “that depends a good deal on where you want get to”, Alice admitted that she “didn’t much care where.” To which the cat correctly offered “then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”

When we are at a point of confusion and indecision in our lives (and we all go there occasionally) it’s critical to reflect deeply on the personal values we’re trying to satisfy.  In those moments, it can be unbearably tempting to just throw up our hands and do anything that seems “different” in hopes that we’ll end up in the right place.  With thoughtful coaching, we are more likely to correctly identify meaningful goals based on solid values.

Heightened Sense of Perspective. Even if we can identify and enumerate a list of very worthwhile goals, the achievement of those goals can be easily thwarted if pursued with reckless abandon. By taking advantage of a deliberate, thoughtful coaching experience, goals can be organized and prioritized in a way that dramatically improves the probability of successful achievement.  Pursuit of goals becomes orderly and the stress of too many “balls in the air” vanishes.  We find it much easier to keep track of the values and goals we mentioned above.

Focus on Skill Set Development.  No one has ALL the skills.  Each of us has certain skills that seem effortless to us, whereas others seem completely beyond our grasp.  This is another key area of self-awareness that requires careful consideration and honest self-evaluation.  The effective coach will offer thoughtful questions to help the client objectively evaluate their various skill sets. Such honest assessment creates an opportunity to consider areas where known strengths can be exploited. Equally as important is the process of identifying areas in which certain skills are lacking. To repeat, no one has all the skills. But identifying areas where particular skill sets are suboptimal invites the opportunity to seek out and associate with people whose skills are complementary to our own.  The relationships that grow out of such collaborative arrangements is often the fuel that powers the most successful organizations.

Final Thoughts

Like the Cheshire Cat, an effective coach will continue to encourage the client to say where they want to go but will never suggest a particular direction.  The coach will encourage the client to stay near a familiar path but to cautiously explore interesting new territory.  Above all, an effective coach will encourage the client to believe in themselves.  Sometimes the expectation changes, but the ability to overcome obstacles and adversity is always within us.  The coach is there to remind us that we are in control and we hold the power to determine our own outcomes.

Randy Cook, MD, FACS, holds certifications from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Preventive Medicine in the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine subspecialty, as well as certifications from the American Professional Wound Care Association and the American Board of Wound Management. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Southeastern Surgical Congress, and formerly served as a designated medical examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration.  Dr. Cook is now a senior executive physician coach with MD Coaches, LLC and the host of Rx for Success podcast.