Go ahead...be selfish!

When I took on my first leadership role in 1986 as administrator of a small rural health centre in Manitoba I was keen and green in equal measure - and probably not a little afraid of a shift far outside of my comfort zone.  Professionally I was the youngest leader in the province by far.  Personally, I had moved to a province where I had no history or connections whatsoever.

What I lacked in experience I more than made up for in idealism and naivety.  Then as now I was motivated to be of service, to make a difference in my chosen profession and in my new community, to continue to learn and strive to be better.  One step in that path was to volunteer to become part of the local emergency medical service.  My rationale was that while I had been academically prepared to be a health care administrator I had very little experience of actually administering anything.  What better way to learn than to become part of some of the services I was responsible for leading!  Bloody brilliant!

I imagined that my service would be time-limited, at most a year of actual service before backing out and focusing solely on the administrative side of my career.  However, as many of you might know its a lot easier to sign up for something in a rural community than to sign out.  My 1-year plan turned into a 4-year mini-EMS career.

In retrospect, that extra 3 years of service was time well spent.  It helped me better understand the front-line experience and gave me enough early familiarity with medical terminology and lingo to be more effective as a healthcare leader.  It also taught me humility - nothing like being covered in the blood of others as you respond to a mass casualty incident, pick up kids not much younger than yourself from some traumatic event, or have someone die in front of you despite your best efforts.  Some of those images and experiences remain with me to this day.

Perhaps most important for me is that I continue to carry one piece of advice given to me as an EMS provider that still has great relevance for me as a leader.  In my training and in subsequent years of service I was taught to ensure safety of any scene before entering.  It was drummed into me that I should not rush headlong in to save the day, like some knight in shining armor, lest I become another casualty putting burden on other emergency services personnel.  In essence I was told be selfish, to guard my life diligently in order to be of effective service to those needing my skills and abilities.

So what relevance does this have to leadership?  The nature of my coaching practice seems to attract many individuals who are extraordinarily selfless as leaders.  They are continuously taking on new duties and tasks, trying to support and advocate for their staff and their clients/customers, and putting in the extra time and effort that they believe could make THE difference.  Work-life balance?  A challenging prospect.  They also take the same approach and have the same level of commitment on the home front.

As they present to me, either at the initial stages of our engagement or as we focus on identifying and working towards their stated goals, I often find myself relating and translating this EMS lesson to their leadership environment.  Basically, I help them identify with the reality that THEY are the KEY instrument of THEIR desired success. Much like myself as the EMS provider, they benefit from understanding that unless they take care of and invest in themselves their ability to be successful is diminished.  Without continuously developing their skills sets, without reflecting on their plans and actions, and without proper investment in their personal health, they will in fact perform at a less than optimal level.  Ironically, by working harder and longer - being entirely selfless - they in fact can be less effective in their ultimate desire to serve others.

Often their first reaction to taking time for self is that any such effort is incredibly and inappropriately selfish.  The very idea of taking time out of their work week to focus on their leadership development makes them twitchy. It takes some discussion but eventually we start to take small steps toward helping them develop an appropriately selfish plan of leadership development and self care.

So what does appropriately selfish look like in a leadership context?  First and foremost it's getting back in touch with what it means for the individual to be a leader.  I find that many leaders have an intuitive or abstract understanding of why they lead but have never taken the time to truly reflect and DOCUMENT their personal leadership vision and values.  This effort is of huge value to leaders both in terms of the process of self-discovery and in respect of the direction it provides them moving forward.  This effort takes time.  It requires uninterrupted, reflective and dedicated effort that should be part of work time.

Second, I often work with leaders to get them to take time out of their work week - even if only a few minutes each day - to reflect on and evaluate their leadership successes or challenges.  Taking a page from the sports world, you need to replay the tape, assess how the "play" went, and then learn and adjust going forward.  Without such self-assessment or reflection there really is no real learning going on and no effective improvement or enhancement to your leadership skill.

The challenge often presented when we discuss these two options, both of which require protected time to accomplish, is just exactly how can this be done with everybody banging on my door and my e-mail in-box getting flooded every hour with new requests.  The simple answer is structure and support.  Most leaders do have the tools to support them in this regard from their electronic calendar to their personal assistant, executive assistant or secretary.  Block time as you would any other appointment and protect it like you would your most important meeting.  Enlist your assistant to help you protect this time as well.

Finally, as part of being appropriately selfish work on identifying and recognizing your strengths and accomplishments.  I find far too many leaders focus on their perceived or actual skills gaps or the things that have not been touched on their to-do list.  That "deficit" mentality becomes a significant weight to keep carrying forward.  Far more powerful is the ability to remain positive and optimistic and focused on the future rather than the past.  And take time to celebrate your wins as a leader.  I'm not talking about buying yourself a new Italian sports car but do provide yourself with some, yet tangible, recognition for your achievement and positive steps forward.

I espouse to be a servant leader but that doesn't mean that there isn't an appropriate time to be selfish in service of your leadership.  In my view this is particularly true if you intend to be the kind of leader you want to be for your staff and for those your organization serves.  It's about leadership and it's about investing in your leadership.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.