March 2006

The triple threat you face every day

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

When I was reminded of a story about President Lincoln, I thought about the fact that he often perplexed his generals because of his leniency regarding deserters in the Army of the Potomac. His rationale was very simple as explained in this quote: "If the Lord has given a man a pair of cowardly legs, it's hard to keep them from running away with him."

Being susceptible to the impulses of fear, failure and self‑doubt is what makes us human. One way that you can deal with them is to cultivate them. Lincoln's gentle way of understanding human foibles is an example. Not only did he have the courage to persist in conducting a bloody war but he also had the courage of being ready to pardon some of those who could not fight in that war.

Another leader who was met with this same type of problem was Frenchman Ferdinand Foch, Allied Commander‑in‑Chief at the close of World War I. Reprimanding a colonel for disciplining one of his officers for showing fear, he was quoted as saying, "None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear."

Leaders often encounter many hurdles or blockages. More than 26 years of maintaining a high volume chiropractic practice and a very long time as a chiropractic coach have taught me that it's critical to meet expectations and the only way that you can do this is by leadership. The word "leadership" comes from an old Norse word meaning "to make go." Leadership is needed in organizations to make things go, to muster and coordinate direction, ardent commitment and resource alignment.

I have worked with many leaders of all ranks and functions and have seen that most of them think leadership is simply a 9‑5 job and that it's only for the office. They don't view it as a life dynamic. Most people are seeking more for themselves but the only way is to promote leadership that delivers more accountability. The way to do that is to have the leadership dynamic on and off the clock. If you can't make your leadership your life and your life your leadership, you'll diminish both. My intention is to provide the support that's needed beyond training to enable other chiropractors to apply that complex mix of management and leadership skills to their offices.

Most chiropractic practices are facing global competition, but we should not be competing with each other. Instead, we should compete with our doubt, fear, failure, and expect more from ourselves ‑‑ more initiative, more innovation and more results.

As a leader, you don't have to watch a movie about the battle between two strong forces because you do it every day. One of the forces we face is the three‑headed monster of fear, failure, and self‑doubt. How you deal with this triple threat will determine to a great extent how your life develops.

Even though we know that fear, failure and self‑doubt are separate, they cannot be separated. The prospect of failure can lead to fear of failure, and fear of failure can lead to self‑doubt, which closes the cycle by leading back to fear of failure. Of course, this isn't strictly linear. The three‑headed monster is comprised of any number of combinations. For instance, self‑doubt may lead to failure or failure may lead to self‑doubt, which leads to fear.

Don't concern yourself with the combinations that can afflict you, rather concern yourself with how to deal with them. The main thing to understand about how to deal with the monster is that if you're NOT dealing with it, you're doing something wrong.

Leadership is not about living an easy life for ourselves but a hard life for other people and for the patients we serve. Fear, failure, and self doubt are natural outcomes of forward‑thrusting leadership. This is especially so for the leaders who are trying to motivate people to meet extraordinary challenges. You'll never know how good you are as a leader unless you're motivating others to be better than they think they are. In doing that you'll inevitably get at least some of the people angry.

Most people are settled into a comfortable status quo and resent and resist being challenged to break out. But if you aim to get great results, people not only have to be pushed but more importantly, they must be challenged to push themselves. So, if you're not getting some people angry with you over the pushing, you're doing something wrong as a leader. You're not challenging people enough.

BE CHALLENGED!

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought‑after speakers in chiropractic today. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Get the Big Idea Seminars and Coaching Programs ‑‑ continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com.)