In his book Leaders eat last – why some teams pull together and others don’t, Simon Sinek talks about the importance of a safe work environment for innovation, productivity and survival. He calls this space controlled by leaders the Circle of Security.
It’s easy to know when we’re in the circle of safety because we can feel it. We feel valued by our colleagues and cared for by our managers. We become absolutely confident that the leaders of the organization and everyone we work with are there for us and will do whatever it takes to help us succeed. We become members of the group. We feel we belong. When we believe that those within our group, those within the circle, will take care of us, it creates an environment for free information sharing and effective communication. This is fundamental to driving innovation, preventing problems from escalating, and better equipping organizations
Without a safety circle, paranoia, cynicism, and self-interest prevail.
Perhaps part of our burnout crisis in medicine is due to a lack of safety for doctors.
The health world is full of dangers. At any given point, forces are working to corrupt our ability to do our jobs. Without the Circle of Safety, clinicians burn off their emotional energy to protect themselves from an onslaught of administrative tasks and rampant clinical demands.
For some doctors there is:
- No sense of belonging.
- Lack of a medical culture based on clear values and beliefs.
- No trust or real power to make decisions.
While there is a tendency to blame the victim, these three elements are beyond the control of a single doctor. In other words, practicing docs cannot go to a safe space no matter how hard they try. It is cultivated in organizations – it is part of an organization’s culture. And it requires strong medical leadership. Someone who takes care of the subordinates and forms the circle of security as Sinek describes it.
“When the circle is strong and that sense of belonging is pervasive, that creates collaboration, trust, and innovation.” Find strong medical leaders to create a Circle of Safety and you are well on your way to defeating physician burnout.
Easier said than done, sure. But it’s a start.
If you like this post, you might like this one 33 Charts Burnout Archive. It captures everything written here about burnout. In fact, each post has little tags at the bottom to help you find related material. Happy reading!
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