Steve Witherspoon, M.D. is a physician executive with a master's degree in public health and a PhD. He has been at the top of his class throughout his academic career and by all measures is an outstanding physician. Steve has been taught to reject anything that can't be quantified and to be extremely self-reliant. Over the past eight years, he has moved into leadership positions of increasing responsibility. In his most recent position, Steve has instituted a variety of large-scale change initiatives. Promoting these initiatives has required that he speak before a wide range of employees throughout his hospital. Unfortunately, things are not going well for Steve. The change initiatives he has been sponsoring have not been well received by employees.

Steve's confidants have finally stepped forward to explain to him why his initiatives are facing such strong resistance. While people believe that his ideas are logical, they find his communication and leadership uninspiring. The most frequent comment from employees is, "If he's not excited about these changes, then why should we get involved?" Steve's response to this feedback has been, "I deal with data and facts. Anyone should be able to see what needs to be done around here."

In her book, Brag! The Art Of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It (audio version), communications consultant Peggy Klaus talks about a statement she often hears from executives like Steve. Peggy, if I get too excited that means I'm getting too emotional, and that means I'm getting too subjective, and that means that facts fly out the window along with my credibility. As an engineer, physician, scientist or administrator, you might be able to perform at a high level without communicating how passionate you are about your work, but as a leader you will be severely limited.

Steve Witherspoon may not know it, but he is at a juncture that is often referred to as "pay me now or pay me later." If this was an emergency room situation and we were applying the concept of triage, Steve would get immediate and specialized care. Time is of the essence. He either addresses his communication skills now or his job will be on the line. Aggressive measures will be required to bring about the necessary changes in Steve's communication skills. The following recommendations will help him begin to turn this perilous situation around.

• Connect:
  As a first step, Steve should sit down in a quiet place with a pad and pencil and reflect on what initially attracted him to medicine. He should make notes on the people, values and expectations of those early days that influenced him most. I would recommend that Steve also write down stories from his childhood and early work life that connect to the changes he is advocating today. He can now begin to tap into that initial passion to fuel his communication. For example, Steve could describe the difficulties he experienced as a high school student, moving from state to state as the child of an Army officer. He could compare those early adjustment challenges to the discomfort people are feeling with the changes he is asking them to make today. In this way, Steve will communicate that he understands what it is like to have one's world disrupted by change.

• Assess:
  Steve would benefit form having someone video tape him delivering a portion of one of his presentations. Ideally, this person would be a communications consultant. Warning to Steve! What you will see will not be a pretty picture. You probably think that you are far more animated than you actually are. Study your video and make notes regarding the things you want to change. Pay particular attention to your facial expression, vocal variety and physical movement.

• Practice:
  Steve should find a room where he will not be interrupted, and practice being "over the top." By deliberately exaggerating a piece of his presentation, such as the opening, closing or a specific story, he will begin to break away from his rigid communication style. He could walk around, wave his arms, shout to the rafters and get used to being extremely demonstrative. Steve should try this several times and then have his presentation video taped again. I predict that Steve will notice significant improvement in his presentation effectiveness. However, he has more work to do. Over the next several months, Steve will need to use these three steps over and over to reach a level where people start to comment on the change, and more importantly, follow his leadership.

TOP OF PAGE

If Steve invests in his speaking skills with the same vigor that he approached medical school, he will be successful. Things will begin to change for Steve and people will respond to him in an entirely different way. His energy will infuse the organization with the movement necessary to bring about necessary changes.

I'm interested in your success. If I can answer any questions related to this article or if you have a comment about the article, please let me know at mark.campbell48@verizon.net.