Chapter 13: The Infinite Power of Polarities

In 2005, I was working with a large, regional healthcare system to design and facilitate a leadership development program directed toward physician leaders and management. It was my first experience with what is often referred to as “the great divide”—physicians and anyone who is not a physician. Every session introduced a different leadership topic, and, as I was knowledgeable in each of those topics, I felt fully prepared to facilitate those discussions. However, I was not prepared to deal with the inherent conflict between physician and non-physician perspectives, expectations, and status. Regardless of the topic, the room would quickly break into two different camps and most times the physician camp would have the final word, which reinforced the message that their perspective was the “right” one—their voice was the most important voice. Interestingly enough, upon reflection the physician leaders were actually the less-skilled leaders. They had titles and responsibility, but generally lacked the skills and experience necessary to deal with many of the issues facing the organization. Although their administrative counterparts were much stronger leaders, they were not physicians—and a typical result was that they were not listened to or respected, especially by medical staff.