Successful sports teams are in a constant state of reinvention and refinement. Reality is no different in a clinical department. As Lee Iaococca once said about Chrysler: lead, follow or get out of the way. Anesthesia departments either stand on their own and continue to succeed, or they fail. There is no shortage of examples across the country of departments that have either been replaced or taken over by hospital administrations.
Compelling leadership is the first priority of a successful team. Leaders inspire and motivate their players with a clear vision of passion and opportunity. To this end, three names often come to mind: Winston Churchill who kept Britons focused on winning the war during the worst of the bombing. Nelson Mandela who stayed focused on a democratic future of South Africa during 27 years in Robbin Island prison. Steve Jobs who clearly saw the intersection of technology and humanity. It is not just their words that mattered but the tenor, tone and conviction of their message. The ability to lead a group of strong-willed professionals is no small feat. Leaders should not only be masters of their craft but effective communicators dedicated to always taking the team to the next level of performance.
Let us not confuse leadership with management, for the two are completely different sides of the same coin. While leaders think outside the box, effective managers understand and define the box. Their domain is accountability, ensuring that all the players know and appreciate their roles and are held to it. Data and experience are their tools. There is always room for improvement, but knowing how the parts interact is what makes the manager’s role so critical to the team as a whole. One great athlete does not a World Series champion make. The best teams pair a strong leader with an effective manager.
Customer satisfaction has become the buzz term of the day. It is the somewhat intangible skill that leads to confidence in the team. It is not enough to consistently get patients safely and comfortably through the trauma of surgery; it is about enhancing the overall surgical experience. This is the new anesthesia frontier, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire surgical suite. Today’s reality is that anesthesia does more to ensure a positive surgical experience than the surgeon, because they are not just focused on the surgical site but the whole patient.