A few nights ago I worked with a surgeon that was running behind schedule. Somehow his office double booked his schedule, and he had additional cases to do that day. This gentleman is a typical type-A personality, and this situation seemed to kick those traits up a notch. I arrived to help with his second to the last case. He was rushing around and very impatient with everyone, even the patient. He was snapping at the operating room nurses and his resident. His behavior was making everyone else in the anxious and uncomfortable. For some reason, the laparoscopic camera monitor wasn’t working. He barked some orders to get it fixed and decided to proceed with placing the laparoscopic ports the old fashion way. He just couldn’t wait for the problem to fixed. He decided to continue without a working monitor and then got into some bleeding. The mess that followed was a direct result of his actions and impatience. A positive trait of wanting to get things done coupled with an...

I recently met with an old friend over a cup of coffee. He still works at our old place of employment. During our conversation, he shared a story of one of his supervisors. During a meeting about resources and the need for newer equipment, his boss said to his team, "I'm not your advocate. Your lucky to have your job so deal with it." Suffice it to say, he and his fellow team members were not happy. They felt uncared for and abandoned. Many are now looking for a new place of employment. His boss was quite successful in communicating her lack of desire to assist them to do their best work for the company. As a leader, you need to be very careful about the message you send out to your people.

Five Things Leaders Do

1. They inspire others. Leaders influence others to help move the company towards its goals and objectives. They do this be effectively communicating the mission and purpose of the organization. The mission is what the organization does, and the purpose is why they do it....