Personality Profiling in (General) Practice

“Dr Ann Example looked across the meeting room at Dr Adam Fiction. Nice chap, talkative, lots of ideas. But, why do I find him stressful to be around sometimes?.. She pondered as she tried to think how his idea would affect her plans.”

“Adam paused for breath. Why doesn’t Ann seem interested in my idea…”

This post describes how we used personality type training at the practice to try and improve our effectiveness and reduce stress.

Practices are under resourced and under pressure. But the stakes are high and our decisions and results can have a huge impact on our patients. In this environment it is easy for friction to develop between staff. A large amount of practice time can be wasted dealing with conflicts. Sometimes people can fall out dramatically with destructive results.

To increase effectiveness at work, we know to invest in “hard skills”. These are specific, teachable abilities that can be defined and measured, such as how to process information, follow procedures and protocols and use equipment and software. When considering aptitude for hard skills, we often think of the (perhaps controversial) concept of IQ.

But “soft skills” are important too. These are less tangible, harder to quantify and include skills such as understanding motivations – our own and our colleagues, listening, small talk and building relationships. These are also vital for individuals and teams to perform effectively. These skills make up our Emotional Intelligence (EQ).

“EQ represents the capability of an individuals to recognize their own, and other people’s emotions, to discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, to use this emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and to manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt environments or achieve one’s goal(s).”  – Wikipedia

Raising EQ can improve the performance of individuals and teams. An effective way of raising EQ is to increase awareness of differences in personalities and preferred ways of communicating and working.

Personality Profiling A GP Practice

Recently at our Practice, we designed and undertook a team building session based on personality typing. We used the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) system. The aim was to help the team to better understand each other’s personalities, emotions and preferred ways of working.

Continue reading “Personality Profiling in (General) Practice”

Which deadly sin can help save the NHS?

Since antiquity, mankind has held a belief in the deadly sins. A list of seven infamous and destructive vices may not feel like the natural place to look for inspiration to help a health service creaking under a myriad of pressures and challenges.

But, there is one deadly sin that Doctors and other healthcare workers would benefit from indulging in more often.

  • Gluttony? – Those christmas chocolates in the staff room are delicious, but you will regret eating too many and it doesn’t set a good example.
  • Wrath? – We see injustice every day. However, revenge usually disappoints and escalates.
  • Envy? – Being jealous of your friend who made a million in the city won’t help anyone.
  • Lust? – Fraternising on the ward won’t help the patients.
  • Sloth? – Laziness and not doing what you should will harm patients and your career.
  • Greed? – Perhaps – Money is a good motivator, and pay is important, but the NHS is not the place to make millions.

I am thinking of course, of Pride!

The sin of pride is confusing.

We are proud of our children, our families, our heritage. Have you ever wished someone would take more pride in their work? Pride can motivate people to study hard and to do their best for others. Surely it is ok to be proud?

On the other hand, pride can lead us to be overconfident in our abilities, to believe that we are special and superior, and to ignore warnings thinking we know better. Pride can turn people into dangerous jerks.

Pride has always been part of the identity and perception of the medical profession. From the widely held image of the kindly and open minded yet educated and decisive physician to the stereotype of the arrogant and head strong old surgeon (sorry surgeons ;-)).

The Seven Deadly Sins: Hieronymus Bosch, circa 1500 or The Walt Disney Company, late 20th century – Choose your preferred cultural reference point

 

What is pride anyway?

Continue reading “Which deadly sin can help save the NHS?”