After our community of perioperative leaders refueled with breakfast on Day Two of Periop Leader Week, Hazel Boyd, MBA, operations manager in transition and occupancy planning at Boston Children’s Hospital, conducted a frank and funny discussion about the joys and pains of leadership in today’s healthcare landscape.
Throughout her highly interactive presentation, “Refuel your leadership tank: Building your mindset and energy for the long run,” attending community members were encouraged to reflect on what it actually means to an effective leader, and to openly discuss the day-to-day stresses they face.
For most who work in surgery, facing familiar challenges isn’t new, particularly when it comes to adopting new technology and checking off a long list of administrative and clinical priorities. Ms. Boyd stressed, however, that familiarity with your everyday challenges doesn’t mean they aren’t taking a toll on your physical and mental health. Her no-holds-barred takes on things like the “quintessential office pizza party,” after-hours texting and burnout were very well received. More than one attendee told me they felt seen and heard.
Ms. Boyd, a military mom and marathon runner, said that despite being a self-described overachiever, she knows all too well about the fear of failure, and becoming overwhelmed by expectations both at home and work. When she asked her fellow perioperative leaders to share their own challenges, the responses flowed, ranging from not being heard by management, to needing to work after-hours several times a week, to feeling underappreciated and taken for granted for being a great employee. “Too many things are now high-priority,” one OR manager said. “That’s where we feel the pressure.”
The micro stresses can add up fast, said Ms. Boyd, who revealed that as many as 80 percent of employees deal with work stress even when at home. Effective leaders, she said, can make a difference for themselves and their teams in how tasks are structured and how people are ultimately treated. It was no surprise to learn that staff will sometimes stay or quit because of a good or not-so-good boss.
One surgical manager said her hospital only recently implemented a program to support employees under stress. This was exactly what another director said she wants to implement at her organization, because she fears that the stress people feel could result in losing some of her best employees.
Other leaders said that workplace stress has been a huge issue for most of their colleagues, and that most everyone knows someone who is suffering from some level of burnout. One OR manager noted that there never seems to be enough time to get things done every day, that it feels like constantly treading water.
Ms. Boyd said that stress among perioperative leaders and their staff tends to spill over into day-to-day operations. She said there needs to be a happy medium where people can be effective and appreciated without feeling overwhelmed. The discussion was music to many ears in the ballroom, with chatter erupting during session intervals as people traded stories.
Ms. Boyd encouraged everyone to be “mindful of your own personal capacity,” especially as technology keeps us connected 24/7, assisting in making tasks easier (hello, AI), but keeping us “always on.” She shared and demonstrated one of her secret weapons for combating stress: breathing exercises that she does before important meetings and throughout tough days. Those schooled in meditation and breathing exercises already know the benefits, but based on the reaction, the technique likely reached some new converts.
Many attending leaders continued chatting with each other long after the session ended, reflecting on the need for better life/work balance and self-care. One attendee said therapy is mission critical for dealing with her anxiety and stress, and that she isn’t afraid to admit she takes medication. She was personally grateful that more people like Ms. Boyd are actually talking about mental health compared to when she entered healthcare years ago.
