Delegation can make (or break) your career

Delegation is not a soft skill. Physician executives who do not delegate well and strategically cannot expect to achieve the top jobs now or in the future. It's not enough to have great communications skills to convey your vision. You won't achieve that vision alone; you must have a great team to bring that vision to fruition. However, you can't delegate your first and most important step--self-assessment. To maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, you'll need a clear view of what makes you tick. Then start thinking about your executive role in these terms: Conceptualize work mandates as projects; choose people who are better than you for your team; and try to work yourself out of a job. By learning to delegate, physician executives can make their own careers (as well as those on their team) richer and more fulfilled.     

Planning a career path from engineering to management

In order to become successful managers, engineers must learn new skills, acquire new values and re-orient their thinking. The transition from engineering to management requires time for the individual to mature, a progression of on-the-job experiences, and careful career planning. Career planning is best viewed as part of a total human resource management system of goal-setting, performance appraisals, training, and continuous career counseling. Career planning becomes most effective where a variety of jobs and pathways are provided by the organization, when the performance requirements for these jobs are made explicit, when the criteria for promotions are spelled out, and where the salary brackets are consistent with this information. Useful career planning can be carried out without this system approach, as the case study herein demonstrates. But the systems approach makes career planning much more effective, and generally assists the engineer in making a better transition to management.     

Preparing for a career in medical management. 8 steps to help you evaluate your career path

Making a career switch from clinical practice to medical management requires preparation and planning. There are numerous steps you can take to smooth out the transition. Most importantly, you must find ways to gain valuable leadership and management experiences before you can expect to land a good medical management position. Discover ways to cultivate that experience through staff posts, part-time positions or volunteer work.     

Life after retirement. Interview by Barbara J. Linney

Are you thinking about retirement? Here are interviews with four physician executives who have made the transition. Some are recently retired, while others have been retired for many years. The good news is that all of them are productive and exploring interests and hobbies that their careers had taken precedence over. All of them were asked the following: (1) How have you felt about retirement? (2) What are some interesting things you've done? (3) What advice would you give to others who are planning for it?     

动态职业环境下职业成长与组织承诺的关系

选取感知机会来描述企业员工所处的职业环境,研究动态职业环境下职业成长对组织承诺的影响机理.通过对9个城市961位企业员工进行问卷调查,采用验证性因素分析、相关分析、多元回归进行实证分析.研究发现:员工职业成长4个维度对情感承诺具有正向影响,并共同解释情感承诺40%的变异;除职业能力发展外,职业成长其余3个维度对持续承诺...     

Making the most of your career--and your life

Take a look at a simple way to evaluate your job. Start figuring out how to take on more tasks that you like and get rid of those you dislike.     

Reinventing my medical career

The author found himself in a surprising situation in the Fall of 1998. For the first time in his life, he was looking for a job. Kent Bottles, MD, shares his experience of reinventing himself from academic chairman in an integrated delivery system to health care consultant. He stresses that physician executives need to package their experiences in terms of transferable skills that are easily understood by potential employers. He also emphasizes that acquaintances are more important than friends in obtaining employment; one needs to network with acquaintances and rely on the sympathy of relative strangers. A lot of hard work, networking, and "selling" his reinvented self resulted in a CEO hiring him. With all the changes brought on by the global economy and the uncertainties of the health care marketplace, other physician executives may be faced with the need to reinvent themselves.     

Corporate expatriate career development

Western business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong responded to a mail survey regarding availability and usage of corporate career development activities. Despite the strategic need for expatriation, it was found that corporate development activities had a low availability indicating little interest on the part of parent organizations to assist in the development of expatriate careers. Large-size parent organizations, with substantial interests in international business operations, generally provide more expatriate career development assistance as opposed to small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer resources and little experience to cater to such needs. Experienced expatriate managers generally use more career development activities than less experienced managers, which could pose a problem for the procurement and advancement of new generations of expatriate managers. Implications of these findings for managers and their employers are discussed in detail.     

保护好自己的品牌

由于企业知识产权保护的相对滞后,很多企业在开拓国际市场时,经常遭遇自己的品牌被抢注的尴尬与无奈。     

Taming your telephone

In this modern age of communications, with computers, FAX machines, and the videoconference, the decision-making process has been accelerated. Use of the telephone has become more important and intensive. The physician executive must constantly strive to hone the edge of his or her skills to increase productivity and soften the stress of each day. In the 1990s and in the era of health care reform, the physician executive will face increasing pressures and demands. Telephone skills will become increasingly important to organizations and to physician executives' peace of mind. This article considers some fundamental aspects of telephone usage: (1) reasons for provider behavior, (2) the value of the phone as a negotiating tool, (3) suggestions for phone efficiency, (4) guidelines for a successful telephone encounter, and (5) pitfalls.     

Diagnosis of a stalled career

What should physician executives do to prepare for a career move? This is not a list of items to improve technical skills and knowledge, but information on how to accurately and clearly present your experience and gain credibility. A few of the basic career preparations that physician executives must make include: (1) Get your paperwork in order, both a resume and a curriculum vitae; (2) seek feedback and critical input; (3) refresh or establish your interviewing skills; and (4) focus on your communications techniques. Physicians executives cannot rest on their deserved laurels as strong practitioners when aspiring to a senior management role. It is critical to emphasize other skills--decisiveness, communication, and management experience in a range of health care organizations.     

Physician retirement plans: the impact of organizational structure

A primary concern of many physicians is the accumulation of adequate funds while practicing to maintain their lifestyles after retirement. Take a look at how some business arrangements can affect retirement planning.     

A rational approach to career change

Recently, the number of physicians who have been interested in alternative careers has vastly increased. Many physicians express dissatisfaction with clinical practice, but they are uncertain about which nonclinical options are appropriate for them. Pursuing a different career after many years of studying and practicing medicine can seem like an overwhelming task. In this article, the author briefly outlines a decision-making process that can be used in analyzing career options and suggests some careers that have provided challenging opportunities for physicians.