There are many leadership articles about the importance of empathy, and I want to come right out at the beginning and state that I am not advocating for the elimination of empathy in the workplace. I believe empathy is a crucial component of effective leadership and essential for successful relationships. Further, I think we have a hard time understanding the difference between empathy and sympathy and therefore feel conflicted as managers trying to manage in an increasingly emotional culture.

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If you read through my past blogs you will see a pattern emerge. I find there are five key principles of effective leadership that weave through the process. And because every article I read seems to have acronyms, I figure it’s time I try it. I think effective, strategic leadership allows you to “stack the deck” in your favor. So the word of the day to represent the key principles is STACT! Read on to find out what that means!

Do you ever have errors in your patient demographic data? Do you ever have a claim rejected because something was not submitted or was submitted incorrectly? Has a patient ever shown up for a delivery, but the device was not ready? Is there anything in your practice that you would like to do better?

I believe most leaders think they have a good understanding of what matters most to the staff, but do they? Acting on poorly understood priorities is not only ineffective, but it can backfire when leaders’ actions suggest that they don’t understand what their people are wrestling with. As someone once said, “Tone-deaf compassion is more dangerous and costly than none at all.”

Over the weekend, I was talking with a friend who is getting a certification in counseling. He had just finished an exam and we were talking about the class. He said the teacher had made a comment one day in class about the importance of making a connection with the client so that you can help them. Her phase was "Are you meeting the person where they are, or are you starting where the person is?" I cocked my head to the side and raised my ears like a dog and said “Huh?”