Alan Humphries

I was reminiscing with my sister the other evening about memorable experiences in our lives. Irene trained as a nurse in one of the major London teaching hospitals. She was assigned to each of the various major departments i.e. A&E, gynaecology, paediatrics etc.  On arrival she would usually find lengthy waiting lines full of morose people quietly grumbling under their breath. This was the pattern until she came to the waiting room of a nationally renowned consultant. Here the waiting room was still full but people seemed quite happy, chatting away with each other not minding the wait at all. In fact many had brought cakes, jams, chutneys and all sorts of small gifts.

After a few weeks my sister, who is not short of pluck, asked the consultant why this was so.  He said that all through his career he had worked extremely hard at becoming the best clinician possible.  He saw his job totally in the realms of diagnosis, prognosis, prescribing a course of treatment and then monitoring the results. In short a highly intellectual exercise.

Having made his way to the top, he then retired but after a couple of years pottering around his garden got bored and returned to work. This time without the pressure of career etc, he totally changed his approach and dealt with all his patients as unique human beings in need of help i.e. a highly emotionally-based approach. The change was, he said, remarkable. People responded in totally different ways, hence the atmosphere in the waiting room. He also pointed out that the change in him was also remarkable and that he was living a much richer life.

Leadership nudge: What is the difference you could make through bringing more emotional energy to your work, what would be the benefits to you and to the people with whom you work? How can you get the mix of intellectual and emotional right? What do you notice about people’s response to you when you relate to people as unique human beings?

By Alan Humphries

Learn more about the author of this article, Alan Humphries, FED consultant and coach