Surgery and Leadership = Fun?!

What a surgical operation can teach us about team leadership.

“Fun” is probably not the first word that comes to your mind when you are undergoing surgery. So I had a pleasant surprise when I recently had to undergo a hip replacement operation. In fact, “fun” and “interesting” are two words that I immediately think of when I think of the surgical operation itself. Basically it was a lesson in top-performing team leadership.

As I was only locally anaesthetized below the waist, I was fully aware of what was going on. It quickly became obvious that my team was working very effectively together and demonstrating the key leadership behaviours we see at work in the most effective teams.

First of all, everyone knew their job and took obvious pleasure in performing it well. This was obvious in the thorough pre- and post-operation planning and organizing. Also in the  small gestures during the operation that helped things move along smoothly, for example, the humorous “spiel” of the Anesthetist and the preparatory actions of the Head Nurse, obviously learnt not from the text book, but from long and valuable experience. The result was a successful surgery, completed well under its allocated time and that has had a very positive outcome.

Leadership was shared. My lead surgeon was very much in charge, but he frequently deferred to his other team members and let them get on with their job. He also jumped in and helped with several of the simple tasks that make surgery go well and that other team members can also perform, but can do better and faster with a little help.

The work was also a learning opportunity. The lead surgeon was training a medical student, a frequent activity in hospitals. What made him especially effective was that he treated her as an equal, he explained the what, and especially the why, of each of his actions and he answered her questions authoritatively, but in a  friendly and completely non-condescending way.

And it was a fun moment. The team was obviously having a good time together. There was a fair amount of light-hearted banter and joking that kept the atmosphere warm and positive but in no way interfered with their focus on the job in hand. “Thanks” and “Good idea” were words I heard a lot. These words of appreciation may sound simple, but they are not always easy to remember to use when working under pressure. Highly effective team members have learnt the value of appreciating their colleagues’ contributions and frequently do so as a matter of course.

I’m now well on the way to an excellent recovery and I’d like to gratefully thank the whole orthopedic team at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Montreal for their top-quality care in the pre-surgery, surgery and post-surgery stages of my care.

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