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Posted On Aug 04, 2025

Updated On Aug 04, 2025

Challenges Of Being "In Charge"

Perspectives & Off-Topic Discussions

As a supervisor, head technician, or medical director, being "in charge" of a team or group of individuals doesn't guarantee that you'll succeed in all aspects that define a "leader." 

There's no question that the responsibilities associated with a supervisory role are numerous and challenging. Probably the most challenging is just dealing with people, their personalities, motivation (or lack of), and their egos.

When I worked as a medical director of a specialty / referral practice, I loved the challenges of trying to improve efficiency, workflow, compliance, client care, medical standards of patient care, and financial performance of the hospitals I worked in. The most challenging part of that role for me was staff management - specifically the doctors. Working with many accomplished and bright professionals - board certified specialists - under one roof was awesome and professionally enriching. However, when the medical director hat had to be donned to manage a situation involving one of the doctors ... well, at times it was stressful and gut wrenching (depending on the individual involved). I did not study human psychology and, though I can carry myself successfully in conversing with just about anyone, it was a challenge with a willfully strong "type A" or an egoist - especially in encounters rooted to a situation of conflict or reprimand.

My previous employer had done a great thing for a small group of hospitals in our area. In an attempt to foster interpersonal growth and promote cohesiveness of people working within a few of their practices, they enrolled us in a Dale Carnegie course. On a weekend day, for several weeks running, we'd meet at the Dale Carnegie offices and for several hours engage in fun or goofy activities that served to foster camaraderie, team building, and self growth. One of the best takeaways for me personally was understanding how different personality types act or react when they are uncomfortable. It was helpful for understanding myself and how I react in those situations, as well as for providing me with some considerations for making others feel comfortable and supported in those encounters. 

Here are a few pearls from Dale Carnegie's Golden Book:

  • Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly
  • Let the other person save face
  • Use encouragement; make the fault seem easy to correct
  • Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest (my spin on this .... make sure to recognize their effort and point to how or why what they did was a good thing - make sure they can see why what they did was a good thing)

What have you experienced? What have you learned along the way?

Contributed by Sheri L. Berger, DVM, DACVO (originally published September 18, 2017)