{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Trophies","description":"Recap and thoughts from a client call a few week's ago. We were discussing a problem they're having that all of us had a hand in creating. ----- \u201cI didn\u2019t realize it would be so hard.\u201d That\u2019s from a conference call with the leaders of a mid-Atlantic hospital system a few weeks back. We were talking about their young, newly minted doctors. I was putting the finishing touches on a workshop for their spring leadership conference. It seems that medical residency has gotten much easier. Less stress. Less sleepless nights. Less intensity. Less rigor. Once residency is over, the newly minted doctors are shocked at how hard the real work of being a doctor is. They\u2019re demanding more money. More vacation. Fewer hours. When asked why, they say \u201cI didn\u2019t realize the work would be so hard. I need more.\u201d The hospital is making major exceptions for the new doctors and it\u2019s causing big problems. They told me of doctors leaving patients mid-procedure because their shift was over, assuming someone will show up and finish. \u201cWhat in the world is wrong with kids these days?\u201d was my immediate response. But that\u2019s misplaced blame. A shoe box in my daughter\u2019s bedroom is full of ribbons from her days as a young swimmer. They range from 6th to 11th place. She was never a good swimmer. She always got ribbons. Today she laughs at them. \u201cParticipant trophies,\u201d she says, rolling her eyes. Let\u2019s be clear: those ribbons are a parenting trend. Parents like you and me bought them and gave them out. We thought it was the right thing to do. Today, my kids are older and think participant trophies are silly. But the trophy\u2019s impact remains with them today and it\u2019s this: Any amount of effort, regardless of outcome, deserves recognition. That\u2019s what a participant trophy is. The greater the effort, the more elite the participant, the more the recognition needed. The young doctors in my client\u2019s hospital system are no different. They\u2019ve been taught by people just like you and me that since it\u2019s hard and since they\u2019ve put in a big effort they deserve more. Medical residency\u2019s historically rough road has been flattened and paved for them. \u201cThey\u2019ve worked hard, let\u2019s help them out,\u201d some residency director, and likely a parent, said at some point. And incremental creep continually makes the road easier. And it\u2019s not just doctors, it\u2019s everywhere. Add Covid money plus work from home and suddenly doing little and getting paid for it is possible. I was clear with my hospital client: this problem is not solvable in a half day workshop. I can give them a new way of understanding the problem that will give them a start in changing their culture. The truth is, though, this is a societal problem that began long ago. The workplace solution is to model the behavior you want to see and make it the defining part of your workplace culture. It will take time. I told the doctors on the call, if you thought the final chapters of your career would be easier as the next generation steps in and takes the lead, it probably won\u2019t. I\u2019m sorry. But remember, it\u2019s a problem that we \u2013 all of us \u2013 created. I\u2019m Cam Marston and I\u2019m just trying to Keep It Real. ","author_name":"Keepin' It Real with Cam Marston","author_url":"https:\/\/cammarston.com\/keepin-it-real-with-cam-marston\/","html":"