Pharmacists, place your bets!

An interesting question was posed to me recently. The question was this: What are you betting your future on?

This is an interesting question to consider, isn’t it? Truth be told, I don’t know that I had taken the time to really think it through. Yet, as I thought about it, I realized I am making betting on things every day. We all are.

Starting at the personal level, I realized that I bet an awful lot on my diet, poor as it is.  As I expand out, I recognized that I bet on the support of my wife, kids and family. I bet on my co-workers. I bet on my neighbours and my community. The list can go on and on.

When we bet on something, we are expressing confidence that something, presumably positive, will happen. 

When we turn our focus specifically to the pharmacy world, we bet on things here as well. We bet on medications to solve problems. We also bet on expanding our education to use those medications as best we can. We bet on our teams. We even bet on manufacturers to deliver supplies to us to continue to provide care. 

Let me ask you a more focused question: where does leadership fit in to what you are betting on? Is it first? Last? Somewhere in between? Is it even on your list?

I will not tell you that betting on leadership, and specifically improving your own leadership, should be first on your list. But I will strongly suggest that it should be closer to the top than the bottom of your list. 

Yet I find many of our colleagues seem to be betting on a new medication, a new vaccine, a new treatment protocol, new regulations, or even a new team member as being the solution or magic bullet to the challenges they face.

Leadership skills can be learned. Leadership skills can be gained. Unfortunately, leaderships skills can also be lost or forgotten if not used. 

I encourage you today to bet on yourself and taking the time to improvi your leadership skills. You do not need a fancy title or special parking spot to benefit from improving your skills. All you need to start with is caring about the people around you – to recognize, as I've said before, that everyone deserves to be led well.

You may find yourself in the situation where you recognize that improving your leadership skills is an appropriate next step, and you're ready to place your bet. However, you may not know where to start.

If this is you, reach out to me on LinkedIn and simply send me a message that you want to improve your leadership skills. We are scheduling some complimentary sessions on the 4 Pillars of Leadership Growth, and we would love to have you join us. Just imagine the benefits that are before you as you improve your leadership skills.

Until next time –

Jesse McCullough, PharmD

Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn