Have you ever had to have a surgical procedure? I had what turned out to be an insignificant procedure this past week. Tissue check - all clear. It got me thinking about how we find procedures to be at once terrifying and comforting.
Think about it. At work, people are often loathe to put procedures into place. In the medical world, we resort to a procedure when there is a concern or when something has the potential of being serious.
For example at work, your supervisor might say, 'management would like us to catalogue all procedures. They want to make sure that all of the things we do right are clear, and have the opportunity to improve upon possible inefficiencies' ...and we think - 'omg, I will be found out!' -or- 'they are going to find out what I do and then fire me or replace me.' Cataloging procedures can be emotion producing for many.
In a medical procedure, the doctor will typically say, 'we want to take a sample of that and make sure it is benign' -or- 'we should get that out of there so it doesn't turn into something we don't want'. Emotion producing.
So we comply, and then we wait. In business, the boss may say 'I am so pleased that you have this down on paper. Now I can truly see what a great job you do, and how much you do for our organization every day' -or- 'I see room for improvement here. Let's fix this together.' You may already have the solution but had never been asked.
In the medical realm, you wait for the phone call from the doctor. 'It is all okay, nothing serious' -or- 'we saw time thing that needs a further look. Lets talk about what that will entail'. You may have already had the idea that something needed fixing, or not. But, we often know, in our minds or in our hearts, the changes that will bring about restored or continued health.
So what is the moral of this story? Are you an ostrich or an eagle? What results in a better outcome? Will you bury your head in the sand or will you look and soar?
