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This message is the first in a new series of personal communications from Dr. Burks. These messages, which are planned for every other month, are meant to provoke discussions with your teams and provide high level perspective on the issues facing our health system. If you have questions or if there are topics you’d like to see covered in future messages, please email OfficeCEODean@unchealth.unc.edu


If you would prefer to listen to an audio recording of this message, please click here.

Dear Colleagues,

We have just been through a holiday time unlike any we have faced in our lifetime. Whether you celebrated without the usual family and close friends or by working to care for the extraordinary number of patients we are seeing, it truly was a winter holiday like no other.

And while we all share hope that this is the year we can begin to return to a more normal way of life, 2021 is off to a very difficult start. The violence that occurred in our nation’s capital last week has been unsettling to say the least, and it seems like each day brings new details and new stories that only add to the stress we are all feeling.

We know, unfortunately, that there are still more trying times ahead of us. We anticipate the number of patients and hospitalizations in our state remaining at their extremely high levels for the next several weeks. I hope that increasing vaccination brings peace of mind and lowers the risk to our co-worker’s physical health, but the reality is that we will continue to treat very sick people and face the emotional strain of even more isolation and loss.

It is important to acknowledge the difficulties of the moment. But, what defines a great leader is the ability to see a way through a difficult situation, envisioning a future when we are beyond the current problem, and motivating others to work together towards that future.

Of the many traits that help make this possible are empathy and grace.

It’s easy to describe empathy as the ability to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” but as many have noted the key to empathy is making sure you are assessing how they would feel in their shoes, not how you would feel in their shoes.

Empathy is the trait that allows you to understand those who work around you – what motivates them, how they work best and why. It’s crucial to understanding each other as people first, and colleagues second, and in getting those around you to work together moving forward toward a common future.

Increasing and practicing empathy requires focused and attentive listening. As leaders, we often want to jump to offer a quick solution and fix a problem. Empathy asks us to fight that impulse, to listen and understand and to put others before ourselves. It’s about understanding how to best help someone solve the problem, not commanding how you would do it if you were in their situation.

Grace in its best sense is the disposition to or an act of kindness, courtesy, or forgiveness. We find grace in seeing a colleague cover a shift for a fellow practitioner whose child is home ill or when we offer support to our colleagues with younger children at home while they navigate online school while working at the same time.

Everyone has faced challenges this past year, but the most effective leaders understand the unique circumstances of each person on their team and are able to put their actions, desires, and motivations into fuller context. One of the many memories I will have of our time during the pandemic is how we have, in many cases, embraced the overlap and interplay of our personal and professional lives. Those conversations inevitably lead to deeper bonds.

I know that we are facing a difficult time right now, but it will not last forever. And when we finally find ourselves on the other side of this crisis, I am certain that the strong bonds we’ve forged over the last year will help us work better together for years to come.

Sincerely,

Wesley Burks

This message is the first in a new series of personal communications from Dr. Burks. These messages, which are planned for every other month, are meant to provoke discussions with your teams and provide high level perspective on the issues facing our health system. If you have questions or if there are topics you’d like to see covered in future messages, please email OfficeCEODean@unchealth.unc.edu