Visual Problems

     Question: What do you do when you've surrounded yourself with good people, but you find yourself occasionally going through doldrums? Your people seem demanding, you feel drained, and once in a while you wake up with a visual problem: You just can't see yourself going to work.

     Answer: Hmm, bear with me. The answer is simple, but getting there may not be.

     I think it's easiest to work with people if you see them as sources of light which, when brought together in organizations, can produce more illumination than the simple sum of their individual energies. And I think they're all different.

     Most, whether they produce light or not, seek it in others. Some produce nothing of their own without the energy of others. Some reflect the light of others, and thus magnify it. Unfortunately, a few are takers, absorbing the light of others and contributing nothing at all. But nearly all are capable of producing at least some light of their own (especially in the presence of others). And the greatest among them produce enough light, even in the darkest of times, to attract and guide those around them. They're the ones we follow as leaders, whether they have titles or not.

     A good leader senses and respects the energy of individuals, both alone and combined, and finds ways to channel it. And a good leader knows better than to waste the value of even one light. In the absence of those kinds of leaders, many sad organizations flicker and die.

     But leading people is hard work, especially today; and EMS people are harder to lead than anybody else. So, even the best leaders get tired. They get disheartened and discouraged, and sometimes they feel like giving up. When that happens, they may experience precisely the kind of visual difficulty described above. It doesn't always match the blanks in their schedules. And it doesn't make them weak, burned out or "bad."

     You shouldn't drive with impaired vision, and you probably shouldn't try to drive organizations that way, either. You're not a machine, anymore than your best paramedic is. Sometimes, when you find your own light flickering, I think you should stay home and recover your energy. Not excessively, and not on a day when you've scheduled something critical that will affect your folks. But sometimes, nonetheless. Lots of very good people are embarrassed to admit they do it, at least occasionally. I don't think they should be embarrassed at all. Nor should you.

Thom Dick is the quality care coordinator for Platte Valley Ambulance Service, a community-owned, hospital-based 9-1-1 provider in Brighton, CO. Reach him at boxcar_414@yahoo.com.