Disagreements are common among healthcare professionals, but when they turn into conflict, it can be very challenging to manage strong personalities who take a hard opposing stance to another person. It is clear to all of us when communicating medical or scientific information, experts sometimes naively believe that their own perceptions of reality are truth. Both sides often think they see things how they really are. What they often forget is that they are influenced by the years of experience their brains allow them to see. Just like me, ask my kids how my experiences affect the advice I share.
In my first job as a Product Manager, the pharmaceutical I was working on for the treatment of type 2 diabetes demonstrated a significantly improved cardiovascular effect. Overnight, the future of this product would no longer focus just on the insights of endocrinologists, but these key opinion leaders (KOLs) would need to make way to include cardiologists as experts.
After establishing new cardiologist KOLs, my next order of business was to convene a cross-functional group of endocrinologists and cardiologists to speak at Cardiometabolic Speaker Summits that we were sponsoring across the nation. Bringing together these two individuals who didn’t always see eye to eye on diagnosing and treating metabolic conditions not only led to some disagreements, but conflicts.
While initially, this was difficult, I recognized that in order to succeed, it would be important for both sides to feel heard. I asked questions, with curiosity, so both sides could hear what the other side was thinking. Over time, I learned that some of the most effective techniques to dealing with difficult conversations in medicine are similar to what we do with effective conflict management through our daily lives.
The key is a psychological concept known as “Conversational Receptiveness” – engaging with others in a way which demonstrates that their point of view is visible and authentic. While this sounds so basic, so are the principles of respect, but some people just show respect more effectively than others.
Some techniques for improving Conversational Receptiveness fall into a model known as HEAR—appropriately named. These concepts focus on engaging listening skills with others and has worked well for me with advisors and KOLs when dealing with conflict throughout my career:
- Hedging: using words like “perhaps,” “sometimes,” or “maybe” to show positivity but not necessarily agreement
- Emphasizing areas of agreement
- Acknowledging the other person’s perspective
- Reframing to the positive by reinforcing concepts mentioned in a positive manner
By employing Conversational Receptiveness, participants will feel heard and acknowledged. As you well know, when we feel acknowledged, we feel that others are more trustworthy, objective, and can offer better professional judgment. Use this when dealing with conflict and you’re sure to gain the trust from others that will help you achieve your goals.
