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By Michele, on April 28th, 2011% Cancer Registrars have heard, at some point in their career, someone say, “It’s who you know that counts.” It is also said in business that it is not what you know, but who you know that determines your success. Jim Cathcart, a widely known sales coach, asks this question: “Who is glad they know you?”
(To watch a short video on this same topic, click here.)
This is exactly why people do business with others that they know and trust, cancer registrars included. When you offer value to another person they will have a reason to care and stay connected with you. Cathcart has given five tips for building better business relationships that cancer registrars should implement right away:
- Approach each person you come into contact with as though you are building a long-term high-value relationship. Expect success for the long-term and do your part to help each of you achieve the desired outcomes.
- Plan, and practice, loyalty to your customers and business associates whether they are loyal to you or not. Prove that you are trustworthy and they will be loyal in return.
- Continually ask yourself, “What else can I (the cancer registrar) do for them without asking for something else in return?”
- Give each person the option to have an occasional “bad day” without getting upset or judging them. Nobody, including the cancer registrar, is exempt or is always at their best.
- Do not always ask, or expect, something. Occasionally just give your associates something or just listen to them without trying to “fix” them, convince them of something, or sell them on an idea or process.
The cancer registrar’s business associates include: physicians, administrators, allied health and other cancer program staff. Anyone, regardless of their title or role in the organization, who comes into contact with the cancer registrar during the course of the day is a customer and should be treated as such.
By daily practicing these five tips the cancer registrar will not only transform the success of the cancer registry, but she/he will transform their own success and happiness. These same tips can be used to develop the cancer registrar’s personal and departmental mission and value statements to focus the registry’s activities in the right direction. Ultimately, cancer registrars want to leave each person they come into contact with feeling as though they are glad that they know the registrar and pleased with the value and service that the cancer registrar provides.
Cancer Registrar training is an essential component of Michele Webb’s website, http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele is a 25+ year veteran certified Cancer Registrar who is committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional education as a coach, mentor, motivational speaker and author. You have permission to repost this article as long as do not alter it in any way and give a link back and credit to the author on this website.
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By Michele, on April 6th, 2011% Do you know how to drive yourself to happiness? Cancer Registrars can add this simple technique to their tool box and not only drive their personal levels of happiness upward, but you can help others be happy along the way.
Adults tend to pursue happiness by trying to get things that they think they lack. Cancer Registrars, for example, may  be looking for higher wages, job flexibility, recognition, autonomy or even authority and control. Finding happiness to simply meet these material needs will likely not produce the results that you are seeking. When attention and energy is focused on our own neediness, lasting happiness will not come our way. It is a dangerous trap we set for ourselves when we are seeking to fulfill our personal needs, because when we don’t get what we want, we may end up feeling victimized, depressed and even angry about our work.
Cancer Registrars who are serious about their influence as a leader in their organization’s cancer program activities will look to generate positive outcomes through kindness and helpfulness. In contrast to authority and control, kindness, service to others and helpfulness can dramatically impact the positive forces in our lives. Psychology has repeatedly shown us that one of the most powerful psychological conditions is gratitude.
To release positive feelings and create collaboration and partnership with your team, simply start expressing your gratitude. It is a known scientific and clinical fact that you cannot be angry, or feel fear, at the same time you are grateful or happy. And, expressing gratitude by serving others will bring you the lasting happiness you need. Positive feelings are as “contagious” as negative ones, but the outcome is dramatically different.
Martha Beck, life coach for O, The Oprah Magazine, says “For your own sake, do something that’s not for your own sake.” Wise words that cancer registrars can use each day.
Make a conscious choice to find ways to express your gratitude to the physicians and staff in your cancer program. Look for ways to help your partners to do their job better. Don’t wait to be asked and don’t worry about getting permission, or being asked to do this, or even how it will impact the bottom line. Choose to lead and serve others by using gratitude and positive influence, combined with your cancer registrar expertise, to drive yourself to happiness. Not only will you exceed your own expectations, but you will ultimately receive the recognition and gratitude you were looking for all along.
TELL US HOW YOU SHOW GRATITUDE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION? WHAT’S YOUR SECRET?
By Michele, on April 3rd, 2011% “The Soul is the voice of the body’s interests.”
~ George Santayana
By Michele, on March 24th, 2011% 
“Wherever you are in life right now is
your fault — good or bad.
YOU and only you are 100% responsible
for every current result in your life.”
~ SUCCESS Magazine
By Michele, on March 18th, 2011% Click here to watch a short video on this same topic
There are few things that we can be certain of in life today: death, taxes, and change. And, the rate of change is speeding up – and rapidly.
In a recent article, Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, noted that by 1900 it took 150 years to double all human knowledge. Today, it doubles every one to two years and, by the year 2020 knowledge will double every 72 days! Just imagine our lives where information and knowledge doubles every 2.5 months. While Hardy is referencing a global knowledge base, healthcare is also impacted by the rapid explosion of personalized medicine, genetics and vaccines that is also growing at a comparable and astounding rate.
Cancer Registrars are profoundly impacted by knowledge doubling and keeping pace with change has already impacted cancer registration in 2010. This speed of change demands that the cancer registrar develops the mindset and skills to rapidly adapt to change by participating in constant continuing education and professional upgrading. In fact, keeping one’s cancer registry certification (or CTR) means school is never really over.
 Today, Cancer Registrars must develop expertise in human capital, not just reimbursement or payer habits; master emotional intelligence, not just business competence; know how to collaborate, not just control; lead their healthcare partners through networks, not hierarchies; and align people through meaning and purpose, not reports and spreadsheets. The most successful cancer registrars will rely more on emotional and relational aptitude rather than technical, financial or even clinical expertise. Emotional aptitude is expressed as self-awareness, self-confidence, self-management, ability to motivate oneself and others, and empathy. Relational aptitude and skills are demonstrated by an ability to communicate, manage time, networking, team-building AND meeting the need and wants of people you interact with, and depend on, to perform your work.
Ultimately, the cancer registrars who succeed in the next decade will be those who can adopt a continual professional upgrading program that includes clinical, relational and emotional skill sets AND develop leadership in others. Cancer Registry leadership is not about getting others to agree with you or to follow you, but rather building leadership in everyone around you. Cancer Registrars will do this by developing the mindset, emotional intelligence, and skill sets so everyone can lead themselves in this constantly changing environment, thus aligning and leading all healthcare partners and organizations to achieving their greater goals.
So, it all comes down to this. The cancer registry leaders of the next decade will be those individuals who can develop leaders and serve the needs of their healthcare partners and organizations the fastest. Where will you be in the next decade? Lagging behind or keeping pace?
LEAVE A REPLY BELOW: What will you be doing to keep pace as a cancer registry leader in the next decade?
Michele Webb creator of the only monthly, online cancer registrar continuing education program, http://www.RegistryMindset.com, is a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar, committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional education as a coach, mentor, motivational speaker and author. You have permission to repost this article as long as do not alter it in any way and give a link back and credit to the author on this website.
By Michele, on March 16th, 2011%  “Nobody can go back and start a
new beginning, but anyone can
start today and make a new ending.”
~ Maria Robinson
By Michele, on March 10th, 2011% “Serious people know we are supposed to imagine what could go wrong with our projects. That way we can plan for complications. We can fix weak spots before they result in horribly overvalued deals, delayed product launches, military campaigns gone awry, etc.
But sometimes we go too far in that direction. We spend so much time thinking through what can go wrong that we fail to spend an equal number of our 168 hours imagining what can go right. This pessimism makes us unable to see the chance opportunities that psychologists find are key to making our own luck.
The key is to strike the right balance. If you’re a glass half empty type, here are a few questions to start thinking on the bright side.
- If the CEO of your company called you into her office tomorrow and said she was so impressed with your work that she wanted to put you in charge of your dream project, what you would ask for?
- If you got an unexpected $10,000 tax refund check, what would you do with it?
- An editor says she’d like to meet to discuss book ideas; a TV producer wants to discuss pilots. What would you pitch?
- A non-profit you admire asks your advice on how best to use a $100,000 grant. What would you suggest?
- You and a colleague always joke that you should start a business together. She calls on the weekend because she just got a rather large inheritance and wants to talk ideas. What kind of business would you like to start?
- Your dream client sits next to you on a cross-country flight. What would you say?
Most likely these scenarios will never happen. But thinking about them is productive anyway. Figuring out what you’d tell the CEO helps you imagine the best direction for your career. Asking what you’d do with found money helps clarify your financial priorities. And sometimes fantasizing helps you get through tough patches, envisioning a future that inspires you to work toward a better life. If you ask me, that’s time well spent.
What’s been your most productive fantasy?”
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Author: Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
Source: http://www.bnet.com/blog/time-management/how-daydreams-improve-productivity/328?tag=mantle_skin;content
By Michele, on February 14th, 2011% Click here to watch a short video on this same subject.
One of Emeril’s trademarks is when he uses his special blend of spices to inject flavor and pizzazz into his food. But, have you considered putting the BAAM back into your work? No matter how fulfilling your work as a cancer registrar might be, putting the passion and excitement into the day-to-day work will require regular sprucing up.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to putting the BAAM back into your life, here are six things you can do to get started.
Do something bold. Look at your work and department and identify one process that can be improved upon. Propose a bold new idea that will make a difference to your cancer program. Change a policy or workplace process to be more productive or, heaven forbid – fun!
Become a mentor. Developing personal relationships makes your work more meaningful. Use the wealth of experience and knowledge you have gained in the cancer registry to help a student or a new cancer registrar. Sharing your expertise will validate those years of hard work.
Reset your attitude. Are you looking at the cancer registry future with a glass-half-empty kind of perspective? Perhaps you think your job, or the future of cancer registrars is bleak. Look at it another way: even if you were chief widget maker your job would have value. As a cancer registrar you ensure that hospitals, physicians, administrators and researchers have the data they need to best treat cancer patients.
Look for outside inspiration. There is far more to life than your work. Find a new hobby, resurrect an old one, volunteer for a cause you believe in, or sign up for a community “go green” activity. Being part of something beyond yourself brings clarity and purpose to your life.
Focus on the positive, eliminate the negative. Look for the good in the people in your cancer program. Give earned compliments and praise freely. Replace “I can’t…we can’t…” with “How can I help…or Let me figure out how we can make that happen.”
Reconnect with your faith. You may be surprised at how many high profile people and celebrities find that religious faith adds purpose and meaning to their lives. They believe that they are God’s instrument and that they find purpose in doing His work through them here on earth. Even atheists or those just exploring their spirituality can find faith to be a powerful motivator.
Most important, if you are looking to put the passion and excitement back into your cancer registry work you will find that it does get better if you put a little thought into it. Explore these six areas of your life on a regular basis and you will likely improve your impression of the world around you and find yourself living a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life as a cancer registry leader.
TELL US: How do you put the BAAM! into your day? How do you help your coworkers or fellow cancer registrars to reconnect with their passion for this work?
http://www.RegistryMindset.com. Michele Webb CTR is, a nationally recognized, certified cancer registrar, committed to Cancer Registry leadership and professional education as a coach, mentor, motivational speaker, and author. You have permission to repost this article as long as you do not alter it in any way and give a link back and credit to the author on this website.
By Michele, on January 30th, 2011% (Written by Sharlyn Lauby, HR Bartender and published on March 4, 2010)
There’s a quote by Margaret Thatcher that says, “Power is like being a lady…if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” Personally, I find the study of power fascinating. Dictionary.com defines power as “a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence”. So in essence when we use power; we’re utilizing our authority to get something.
Everyone has power. Everyone. And, I don’t believe that power is a bad thing. The issue becomes what kind of power a person has and how someone uses that power. Here are some of the common types of power found in the workplace.
- Coercive power is associated with people who are in a position to punish others. People fear the consequences of not doing what has been asked of them.
- Connection power is based upon who you know. This person knows, and has the ear of, other powerful people within the organization.
- Expert power comes from a person’s expertise (duh!). This is commonly a person with an acclaimed skill or accomplishment.
- A person who has access to valuable or important information possesses informational power.
- Legitimate power comes from the position a person holds. This is related to a person’s title and job responsibilities. You might also hear this referred to as positional power.
- Reward power is based upon a person’s ability to bestow rewards. Those rewards might come in the form of job assignments, schedules, pay or benefits.
Now, stop being modest and thinking to yourself…I don’t have any power. As you can see, there are lots of different ways power can manifest itself. And for that reason, it’s important to realize that power exists in all of us. It’s also possible that you have different kinds of power with different groups or situations.
Now, the two biggest mistakes I see with people’s use of power revolve around (1) trying to use power they don’t have and (2) using the wrong kind of power to achieve results.
To help you identify your ‘power zone’, take a moment and think about how you try to influence action from others. You could use the descriptions above as a pseudo self-assessment. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 in each of the different kinds of power. With 1 being not at all characteristic of you and 5 being quite characteristic.
This can be a (sorry for the pun) powerful exercise. If you’re honest with yourself, I hope you’ll find the results helpful. Not only for the way you tend to use power but in the way others use power with you.
(RegistryMindset would like to thank Sharlyn Lauby and her blog, HR Bartender, for sharing with us her excellent content and thoughts!)
By Michele, on January 26th, 2011% “The quest for perfection and certainty is one of the greatest stumbling blocks our profession faces. Too many learning leaders are paralyzed because they don’t want to make a decision without perfect information and without diligently addressing all the uncertainties and possible outcomes. My advice: “Just do it.”
OK, let’s back up a minute. Of course, you need some information. You need enough to make a good decision. So yes, gather the required intelligence, do some benchmarking, perhaps even hire a consultant to help. There comes a time, however, where a good leader will say “We now have enough information to make the decision and here is what we are going to do.” Could that decision be wrong? Of course. Will spending the next year gathering more data and hiring another consultant guarantee the decision will be right? No.
There are no guarantees in the learning field or in any field. Leaders always make decisions based on imperfect, incomplete and often contradictory information. Welcome to the real world! So make the decision and see what happens. You will learn from the implementation and the execution. Make adjustments as you go based on what you learn. The important thing is that you are moving ahead.
Although this issue confronts all leaders, it may be that learning leaders in particular struggle because many have not had the experience of running a business, where they were forced to make decisions under uncertainty and with incomplete information. Experience also means you will have been wrong before and yet lived to tell about it. The world did not end. You made adjustments and moved on. It really does get easier with experience.
So, next time you have to make a major decision, decide how much information is really needed to make a good one, and when you have it, make the decision. If you hear yourself saying “We are almost there” or “We need to study it just a little bit more” month after month, then you are probably procrastinating. Stop waiting for perfection and certainty – they do not exist. It is time to “just do it.””
(This post re-posted from Chief Learning Officer and was written by David Vance, published January 24, 2010). Registry Mindset wishes to thank the author and Chief Learning Officer for their great material and insight!
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