As we become immersed in our careers, we are typically struck at some point by the dichotomy of change. It seems as if those aspects of work with which we disagree remain almost steadfast. Simultaneously, other areas seem to exhibit a metamorphosis. Remaining competent is a constant challenge!
When I read John C. Maxwell's The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow, I was struck by his thoughts on the fifth quality, competence. Maxwell writes a lot about Benjarnin Franklin and suggests he must have been highly competent; after all, Franklin created a third publishing company in Philadelphia at a time when two seemed quite sufficient. "Like Benjamin Franklin, all highly competent people continually search for ways to keep learning, growing, and improving. They do that by asking why. After all, the person who knows how will always have a job, but thé person who knows why will always be the boss" (Maxwell, 1999, p. 33).
What a distinction! A lot of us can "prove" ongoing learning. After all, we know how to do something new. The hows keep the organization moving. Not all of us ask and learn the why. And, that is what distinguishes one from another among us. It is the nurse who pursues the why of a patient's experience Or the why of an organization's heading in a specific direction who will make a difference for all of us.
Maxwell goes on to say that there are basically three types of competent people. They are "(1) those who can see what needs to happen; (2) those who can make it happen; and (3) those who can make things happen when it really counts" (p. 35). In today's healthcare world, so few things need to be merely acknowledged or done. More things really count.
Answering the why questions and cornmitting to make things happen when it really counts will be two continuing skills that will ensure the success of the