31/01/2026
𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 — 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥.
𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬.
Two complex polytrauma cases came in.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐓 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝.
Barking orders. Blaming nurses. Terrifying residents.
Chaos disguised as authority.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐁 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲.
No theatrics. Calm voice. Clear instructions.
His team seemed to read his mind. Every move flowed into the next.
The outcomes?
Screamer: 4 hours of complications, near-misses, panic.
Quiet one: 2.5 hours, flawless ex*****on.
That day, I realised something that medical school never teaches you:
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
Years later, I found research confirming what my eyes had seen:
→ Teams led by “yellers” make 23% more errors
→ Cases drag on 40% longer
→ Outcomes suffer across the board
Patients do not care how loud you are.
They remember how safe you made them feel.
Families remember smooth recoveries, not your ego.
Hospitals promote results, not theatrics.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬.
The ones who can turn 2 AM chaos into order — without raising their voice.
𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
“𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐓, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥.”
I once had a mentor who said:
“If you must shout in the Board Room, you have already lost your position & respect.”
That advice has stayed with me every night I have been in scrubs or in suits.
𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲.
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝:
• The founder who inspires instead of intimidates.
• The manager who coaches instead of criticises.
• The parent who teaches through example, not fear.
Strength is not how loudly you can command.
Strength is how much trust your people have in you when everything is falling apart.
So, if you are leading a team — in an operating theatre or an office — remember:
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
Share your leadership experiences in the comments. What's your approach to leading under pressure? Leave a comment.
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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫s 𝐨𝐟 '𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬' & 'Dear People, With Love And Care, Your Doctors'
These books are not just about medicine; they are about humanity, ethics, and resilience — about what happens when those who heal are misunderstood by the systems they serve. If you have ever wanted to understand the doctor’s side of the story — the fatigue, the failures, the faith that keeps them going — we hope you will find these books both moving and eye-opening.
These books are written for a cause and every proceed from sales is donated to charity.
