Managing Competing Priorities and Staying True to Your Strategic Plan

Episode 105: Managing Competing Priorities and Staying True to Your Strategic Plan

Welcome to another episode of Medical Money Matters! Today, we’re tackling an issue that every medical group, big or small, has faced: managing competing priorities while staying true to your strategic plan. This topic hits home for so many of us because the very nature of healthcare—fast-paced, dynamic, and unpredictable—makes it difficult to juggle everything effectively. But what happens when you’re also trying to stay aligned with a strategic vision?

For medical groups, managing competing priorities can be especially challenging because we’re not just dealing with external pressures, but also the internal dynamics of physician leadership teams. Every leader comes with their own perspectives, ideas, and passion projects. And often, each person feels like their idea is the one that deserves time, attention, and resources. This makes sense—physicians are problem-solvers by nature. They see an issue and want to fix it. But when every idea feels urgent, and every project is deemed critical, how do you decide what truly deserves a place on the agenda?

Today, we’ll explore how to keep your strategic plan alive and actionable, manage new priorities as they arise, and create an organizational culture that prioritizes focus without stifling innovation. By the end of this episode, you’ll have tools to manage competing priorities without derailing your strategic plan—or your leadership team.

 

 

Let’s start by talking about competing priorities. In a medical group, there’s no shortage of demands. Patient care, regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, recruitment, retention, and technology upgrades are just the tip of the iceberg. Add to that the reality that physician leaders often wear multiple hats, and you’ve got a recipe for overwhelm.

Now, here’s where things get tricky: when a group of passionate, highly capable leaders sits around a boardroom table, everyone brings their own vision of what’s important. Maybe one leader feels strongly about investing in cutting-edge equipment. Another thinks the focus should be on expanding clinical services. Someone else might push for a robust telehealth strategy. All of these ideas may be valid, but not all can or should be tackled at once.

Without a structured way to prioritize, you risk spreading your team too thin. Projects stall, burnout increases, and worst of all, the strategic plan—the roadmap you spent so much time and energy creating—gets pushed to the back burner.

So, how do we prevent this from happening? It starts with a solid understanding of strategic planning. A strategic plan isn’t just a document that sits on a shelf; it’s a living guide to your organization’s priorities and goals.

Here are the basic tenets of strategic planning to keep in mind:

• Mission, Vision, and Values: These are your anchors. They define who you are as an organization, where you’re going, and what principles guide you. Every decision should align with these foundations.
• Future Visioning: Your strategic plan should include a clear picture of where you’d like to be in 10 years. Then, backed up to the 5 year vision, then 3, then 1.
• Clear, Specific Goals: Based on the future visioning, your strategic plan should outline measurable objectives for the next year, broken into achievable steps. Think of these as the destinations on your roadmap.
• Prioritization: Not everything can be a top priority. A good strategic plan identifies what matters most—and what can wait.
• Accountability: Assign ownership for each goal and establish regular check-ins to monitor progress.
• Flexibility: While the plan should provide focus, it also needs room to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.

Strategic planning isn’t just about deciding what you will do; it’s also about deciding what you won’t do. That clarity is key to staying on track when new opportunities or challenges arise.

 

 

Having a great strategic plan is one thing. Getting it to stick is another. Far too often, groups create a plan, feel energized by it for a few weeks, and then lose momentum as day-to-day operations take over. So, how do you ensure your strategic plan gets traction?

Here are some best practices:

• Communicate the Plan Clearly: Everyone in the organization—not just leadership—should know the overarching goals. Transparency creates alignment and helps staff see how their work contributes to the big picture.
• Integrate the Plan into Daily Operations: Tie your strategic goals to regular meetings, performance reviews, and even budgeting processes. This keeps the plan front and center rather than an afterthought.
• Track Progress: Use dashboards or project management tools to monitor progress toward your goals. Celebrate milestones and course-correct when necessary.
• Engage the Team: A plan will only succeed if people feel invested in it. Solicit input, provide updates, and recognize contributions toward strategic goals.

By weaving the plan into the fabric of your organization, you make it less likely to be sidelined by competing priorities.

 

 

Now, let’s talk about what happens when new priorities arise between strategic planning sessions. This is inevitable. The healthcare landscape is always evolving, and new opportunities or challenges often demand attention. The question is: how do you decide whether to take them on without derailing your strategic focus?

Here’s a structured approach:

• Evaluate the New Priority:
  • Does it align with your mission, vision, and values?
  • Does it support or conflict with your current strategic goals?
  • What’s the potential impact on patients, staff, and financial outcomes?
• Assess the Resources Required:
  • How much time, money, and effort will this new project require?
  • Do you have the bandwidth to take it on without jeopardizing existing initiatives?
• Involve Leadership:
  New priorities should be vetted at the board level. Leadership needs to weigh the pros and cons and make a collective decision about whether to proceed.
• Reprioritize if Necessary:
  If you decide to take on the new priority, something else will likely need to come off the table. Administrators can’t simply add to their to-do lists without removing something else. This is where tough, but necessary, conversations happen.

The key is to ensure that every new priority is intentional. Avoid the temptation to say yes to everything just because it sounds promising.

 

 

One of the biggest challenges in managing priorities is keeping leadership focused. Physician leaders are often pulled in many directions, and it’s easy to get sidetracked by the issue of the day.

Here are some strategies to help leadership stay on track:

• Regular Strategic Check-Ins: Schedule quarterly reviews to assess progress on the strategic plan and address new priorities. Use these meetings to refocus on the big picture.
• Limit Distractions: Not every idea or issue needs to be escalated to the board level. Create a system for filtering decisions so leadership can focus on what truly matters.
• Empower the Administrator: Give the administrator or practice manager the authority to push back when new priorities threaten to overload the team. They should feel comfortable saying, “If we take this on, what are we willing to let go of?”
• Reinforce Accountability: Hold leadership accountable for sticking to the strategic plan. If someone consistently pushes for unrelated projects, remind them of the agreed-upon goals.

 

 

Finally, let’s talk about the delicate balance between staying focused and remaining flexible. A rigid strategic plan that doesn’t adapt to changing circumstances will fail. But so will a plan that constantly shifts based on the latest idea or trend.

The solution lies in creating a culture that values both discipline and innovation. Encourage your team to think critically about new priorities, but also give them the tools to make informed decisions. By doing this, you create an environment where strategic focus and responsiveness coexist.

Managing competing priorities while staying true to your strategic plan is no small feat. It requires clarity, discipline, and a willingness to make tough decisions. But when done well, it allows your organization to move forward with purpose and confidence.

Remember, the strategic plan isn’t just a tool for leadership; it’s a commitment to your mission, your team, and your patients. And, it’s an investment of time, energy and resources that you’ll want to honor. By staying aligned with that commitment, you’ll not only achieve your goals but also create a stronger, more focused organization.

Thank you for joining me on this episode of Medical Money Matters. If you found today’s discussion helpful, please share it with your colleagues and let us know how you manage competing priorities in your own practice. Until next time, stay focused, stay strategic, and take care!