As a pediatrician in a children’s hospital within an adult hospital within a healthcare system built for adults, I’ve learned just how steep the climb can be when you’re fighting for buy-in.
Every day you need buy-in:
- for your patients
- for your team, and
- for what you know is right.
Have you ever found yourself certain of the right course of action, only to come up against a system with priorities and processes that feel completely misaligned? I have.
When the stakes are high, it can feel like the only option is to shout from the rooftops — to make noise, push harder, and speak louder. After all, how else will people understand what you know so clearly?
But here’s what I’ve learned: being the squeaky wheel rarely works. Especially in medicine. Busy doctors, like all humans, are creatures of habit. And change — the kind that actually sticks — it’s slow. It’s uncomfortable.
And it takes more than just being right.
It takes strategy. It takes vision. It takes patience.
Four Steps to Gain Buy-In
You know something needs to change.
Maybe it’s a patient safety concern, a recurring grievance, or a dip in team morale. It could be anything — from serious quality issues to subtle undercurrents of dissatisfaction.
But no matter how right you are, or how clear the solution may seem, walking into a room and announcing a new plan rarely goes well.
Even when you know this, you still do it.
You rush in with the answer, unintentionally alienating the very people whose support you need most. I’ve been there too, and regretted it.
So how do you get buy-in from your team without burning bridges?
Here are four practical steps you can start using today:
- Start with deep listening.
This isn’t your average listening. This is active, intentional, full-body listening.
Ask open-ended questions. Pay attention to what’s not being said. Ask “why” more than once.
Seek out perspectives from across the spectrum. Include:
- frontline staff
- specialists
- executives
- ancillary teams, and
- consultants.
Everyone brings insight and influence you can’t afford to miss.
2. Describe the problem and back it up with data.
Healthcare professionals, and doctors especially, are wired to respond to evidence.
Bring the facts. Use clinical data, financials, population health metrics—whatever is relevant. But don’t stop there. Bring in the human element too: the voice of the patient, the nurse, the team. What are people saying? Feeling? Experiencing?
When you can articulate the “why” clearly and convincingly, you’re ready for the next step.
3. Brainstorm with the team, not for them.
Ideas that are co-created stick.
Using ideas generated with all the voices are far more likely to gain traction than the voice of one, no matter how loud or how correct.
Find creative ways to make space for all voices, not just the loudest. This will ultimately bring you to a more well-rounded solution.
Ask the quiet introvert what they think.
Invite dissent. Encourage creativity.
And yes — make sure the women in the room have spoken. Research consistently shows that women speak up less in meetings, not because they lack ideas, but because they’ve been conditioned to hold back. Your job is to shift that dynamic.
When everyone sees themselves in the solution, they’re far more likely to champion it.
4. Then try a small test and see how it goes!
You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. Start with a single test of change.
Frame it as an experiment, not a mandate.
Measure both objective outcomes and team sentiment. What’s working? What’s not?
And most importantly: stay flexible. Be loyal to the team and mission, not just the first idea.
When people feel ownership, they stay on board for the long haul.
Women Physicians Leading Across Generations, Disciplines, and Personality Types
Early in my career, there was a major initiative I wanted to lead around improving pediatric asthma care.
And to be honest, the odds felt stacked against me. I was a new pediatrician in an adult hospital — young, ambitious, and very aware of the hierarchy around me. And here I was, proposing a big change that reached well beyond my department.
In my head, I thought:
This is so clear. The data supports it. The science supports it. The patient stories support it. The high admission rates demand it.
Honestly, I was too intimidated to walk in with my plan already cemented. I also understood that I was embarking on a mission that would be more of a marathon than a sprint. And I’d need a team willing to run it with me.
So I started by finding my allies — the few ER doctors and nurses that loved all things pediatrics. I asked them to partner with me to make things better.
And then I did something that made all the difference:
I listened.
I asked open-ended questions. I stayed curious. I wanted to understand:
- their pain points,
- their workflow,
- their resistance,
- their insight.
Together, we surfaced every barrier in the system and then started brainstorming creative solutions. Some were practical. Some were outlandish. But they came from the team, not just me.
We picked one small change to try first. Then another. We collected data. We asked patients and families how it felt.
And over the course of several months, we showed our hospital something remarkable:
We could provide high-quality asthma care faster than national benchmarks — while reducing hospital admissions.
It was a win for patients. A win for the team. And yes, a win for the bottom line.
Influence Change with Curiosity and Compassion
Looking back, the solution I had imagined on day one might’ve worked — but it wouldn’t have created the kind of ownership, efficiency, or culture change that came from doing it together.
When I brought patience, curiosity, and a commitment to shared problem-solving, the impact became broader and better than I could have ever planned alone.
So the next time you’re in a position to influence change — especially across departments, generations, or personality types — try leading with curiosity.
Listen more deeply than you think you need to.
And trust the people closest to the work to help guide the path forward.
These four steps outlined might sound simple, but they require intention, skill, and practice — especially in high-stakes environments like healthcare.
As a woman physician leader, your voice is powerful. When you use it to listen deeply, engage others, and lead collaboratively, real change becomes possible.
That’s all for now.
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Take care.