In this episode, I’ll share the secret to job, career, and life satisfaction for physician leaders, all distilled into one simple question and a two-circle Venn diagram.
Listen to this Podcast Here:
By answering this one question and understanding your Venn, you’ll have a clear Satisfaction Target for your practice, career, and life.
This is the core concept I teach all my physician coaching clients, and I’m excited to share it with you here as we kick off 2025.
Why Most Physicians Struggle with Satisfaction
Hello again, this is Dr. Dike Drummond. Most of the physicians I work with are burned out, overstressed, or struggling in some way with their careers. Occasionally, I’ll have a client who is focused on performance improvement, but nearly all of them come to me with one fundamental question unanswered:
What is your level of satisfaction with your career as a doctor right now, on a scale from 0 to 10?
Most doctors don’t consciously ask themselves this question. But when I do, it’s rare for someone to struggle to find a number. So, take a moment and answer it for yourself:
What’s your number? (0 to 10)
If you have a blended career—part clinical, part leadership—consider the combination of all your professional roles. Whatever mix defines your career, how satisfied are you with it over the last few weeks?
Satisfaction is Often Accidental
For most of us, our level of career satisfaction is accidental. We didn’t actively design or pursue a career to maximize our happiness or fulfillment. This is largely due to the conditioning we received during our medical training, which taught us to focus on avoiding danger and negative outcomes.
Like most doctors, you are probably crystal clear on what you don't want in your work day and your practice. You know what you want to avoid or run away from.
But here’s the truth: you can avoid everything you don't want and you still won't get what you want
because the only way to get what you want is to figure out exactly what you want
and go for it.
Answering this one question is the key.
If you could design your own job/practice - one that is perfect for you
avoiding what you don’t want will never get you what you truly want. The only way to achieve satisfaction is to define it, aim for it, and take intentional steps to reach it.
Creating Your Ideal Job Description
The key to satisfaction is what I call an Ideal Job Description. Here’s how to create yours:
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Write it down. Start with the heading: My Ideal Job. Use pen and paper for maximum impact—this is about creating a tangible, actionable vision.
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Take your time. This isn’t something to rush. Reflect deeply, and let your thoughts evolve over a couple of weeks.
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Define the details. In an ideal world, where you had full control of your circumstances:
- What kind of patients would you see?
- What leadership activities would you perform?
- What hours would you work?
- What would your pay look like?
- Who would be on your team?
- What kind of organization would you work for?
- Where in the world would you be?
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Focus on what you enjoy. Write down the activities you’d run toward—tasks and roles that energize and excite you.
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Share and refine. Share your draft with a trusted friend or significant other. Ask them if there’s anything you’ve missed, especially if it’s something you complain about regularly.
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Date it and revisit it. Treat your Ideal Job Description as a living document. Revisit and update it at least quarterly, especially during times of life transition, like starting a family or becoming an empty nester.
Measuring Your Alignment: The Physician's Venn of Happiness
Once you’ve created your Ideal Job Description, it’s time to evaluate how close your current job is to that ideal. This is where the Physician’s Venn of Happiness comes in—a simple two-circle Venn diagram:
- Circle 1: How your current job feels.
- Circle 2: How your ideal job would feel.
Now, imagine the overlap between these two circles. What percentage of overlap exists? Is it 20%, 40%, 60%? This number gives you a tangible sense of alignment—or misalignment—between your current reality and your ideal vision.
Typical Satisfaction and Overlap Scores
Through years of coaching thousands of physicians, I’ve observed a strong correlation between satisfaction scores and Venn diagram overlap:
- Satisfaction 7-9 and Overlap 60-90%: You’re feeling good—not perfect, but reasonably aligned with your ideal job.
- Satisfaction 4 or below and Overlap 40% or less: You’re likely feeling stuck, frustrated, or burned out, and it’s time to make changes.
Taking Action Toward Alignment
Your Ideal Job Description is your compass, your North Star.
It’s a target to aim for as you navigate your career.
If your current job feels far removed from your ideal, consider how you can start making incremental changes in the right direction. Even small adjustments can have a significant impact over time.
What’s Next?
In the next three blog posts / Podcasts, I’ll teach you three advanced skills—what I call “ninja skills”—that can help you move closer to your ideal job:
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Building a Conscious Relationship with Your Career. Most physicians have an unconscious, all-in relationship with their careers. I’ll show you how to shift to a more intentional and balanced approach.
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Saying No with Confidence. Your Ideal Job Description gives you the clarity and power to say no to requests that don’t align with your goals. I’ll share scripts and strategies to help you do this gracefully.
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Decommitting from Misaligned Roles. If you’re wearing too many hats that don’t fit your ideal vision—like managing the tumor board or heading committees you don’t care about—I’ll show you how to step back without burning bridges.
Get Started Today
Your first step is to create your Ideal Job Description:
- Write down what your ideal clinical and leadership roles look like.
- Define the hours, pay, team, and organizational culture you’d thrive in.
- Be bold—write down what you truly want, even if you don’t yet know how to achieve it.
Put pen to paper, date it, and share it with someone you trust. This small but powerful exercise can transform the way you approach your career.
Until next time, we’ll dive into how to build a conscious relationship with your career. Start this journey now—it’s never too late to aim for what you truly want.