The Briar Patch:  Thorny Challenges for Directors

“Few Rules, But—”

Vic Pantesco, Ph.D.

 

The Thorn

Let’s face it, there is a list of burrs that get under our skin year afterVic year as Directors.  Somehow the letter “P” has gotten play in these, as in “pet peeve” or, as a friend of mine offered, “paltry piques.”  What is on our own particular list of P’s is often a product of the culture of the clinic/department, individuals’ styles, and of course the beloved Director’s special hot spots of irritability.  Let me share one of mine to illustrate.

   Years ago a student challenged me in my writing in his notes (I also was the supervisor) that  it should be “his being depressed” instead of “him being depressed.”  Grammatically, a gerund requires possessive case (OK, OK, - clearly a paltry pique).  What got interesting is how the two of us, in retrospect clearly because of personal stylistic clashes, created a veritable hill to die on about this.  It was costly in time and energy.  And a waste of both.

   These may also arise in more clinically focused matters such as following through on contact with clients, informing us about absence and vacation well in advance, collecting fees, or keeping files up to date, for example.  Obviously there is a gradation of seriousness, but you get the idea.  As I have written before, some of these can send me to the dark chocolate stash.

 

To Dull the Pain

There is an English boarding school headmaster, Algie Herries, in R.F. Delderfield’s novel about a WWI vet returning to teach the boys.  In To Serve Them All My Days (maybe a bumper sticker for Directors?), David Powlett-Jones asks Algie what was his secret in doing the job so well, to which he responds:  “Few rules, but unbendables.”

   Taking that advice to heart, and sometimes begrudgingly aware that the brain learns only through repetition, I have arrived at a few “rules” that are easily and often repeated in various contexts.  They will be familiar to those of you who have been at any of my presentations, so apologies for repetition.


These have helped me get out of my own way with paltry piques and peeves.  There are others we use, but volume often detracts from message, - and matter of factness too. 

These have helped me get out of my own way with paltry piques and peeves.  There are others we use, but volume often detracts from message, - and matter of factness too.