I ran into an old friend who is currently a district supervisor for several pharmacies. After a bit of small talk, I asked how things were going and how her team was holding up. She went on to describe a bleak situation.

Often, when we start to think about how things can improve, we quickly jump to external sources and resources and become discouraged because we may not have much, if any, control over those resources.

Think about this: when we each of us entered pharmacy school or began working in a pharmacy, we knew very little. Then through a steady diet of intentionally learning the various aspects of pharmacy practice, we grew and became more confident and competent in the care we provide.

A couple weeks ago, I was scrolling through LinkedIn and one of my colleagues had shared a post about carrots and eggs. The point of the post was that if you put a carrot and an egg into boiling water, over time the boiling water makes the carrot soft while the egg becomes hard.

Something that captured my professional imagination many years ago was the idea of measuring quality in the pharmacy industry. How do we know if medications are being used appropriately?

If you have ever seen a late-night infomercial on television, you may have encountered a product that was so amazing and so easy to use that all you had to do was “set it and forget it.” While that phrase may sell product in late night infomercials, it most definitely does not apply to the pharmacie

Many people, including myself, believed at one point that patients were very much like a cup. The education provided would be like the liquid filling up the cup. Once the cup got filled to a certain level, like a switch, the patient would begin to do everything correctly.

Pharmacists face leadership challenges from every angle. Staff, customers, prescribers, vendors, and you cannot overlook family. Pharmacists are challenged to lead all these groups (and others) and they all have different requirements.

Early in my career, I recall a man coming into the pharmacy who had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He presented his prescription and asked me how long he would likely have to take this medication.

Timing is key for effective pharmacy leadership. Learning when to lead is as important as where to lead. Think of some times when your leadership timing wasn’t right. There are many lessons that can learned by studying the ideal timing of action.