Become a Great Radiology & Interventional Practice Boss. A Simple (But Not Always Easy) Guide (Part 1)

So what makes a great Radiology & Interventional practice boss?  In every thriving company, whether it’s a Radiology & Interventional practice or other business, there’s usually a great boss behind the scenes; someone who leads with purpose, manages with clarity, and creates a workplace where accountability and engagement go hand-in-hand. In the fast-paced and rapidly-evolving world of Radiology & Interventional healthcare, that often means building and leading multidisciplinary teams of physicians, APPs, nurses, technologists, and administrators towards a shared goal of sustainable, compliant, and compassionate patient care. According to How to Be a Great Boss by Gino Wickman and René Boer (BenBella Books, 2016), becoming a great boss comes down to mastering two key roles: Leadership and Management.

Leadership + Management = Accountability

Great Radiology & Interventional practice bosses balance vision and inspiration (leadership) with structure and execution (management). In clinical operations, this could mean setting a clear vision for targeted disease treatment and procedural growth, setting standard operating procedures for procedure workflow and patient care, ensuring front-desk staff are capturing accurate prior auths and insurance data, and that your radiology & interventional revenue cycle management resources are posting transactions in an accurate and timely manner. Great bosses foster accountability by mastering both sides of the equation.

Are You Ready to Lead?

As a leader in a Radiology & Interventional practice, you need the desire to lead AND the stamina to handle coverage issues, regulatory audits, fluctuating patient volume, and payer denials, just to name a few. As you assess your ability to lead, ask yourself three important questions:

1. Do I get it? Do you understand the role, the challenges, and the expectations?
2. Do I want it? Are you truly motivated to lead others?
3. Do I have the capacity to do it? This refers to emotional intelligence, critical thinking, stamina, and time management.

If you are already a leader who mentors new leaders or is looking to promote from within, discuss these questions with them.

Focus on What You Love (and Let Go of the Rest)

Great Radiology & Interventional practice bosses understand what to delegate and to whom they should delegate. Are you focusing on payer contracting when your passion lies in clinical innovation? The Delegate and Elevate™ tool, introduced in How to Be a Great Boss provides a framework for leaders. Begin with a list of what you do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Next, categorize the list into these four quadrants and delegate appropriately, spend more time doing what you love and excel at, and spend less time on tasks that drain your energy.

• Love it / Great at it
• Like it / Good at it
• Don’t like it / Good at it
• Don’t like it / Not good at it

Aim to delegate the last two so you can focus on the top two.

Build Your Radiology & Interventional PracticeTeam: Right People, Right Seats

Getting the right team in place is essential. That means:

• Right People: They align with your company’s core values.
• Right Seats: They are in roles they’re equipped and excited to do.

In Interventional practices, “Right Seats” may mean putting credentialed RNs in pre-op roles and ensuring certified coders with IR/vascular experience are the ones assigning CPT codes for high-dollar cases like atherectomies and embolizations. The GWC™ framework (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it) and People Analyzer™—both detailed in the book—are useful for evaluating team fit.

Handling People Issues Gracefully

Not every team member will be the perfect fit. The book outlines four scenarios:

1. Right Person, Right Seat: Ideal!
2. Right Person, Wrong Seat: They align with your values but not the role—consider reassigning.
3. Wrong Person, Right Seat: They perform well but don’t fit the culture—dangerous long-term.
4. Wrong Person, Wrong Seat: The signs are usually clear within 90 days. Set expectations and terminate if not met.

Great Radiology & Interventional practice bosses address these issues quickly and compassionately.

Leading a healthcare team requires the same clarity and accountability expected in any business. Resources shortages, staff burnout, front-desk short-comings, billing errors, and procedural inefficiencies can cost more than money. The LMA tools from How to Be a Great Boss offer a structured way to lead with purpose and drive measurable outcomes in both clinical quality and operational performance.

This article is inspired by key concepts from How to Be a Great Boss by Gino Wickman and René Boer. For a deeper dive into these leadership and management tools, we highly recommend reading the full book as well as Traction: Get a Grip on your Business by Gino Wickman (BenBella Books 2012).

Conclusion:

Whether you’re running a large hospital-based Radiology practice or a solo physician or multi-provider Interventional OBL/ASC, applying these principles can help you build a culture of ownership and operational excellence and become a great Radiology & Interventional practice boss. If you’re ready to elevate your leadership, StreamlineMD recommends diving deeper into the EOS^TM framework or connecting with a healthcare EOS^TM Implementer.

 

Disclaimer: StreamlineMD is a user of the EOS^TM program for it’s own business operations. We are not a certified EOS^TM implementer or consultant.  Learn more about EOS and how to be a great boss here: Entrepreneur Operating System^TM

Next up:  Part 2 – The LMA Framework

 

StreamlineMD provides Revenue Cycle Solutions to Radiology & Interventional Specialists. Our Mission is to Improve Healthcare for All Americans.  Our Core Values that guide us on our mission are Service Quality, Teamwork, Accountability, Efficiency, Adaptability, Communication, and Integrity. Proud winner of the Great Place To Work award. Learn more about us at streamlineMD.com.