Pharmacy, should be a sanctuary where brilliant people thrive, yet too often it becomes a graveyard for faded hopes and dreams.
Have you tried everything you know? Have you noticed that no matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, how many holidays and family events you sacrifice, it is never enough? Does it feel like a relentless treadmill, with no obvious or healthy escape?
It doesn’t have to be that way. When the way you are working isn’t working, a different approach is required. But what?
Over the first 25 years of this century, community pharmacies have faced unprecedented challenges and opportunities, and the pace of change continues to accelerate. Pharmacists, once seen primarily as dispensers of medications, are now expanding their roles, integrating clinical services, embracing digital health, and collaborating more closely with other healthcare providers. This shift opens up vast potential for growth and innovation, but it also brings significant pressures, including workforce burnout, regulatory challenges and resistance to change.
Coaching for Sustainable Growth
Leadership development, and especially developing leaders to lead with a coaching style of leadership, is an essential tool for navigating these complexities. By focusing on personal, professional and team growth, within a systems based philosophy, coaching empowers pharmacy leaders to foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and sustainable growth and to thrive in the face of increasing complexity within their pharmacy businesses, the healthcare system and the global context.
• Enhancing Leadership Capabilities: Pharmacists and their teams are stepping into increasingly diverse and demanding roles. No single person has the capability or capacity to manage it all. Therefore the most future ready leaders are those who have the capability to create the environment where leadership is developed within and across the entire team, enabling them to be more responsive as they navigate change. Coaching builds the confidence and skills necessary to lead effectively, develop teams, communicating a clear vision, and aligning strategies with the evolving demands of healthcare.
• Driving Strategic Innovation: Community pharmacy is at the forefront of innovation, from tele-pharmacy to personalised medicine. Coaching equips leaders and their teams to embrace these innovations by fostering strategic thinking and adaptability. This growthmindset enables pharmacies to adopt cutting-edge technologies, explore new business models which create more value with less stress, creating sustainable initiatives.
• Fostering Workforce Wellbeing: Burnout is a critical issue in the pharmacy profession. Coaching addresses this by connecting back to purpose, promoting resilience and wellbeing among leaders and their teams, leading to higher job satisfaction, reduced turnover, and a more sustainable workforce.
Overcoming Barriers with Coaching
Despite the opportunities for growth, several barriers hinder progress in community pharmacies. Leadership development coaching plays a vital role in overcoming these obstacles.
• Navigating Regulatory and Reimbursement Challenges: Many expanded services are not fully supported by current regulations or reimbursement structures. Coaching helps leaders develop the strategic skills needed to optimise their full scope of practice, advocate for change, navigate complex regulations, and explore additional funding models.
• Addressing Workforce Shortages: Workforce shortages and burnout make it difficult for pharmacies to capitalise on new opportunities. Coaching helps leaders create compelling environments that enhance employee wellbeing and foster and inspire teamwork, thereby building a more resilient workforce.
• Overcoming Resistance to Change: It requires energy to change. Resistance to change is therefore a common barrier, especially in professions and organisations where the workforce is burnt out and exhausted. Coaching helps leaders to create the conditions for change to happen, by creating clarity on the desired outcome, the conditions that are most likely to optimise that outcome and engaging teams in the transformation process towards aligned goals.
Case Study: Proactively Facing Challenges
Can you relate to community pharmacist Emma?
From early in the pandemic, Emma recognised that many of the old ways of working were not fit for purpose anymore. She saw that if she and her team continued with the same approach burnout and decline were inevitable. Instead of clinging to the past, Emma chose to invest in her vision for the future.
In the midst of the COVID crisis, Emma decided to embark on a journey of transformation. She began with leadership development coaching, starting with herself and then extending the opportunity to her team. Through coaching, Emma learned to prioritise her own mental, physical, and social wellbeing. She understood that she needed to be strong to support her team effectively.
With her coach’s guidance, Emma fostered a culture of curiosity and continuous learning within her pharmacy. She encouraged her team to embrace change as an opportunity rather than a threat. This mindset shift led to tangible results. Emma’s pharmacy not only started offering vaccination services but also expanded into private clinical services— something she would have never actively considered before. The response from patients was overwhelmingly positive, further energising the team.
Top Tips for Sustainable Growth and Workforce Wellbeing
1. Invest in Leadership Development: Develop yourself and your team members’ leadership skills through cross-professional, inter-industry leadership development training and internal strategic coaching days. If you are a team leader, regularly engage in leadership coaching yourself, so you role-model your own leadership growth and adapt your leadership style for maximum positive impact in the changing pharmacy landscape.
2. Prioritise Employee Wellbeing: Starting with yourself, prioritise and model self-care health care. Put your own oxygen mask on first and learn how to create the workplace culture where you foster a culture of resilience, support and care for each other to prevent burnout and enhance job satisfaction.
3. Embrace Innovation: Actively foster an open, growth-mindset, including keeping up-to-date with technological developments, leadership best practices and business models. Healthcare professionals that proactively seek to expand their perspectives and models of the world e.g. by developing the ability to partner with other leaders, healthcare professionals, patients and team members in innovative, thoughtprovoking ways, will outperform those who don’t adapt to emerging approaches to drive growth and improve patient care.
4. Choose Life: If the way you are working isn’t working, name it, face it, accept that reality and do something different! Ask for help! Face your fears! Embrace your genius! Get a coach! Changing is not easy but not changing sucks your soul.
Questions to Ask Your Team
1. How do you feel about the current direction and workplace culture of our pharmacy?
2. What challenges are you facing in your role, and what are your ideas about how can we address them together?
3. What are our shared goals and how can we better support each other to achieve them?
Questions to Ask Yourself
1. What am I doing that is helping and hindering my team members to grow, develop and shine in their role?
2. Am I showing up at my best, playing to my strengths and bringing out the best in myself and others?
3. How can I become the person I need to become in order to survive and thrive in tomorrow’s world?
Case Study: From Burnout to Brilliance
Sarah, a pharmacy manager, who had just come back from maternity leave, was overwhelmed by the demands of her role. She and her team were struggling with burnout, and the pharmacy had become stuck in a cycle of high turnover and low morale. After engaging in leadership coaching, Sarah learned to prioritise her own and her team’s wellbeing, foster a culture of collaboration, and lead with a compelling vision. As a result, she chose to stay in her role as supervising pharmacist, her pharmacy transformed into a thriving business with a motivated, engaged team. The connection with Purpose, Personal Wellbeing, and Professional Growth became stronger, leading to improved People Skills, Product and Service Innovation, and overall Pharmacy Prosperity.
Case Study: Stuck in a Relentless Loop of Firefighting
Can you relate to community pharmacist John?
John is exhausted. His pharmacy, once his pride and joy, now feels like a sinking ship. His team is stretched thin, morale is at an all-time low, and he hasn’t taken a holiday since before COVID. The pressures have only intensified as the demand for clinical services grows, yet John hesitates to change. He and his team are already at their breaking point, too overwhelmed to even consider taking on anything new. The pharmacy operates as it always has, with a singular focus on dispensing medications. But as the workload continues to increase relentlessly, so does the stress.
Despite the long hours and the relentless effort to keep things afloat, the situation worsens. Key staff are leaving, unable to cope with the burnout, and John finds himself trapped in a vicious cycle of firefighting. Every day, he battles with incessant medicine shortages, trying desperately to stay above water. The passion that once fuelled his career has faded, replaced by a crushing sense of hopelessness.
In a moment of desperation, John reaches out to inquire about coaching—not to find a way to save his pharmacy, but to find a way out. His partner has been blunt: the way he’s working isn’t sustainable, and they can no longer see a viable future in pharmacy. They know there has to be another way, but they have no idea where to begin.
Through coaching, John finally takes a breath. He gains clarity on what he needs to stop doing and identifies the skills he must develop to create a more compelling future. Both he and his partner join a leadership mental fitness coaching programme, and for the first time in years, they feel a spark of hope. They see a path forward—not just to survive in pharmacy, but to thrive. Inspired by this new perspective, John is now preparing to develop the coaching leadership skills needed to lead others through the challenges ahead.
Emma also began integrating digital health technologies to streamline operations and enhance both patient and team experiences. Collaboration with other healthcare providers became a cornerstone of her pharmacy’s approach. The changes were profound: her team became more engaged, motivated, and excited about the future. The pharmacy began to grow, attracting new customers and retaining talented staff. Emma’s passion for pharmacy was reignited, and her business began to thrive despite the ongoing challenges.
Far from feeling overwhelmed, Emma and her team now feel well-positioned to seize new opportunities, such as those presented by the Expert Task Force.
The Power of Coaching: A Tale of Two Pharmacists
What made the difference between John and Emma? Both faced similar external pressures, but their internal responses were worlds apart. John’s story is a cautionary tale of what happens when you cling to the status quo, pushing harder and longer in a desperate bid to make a failing system work. His reluctance to change, and focus on what wasn’t working led to a downward spiral of exhaustion and despair, highlighting the painful consequences of resisting change and neglecting personal and team wellbeing.
Emma, on the other hand, illustrates the transformative power of proactivity. By choosing to think strategically, act proactively, and seek support to lead with confidence, creativity, and compassion, Emma turned challenges into opportunities. Her focus towards wellbeing, innovation, and collaboration not only revitalised her pharmacy but also reignited her passion for the profession.
John’s eventual realisation that “the way we are working isn’t working” marked a turning point—an acknowledgment that continuing down the same path would only lead to more suffering. His decision to stop, reflect, and seek new perspectives through coaching is what finally allowed him to see and start to create a hopeful path forward. Their stories demonstrate that the same thinking that created the problem will not solve it. But as soon as we recognise this and open ourselves up to new ideas, new strategies, and new ways of leading, hope—and success—are within reach.
Will you continue to cling to the status quo, or will you take the courageous step towards transformation?
Leadership in Pharmacy: A Conversation about Coaching and Change
Q: Why is the current state of community pharmacy unsustainable?
A: Too many community pharmacies are stuck in a cycle of burnout, high turnover, and declining morale. The focus on dispensing medications, coupled with the pressure of medicine shortages and regulatory challenges, leaves little room for innovation or personal wellbeing. This environment is exhausting and uninspiring, leading to negative workplace cultures where pharmacists feel trapped and unfulfilled.
Q: How can leadership coaching change this situation?
A: Partnering with a professional leadership coach helps pharmacy leaders shift their mindset, embrace change, and foster a positive, supportive work environment. By focusing on personal, professional and team growth, coaching empowers leaders and their teams to create a culture of learning, collaboration, and innovation. This not only improves job satisfaction but also drives business growth and sustainability.
Q: What are the key benefits of leading with coaching?
A: Leading with coaching can transform a pharmacy by improving team morale, reducing burnout, and enhancing service delivery. It helps leaders and their teams develop the skills needed to navigate challenges, inspire each other, and explore new opportunities. The result is a thriving pharmacy with a motivated, engaged workforce and a strong connection to its purpose.
Q: How does coaching impact the culture of a pharmacy?
A: Coaching fosters a coaching and learning culture, where continuous improvement, collaboration, and shared responsibility are prioritised. This contrasts with a stagnant or negative workplace culture, where fear, resistance to change, and a lack of support dominate. A vibrant, positive culture leads to a more fulfilling work environment, better patient care, and a more sustainable business.
Q: What are the biggest challenges pharmacy leaders face today?
A: The biggest challenges include navigating regulatory and reimbursement barriers, addressing workforce shortages, and overcoming resistance to change. Many pharmacists also struggle with a lack of business and leadership skills, making it difficult to drive growth and innovation.
Q: How can leadership coaching help overcome these challenges?
A: Leading with coaching empowers pharmacy leaders with the additional mindset, tools and strategies needed to tackle these challenges head-on. By developing strong leadership capabilities, enhancing business acumen, and fostering resilience, leading with coaching enables leaders to co-create a sustainable, thriving pharmacy that can adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape.
Invitation to Pharmacy Leaders
If you recognise that the way you and your team(s) are working isn’t sustainable and are ready to invest in developing the leadership capabilities required to embrace current and future challenges, we invite you to explore our leadership coaching programs. Together, with your team we can create strategic coaching days for you and your team to:
1. Create a compelling vision for you, your pharmacy and your team
2. Shape a workplace culture that attracts and retains brilliant people
3. Develop the coaching and conversational skillset that unlocks the brilliance of your people and the business
4. Put the infrastructure and resources in place to ethically scale and grow the business
Email Rachel@racheldungan.com for the dates of our upcoming open Lead With Coaching Programmes and request a brochure.
Rachel Dungan MPSI MCC ACTC – LinkedIn
Known as ‘The Pharmacist Coach,’ Rachel is an award winning, Master Certified Coach (ICF-MCC-ACTC) to purposeful leaders & their teams.
Her coaching clients come from a range of backgrounds, including pharmacy, healthcare, entrepreneurship and technology. She is Director of Education on ‘Lead With Coaching’ Programme, a sought-after, cross-industry leadership development programme for growth-oriented leaders, managers and business teams, committed to expanding their leadership skills to create and sustain thriving workplace cultures that unlock the potential of themselves, team members, teams and the business. https://racheldungan. coachesconsole.com/lead-with coaching-programme
She is a seasoned Professional, Clinical & Business Leader, who has served in a leadership capacity in hospital, community and retail pharmacy over the last 30 years.
She lives in Lismore, Co Waterford, with her home team – her husband & three teenage children – a case study in team dynamics! She enjoy practicing yoga, walking by the Blackwater, cooking for friends & growing her own food & medicinal plants.
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