Why New Managers in Med-Tech Fail (And It's Not Their Fault)

Logan McKnight
Oct 6
4 min read

Updated: Oct 7

It's 9:47 p.m. You just wrapped a long case. Your phone buzzes. You have an add-on for tomorrow morning. You decide it's too late to reach out to anyone else, so you handle it.

You wake up at 4:45 a.m. to get to the first start add-on. By the time your case gets rolling, you have 3 missed messages:

A tech needs help ASAP with their equipment.
Another manager is asking for help, and you need to send someone from your team to catch a flight. (Except everyone is on a case, and YOU are the one who will be done first)
Your VP calls and asks where your monthly report is and why one surgeon's volume dropped. (out of the 40 surgeons you're juggling)

Six months ago, you were one of the best techs on the team. Now you're a manager, and you're wondering if you're failing.

You're not. The system is.

The Problem

In neurodiagnostics, the rules are clear. Follow the protocol. Document everything.

Communicate within strict lines. That's the job. High stakes, but clear.

Management is different. There's no protocol for "Should I cover this case myself or make them figure it out?" There's no form for "How do I tell someone their documentation is sloppy without them quitting?"

You're holding two truths at once: Patient safety is non-negotiable. Your team is exhausted.

Most first-time managers get promoted and told to "lead."

That's not a plan. That's a hope.

The reality of this field

This isn't 9 to 5. Add-on cases appear. Cases run long. Sleep gets short. Surgeons rotate. Stress crushes mental and physical health.

Managers have to set boundaries and still cover patients. They have to know when to step in and when to let someone struggle through it. They have to talk about performance without people walking out.

None of that is in the protocol manual or handbook.

Where even strong managers hit the wall

Be honest. You've seen or experienced these patterns:

Doing instead of teaching. They jump in to "save the day" every time. No one learns. They burn out.
Hiding behind paperwork. They'll fix every documentation error or technical problem, but won't touch the real people problems.
Everything rolls uphill. Every question needs to go to your boss because no one knows who's supposed to decide what.
Always on. Texts at midnight. Calls at 6 a.m. No boundaries anywhere.

"Be the CEO of your region." That sounds clear until there's a 2 a.m. add-on and someone calls in sick.

Only talking when it's broken. Conversation happens when something goes wrong. Never when it goes right.

None of this means they're not ready. It means they don't have structure.

What your new managers are thinking but not saying

"I don't know if I'm supposed to jump in or let them figure it out."
"I'm answering texts at midnight because I don't know what counts as urgent."
"I've never had a hard conversation about performance. I can't lose any more people, so I just... avoid it."

These aren't just complaints. They're requests for help.

The Solution

What if we ACTUALLY trained them?

Not a one-day seminar. Not an HR module or webinar.

What if we trained them the same way we taught them to be great techs? Teach, train, coach; Repeat.

Real training and coaching on:

✅ How to coach without micromanaging

✅ When to step in and when to step back

✅ How to have hard conversations

✅ How to protect your time so you don't burn out in 6 months

✅ How to think like a leader, not just a senior tech who answers faster

Real coaching while they manage their team's issues, providing feedback, and instilling the skills to help them become the best leaders they can be.

We'd keep more managers, grow stronger teams, and stop losing our best people.

If You Aren't Sure Where To Start...

Don't hand this off to HR or try to tackle it on your own. This is operations and beyond - it is essential to EVERY part of the business. So you need to build it with your team and with someone who has been in their shoes.

Build this with someone who has run cases, handled scheduling, contracting, and billing. This is where I come in to help you take your team to the next level; To work with you and your team at every level to create a leadership development program that rivals any educational program out there.

If you're a CEO or VP reading this: Don't wait; You and I know leadership issues don't resolve themselves, and your culture depends on where you focus your energy.

If you're a manager/director reading this: Forward this to your boss. It's not about what you're doing wrong. It's about what you weren't given when you started.

Getting the help you and your team deserve isn't a weakness. It's what great leaders do.

They recognize the problem and bring in the right people to fix it - before it costs them another team member or account.

Reach out today, and let's get to work. Logan@GoodKnightConsulting.net