Motivational interviewing practice for leaders
Practice the one-on-one you've been putting off
Josh's reports are late again, and Lucia has stopped speaking up in huddles. Talk it through with them here first. Each simulated employee has reasons you'll have to draw out.
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MI for Leaders
12 weeks
- Week 1: OverviewWhat MI is, why it works, and what it can do for you as a leader.
- Week 2: Spirit of MIGuiding, directing, and following, and your role when you wear the MI hat.
- 3Week 3: Engaging and OARSBuild trust with the four core skills.
- 4Week 4: FocusingAgree on what this conversation is about.
- 5Week 5: Evoking IRecognize and respond to change talk and sustain talk.
The third time you explain the kiosks
Self-check-in kiosks go into every urgent care site next month. Kevin has run the front desk at your busiest one for eleven years, and his team knows he thinks it's a bad idea. You've explained the plan twice. You ask him in to explain it again.
In the role-play you can run it as many times as you like before you have it with a real front desk lead.
Kevin: If this is about the kiosks, I already said I'd do the training. I'm just not convinced they're going to work for our patients.
You: Every site is getting them, and they'll cut wait times.
Kevin: I'm not against it, but Mrs. Alvarez can barely see her phone.
Selling the benefits keeps Kevin defending his patients. He agrees to the training and offers nothing else.
Run it again
You: You know these patients better than anyone. What would it take for the kiosks to work for someone like Mrs. Alvarez?
Ask for his expertise and Kevin starts solving it out loud: a kiosk helper, and one counter lane kept open.
And the other 6
All fictional, each with a backstory you have to draw out. This is how each of them opens.
“Hey. You wanted to see me? Did I mess something up?”
Lucia Ortega
Medical assistant, family medicine clinic
Quieter than usual · Intro
“So I'm guessing this is about the reports.”
Josh Brooks
Revenue cycle analyst
The reports are late again · Intermediate
“Okay, I've got about twenty minutes before the audit call. What's up?”
Angela Okafor
Practice manager, outpatient cardiology
I'll just do it myself · Intermediate
“Before you start, I want you to know I found out about this from a memo. A memo. After nineteen years.”
Tom Kowalski
Night charge nurse, medical-surgical unit
Decided without us · Advanced
“Hey Coach. Is this about Saturday? I know I wasn't great.”
Maya Torres
Forward, college women's soccer
Great in practice, gone in games · Intermediate
“What? I didn't do anything. If this is about Jaylen, he messed up the play.”
Marcus Webb
Point guard, high school varsity basketball
Talented, but dragging the team down · Advanced
The 12-week path
A week takes 8 to 43 minutes, and you can split it across days. If your organization runs a cohort, a trainer assigns the weeks with due dates and reads the role-plays you choose to send.
- Weeks 1 and 2
- Short lessons and drills on OARS and the spirit of MI.
- Week 3
- Your first role-play: a check-in with Lucia, who has gone quiet.
- Weeks 4 to 9
- Josh's late reports, Angela doing everything herself, and Kevin's kiosks. Week 9 has you code your own transcript.
- Week 10
- Holding a clear standard while leaving the how to them.
- Weeks 11 and 12
- Tom, the night charge nurse who found out from a memo.
Questions from managers
Isn't motivational interviewing for patients?
It started in addiction treatment and spread through healthcare from there. The same skills help when you need someone to change and can't make them: you reflect what you hear and draw out their own reasons. If you want to practice patient visits, MI for Clinicians has its own drills and role-plays.
How much time does it take?
A drill takes 3 to 6 minutes and a role-play 8 to 12. You can do a drill before a shift and save the role-play for a quieter half hour.
Will my boss or my team see my practice?
Your role-plays stay in your account. If you join a trainer's cohort, the trainer sees what you've completed and reads only the role-plays you send.
Can my managers practice together?
Yes. A trainer or team lead sets up a cohort, assigns practice with due dates, and reviews the role-plays people send. Book a 30-minute call to set up a pilot.
What does it cost?
Free for learners. Cohort pilots for trainers and teams: book a 30-minute call.
Practice the next one-on-one first
Start with week one, or open Josh's role-play and see how far you get.
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