By Nicole Dhanraj
In imaging leadership, especially in busy radiology departments, you are constantly moving. Scanners are backed up. Schedules are shifting. Staffing gaps need to be filled. Physicians are calling. Patients are waiting. Quality huddles are happening. Someone needs help with a protocol question. Someone else is asking about coverage for next week.
You do not have time to sit still, and you definitely do not have time to micromanage everyone.
So, without meaning to, you end up connecting most with the people you see most.
The technologist who is always in the hallway when you walk to your office. The scheduler who checks in every morning. The team member who speaks up in every meeting. The lead tech at the main campus. The people on day shift. The staff located near your office versus the satellite team you only see once a week, if that.
Over time, those people start to feel closer to you.
Not just physically, but mentally.
They become the names that come to mind first when you are thinking about assignments, recognition, training, promotion readiness, leadership potential, or who is “reliable.”
That is proximity bias.
And in imaging leadership, proximity bias can quietly shape who gets recognized, who gets developed, who gets heard, and who gets remembered.
What it looks like
You are not sitting there thinking, “I am going to favor the people closest to me.”
That is not how proximity bias usually works. Most of the time, it is not intentional. It is not malicious. It is not about you being unfair on purpose. It is about how your brain works when you are busy, stretched thin, and making fast decisions in a high-pressure healthcare environment.
Here are some examples:
- You need someone for a stretch project. The technologist at the main campus is easy to ask, so you ask them. The equally strong technologist at the outpatient center never even gets considered.
- Someone asks who has been doing great work lately. The day shift CT tech you see every morning is the first name that comes to mind. The evening team that handled the same volume with fewer resources does not get mentioned.
- You are discussing a workflow change. You ask the people in the room. But the satellite site technologist who lives that workflow every day and knows the real pain points is not in the room, so their perspective never makes it into the decision.
- You are thinking about who might be ready for more responsibility. The person who stops by your office to chat feels “engaged.” The quieter MRI tech who consistently solves problems, supports newer staff, and keeps patients moving without drama is harder to remember because they do not self-promote.
- You are deciding who should attend vendor training, join a committee, help with a protocol rollout, or represent the department in a meeting. The same familiar names keep coming up.
None of this is malicious. But it adds up.
Why it matters
In imaging, some of your most valuable people may also be the easiest to overlook. The night shift CT team may be keeping trauma throughput moving with fewer transporters, fewer radiologists immediately available, and fewer hands on deck. The MRI technologist at a satellite site may be handling implant screening questions, claustrophobic patients, add-on exams, contrast concerns, and protocol challenges without a manager nearby. The prior authorization specialist may be quietly reducing denials all week, protecting revenue, and helping patients get their exams approved, but because their work happens behind a screen instead of in the scanner hallway, their contribution may not get recognized.
This is where proximity bias becomes dangerous. Imaging departments run on both visible and invisible labor. The person you see every morning may be doing excellent work. But they are not automatically doing more valuable work than the person you rarely see.
When leaders confuse visibility with value, recognition becomes uneven. Leadership development opportunities go to the same familiar people. Modality training, vendor education, committee involvement, and stretch assignments start flowing toward the people who are easiest to reach.
Over time, your imaging department may start valuing physical presence over actual operational impact.
Cost of proximity bias
The cost of proximity bias is not just that someone feels left out. It can affect morale, retention, trust, workflow consistency and your future leadership pipeline. Good people start feeling overlooked, even when they are doing excellent work. High performers in less visible roles may stop volunteering ideas because they have learned that the same voices usually get chosen. A night shift lead may stop sending improvement suggestions because no one follows up. A satellite MRI technologist may start thinking, “No one here really sees what we deal with.”
That is when proximity bias stops being a small leadership blind spot and becomes a culture issue. Because people notice patterns. They notice who gets praised. They notice who gets asked for input. They notice who gets invited to meetings. They notice who gets the first chance at growth. They notice whether leaders only show up when there is a problem.
And, eventually, they decide whether the department is a place where their work is truly seen.
Familiarity is not the same as performance
When you see someone often, you naturally start to trust them more. You remember their name faster. You remember their work more easily. You feel more connected to them. You may assume they are more committed, more engaged or more dependable.
But familiarity is not performance. Being visible is not the same as contributing. Being close to leadership is not the same as being valuable to the department. And being comfortable speaking up in meetings is not the same as being the strongest team member.
In imaging, this distinction matters because so much important work happens outside the leader’s immediate view. A smooth patient schedule may be the result of a scheduler preventing problems before they reach you. A low denial rate may reflect the quiet diligence of a prior authorization team. A peaceful night shift may be the result of a strong lead tech de-escalating issues before morning leadership ever hears about them. A successful satellite site may be running well because one experienced technologist is holding the workflow together every day. A new hire may be succeeding because a quiet senior tech is coaching them patiently in the background.
If you only recognize what is easy to see, you may miss the people who are holding the department together.
What to do differently
You do not have to eliminate proximity bias completely. You probably cannot. It is human. We naturally feel closer to the people we see more often. But you can become more intentional. And in imaging leadership, intentionality matters.
Start by asking yourself a few honest questions:
- Who am I hearing from most often?
- Who am I not hearing from at all?
- Who keeps getting visible opportunities, stretch assignments, training and recognition?
- Which shifts do I understand best, and which shifts do I mostly hear about secondhand?
- Which sites do I visit when things are going well, not just when there is a problem?
- Who might be doing excellent work that I literally do not see?
- When I make a decision, am I choosing the best person for the opportunity or the person easiest to remember?
These questions are not about guilt. They are about awareness. And awareness gives you the chance to lead more fairly.
What to do this week
If you want to check proximity bias in your imaging department, do not overcomplicate it. Start small. Look at your last five moments of recognition. Who did you praise in a meeting, huddle, email or one-on-one conversation? Were they mostly from the same shift, site, modality or group?
- Review your last five stretch opportunities. Who was asked to attend vendor training, help with a new workflow, join a committee, mentor a new hire, test a process or represent the department?
- Look at who gets informal access to you. Who can easily stop by your office? Who sees you in the hallway? Who gets quick conversations that others do not?
- Pull in one quiet voice. Ask someone from night shift, a satellite site, scheduling, prior authorization, transport coordination or a less visible modality: “What is one workflow issue leadership may not be seeing from where you sit?”
- Create a simple visibility tracker. Track who receives recognition, training, stretch assignments, leadership conversations and development opportunities. Patterns will become obvious quickly.
- Rotate who you ask for input. Do not only rely on the loudest person, the closest person or the person who always volunteers. Build a habit of asking, “Who else needs to weigh in before we decide?”
- Recognize invisible work publicly. Name the people who prevented problems, improved flow, reduced denials, supported patients, mentored others or stabilized a tough shift.
- When considering promotions, pause before deciding. Ask yourself, “Is this person truly the best fit or are they simply the easiest person for me to remember?”
These are small actions, but they send a powerful message. They tell your team that value is not determined by proximity.
Better leadership
Your department is too important to let physical closeness determine who gets remembered. Your team is too valuable to let visibility become the standard for worth. And your best people may not always be the ones standing in front of you. They may be the night shift technologist keeping the department steady when leadership is gone. They may be the satellite site lead managing issues independently. They may be the scheduler preventing delays before they happen. They may be the prior authorization specialist protecting patient access and revenue. They may be the float technologist who sees patterns across the whole system. They may be the quiet team member who does not ask for attention but consistently makes everyone around them better.
The people closest to you are not always the people carrying the most load. The people who speak up most are not always the strongest contributors. And the people you see least may be the ones keeping your department running with the least amount of friction.
Check your bias. Look beyond the hallway, the huddle and the people who naturally end up in your orbit. Visibility should help you notice people. It should not become your standard for value.
Nicole Dhanraj is an imaging leader who writes about workplace bias, leadership blind spots, and practical ways to improve culture, communication, and team performance in imaging departments. If you have a specific situation you would like to share or talk through, she welcomes you to reach out at nicoledhanraj@gmail.com.
