nce upon a time, a bustling veterinary practice was open 12 hours a day, six days a week, which meant that the owner was not always in the building. But when the owner’s vehicle pulled in, an announcement buzzed over the intercom system: “The eagle has landed.” Immediately, everyone snaps to attention. Some prepare to pounce on the owner as soon as the doorknob turns, others disappear into exam rooms, while a few continue doing the task at hand.
Down the hall, two technicians are dealing with a client. The client was uncomfortable with the recommendation made by the first technician, yet gave the OK when the second technician delivered the same recommendation. The second technician just laughed it off and told the first tech to recognize greatness when she sees it. They hear the announcement and proceed to the next exam room.
In the office, the manager and an associate veterinarian are at odds over how to implement virtual progress exams. One wants to jump into it, and the other wants to move slower. The two want to grab the owner to mediate the disagreement.
Of those involved these scenarios, who would benefit from leadership skills? The answer is, all of them!
The obvious choice would be the practice owner and office manager, but the others can benefit too. Think about the technician needing to take advantage of the opportunity to coach the other tech on how to work with difficult clients. Even the first technician can use leadership skills in the exam room to improve upon communicating medical information and assisting the client with making a decision. As for the associate veterinarian wanting to implement a project, leadership skills would also help with this situation.
Leadership is about influencing and directing a group toward a goal or mission. As leadership gurus James Kouzes and Barry Posner found through extensive research, leadership is about challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way and encouraging the heart.1
When talking about leadership skills, here are some critical competencies:
- Decision-making
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Relationship building
- Accountability
- Conflict management
- Time management
- Change management
- Integrity
- Critical thinking
- Inspiring and influencing
Are these competencies only for the management team, or can a technician use them in the exam room? Could a person leading a project benefit from some of these skills? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
The veterinary practice needs to have a plan to develop a team of confident and responsible leaders—leaders for the business, a particular project, training team members, client service and patient care. Leadership skills will build productive, efficient, engaged teams. And when team members learn how to lead, they can “grab the bull by the horns” and get things done, rather than walking away and saying, “Not my job.” As a result, there is trust and cooperation within the team rather than cliques and passive-aggressive behaviors.
So how can this be accomplished? By having a strategic plan!
The goal is not to create a bunch of mini-managers, each claiming their mini-army, but rather it is about building character and giving each team member the tools to lead when the situation calls for it. Look back over the list above and imagine what tools an exam room technician can use. Communication, relationship building, conflict management and inspiring another can be helpful.
Leadership training activities can occur via different methods, including the following:
Group activities such as debriefing a scenario and role-playing.
Mentoring and coaching using experienced subject-matter experts within the team to coach others.
On-the-job training to build leadership skills into the training modules the practice already uses.
Stretch assignments to assign a project that will expand knowledge and utilize leadership skills.
Feedback including leadership skills in performance reviews.Too often, managers are faced with an issue of team accountability. Unfortunately, the practice culture goes down the wrong road of finger-pointing, confusion or “not-my-job” syndrome. In some cases, this is because team members do not have the tools to handle a situation, be it a difficult client, spearheading a project or coordinating the day’s activities. Leadership skills can improve accountability.
What type of practice can be imagined if everyone on the team sees it, owns it, solves it and does it?2
Recognizes the internal barriers to success.
Admits one’s personal responsibility for the failure.
Follows through on actions.
Crafts solutions to implement to remove the barrier.
Managers and practice owners must keep in mind that there will be the need to have someone step into a vacated leadership position or step up and take on a newly created position at some point in the business cycle. The position could be the practice manager, lead tech, training coordinator or inventory coordinator, to name a few. All of these roles require leadership skills. So, the question to ask yourself is, “Do I have someone ready to step in?”
It is all too common to point at a great nurse/tech or CSR and tell them they are now in charge. The problem with this quick promotion is that there has been no preparation, no training and no idea if the person is ready to handle all those other issues that come with being in charge. In essence, you are setting the person up for failure. Practices wishing to be successful in today’s business environment must take steps to develop tomorrow’s leaders today.
Many of those in the veterinary profession are natural problem solvers (aka medical problem solvers). However, the training to be a medical problem solver does not include leadership skills. That’s why it is important to proactively build leadership skills into the training modules and continuously review the skills in team meetings. The result will be a cultural improvement. Trained in leadership skills, the eagle(s) can land at the start of every shift.
- Kouzes, J., Posner, B. (1999). Encouraging the Heart: A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
- Connors, R., Smith, T., & Hickman, C. (2004). The Oz Principle: Getting results through individual and organizational accountability. New York: Penguin Group.
