To understand another person’s point of view, we sometimes need to ask questions to clarify issues or obtain a deeper understanding of why they have that point of view. Too often, the process of questioning is done by rote such as, “what is the problem, why do you think that, etc.?” You will learn more if your questioning is natural and in depth. Source: Vet-Advantage, … [Read more...]
Effective leadership is balanced
A while back I wrote about some myths about leadership that have the potential to mislead potential leaders in their pursuit of that competency. It seems to me that effective leadership has been and will continue to be a balancing act that is always situational. Source: General Leadership. Balance changes with different circumstances. A leader must evaluate the situation … [Read more...]
Do you want to be liked or lead?
I learned long ago that if I wanted to be universally liked, I should not aspire to a leadership role. Certainly, as a leader, there will be people who do like you and appreciate your leadership. There will also be people who dislike you and will attempt to derail your leadership efforts. Getting past that negative is essential to a leader’s success and coming to grips with … [Read more...]
Be an effective executive
It matters little if you are a sole proprietor, lead multiple companies or head up a global conglomerate with far-flung operations. The key to your success and your organization’s success lies within the role of an effective executive. Boiling that role down to a manageable number of practices makes success possible. Source: Harvard Business Review, June 2004. The first two … [Read more...]
The agony of defeat
Nobody bats 1.000%. Nobody wins 162 games in a season. Every MLB team will win 54 games and lose 54 games. Champions are determined by how they play the other 54 games. In business, how you deal with your defeats will ultimately determine your level of success. Source: The Nice Guy Blog, June 15, 2015. If passion drives you, you will stay in the game as long as it takes to … [Read more...]
Leadership myths muddy results
There is money to be made in the field of leadership and thus leadership is taking on an almost mystical mantle with words such as genuine, authentic and so on. We have strayed far afield from the base definition of leadership: the skill or ability to influence willing followers to achieve a desired result. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, November 19, 2016. The Marine Corps taught … [Read more...]
Approach conversations from your customer’s point of view
As veterinary professionals, we understand the importance of compliance and are committed to achieving that goal with every customer. Unfortunately, that perspective is often the biggest barrier to achieving our goal. Approaching these conversations from our customer’s point of view, rather than our own, will yield greater results. Source: Vet-Advantage, Livestock Edition, … [Read more...]
Leaders have a responsibility to stay healthy
Effective leaders realize they have an awesome responsibility and sometimes that burden can lead to burnout or leadership fatigue. Being able to sustain your effectiveness is essential to your success, your team and your organization’s success. The tips presented here to help avoid work burnout could be critical components that ensure your well-being. Source: Forbes, … [Read more...]
Leaders have flaws, too
Even the most brilliant leaders have flaws. The story of Civil Water General Stonewall Jackson, an extremely effective battlefield strategist, illustrates how flaws limit the potential of even the best leaders. Source: War History Online, October 30, 2016. Yet despite all these faults, Jackson played a vital role in the Confederate army and is rightly remembered as a … [Read more...]
Being nice wins
The nastiness of this year’s Presidential campaign is often excused by observing that “politics is a contact sport.” Plus, reality shows with the highest ratings seem to involve the nastiest people. Despite society’s current love affair with verbal thuggery, research proves you can win while being nice and you can disagree without being disagreeable. Source: Wall Street … [Read more...]
Providing corrective feedback correctly
Providing corrective feedback is challenging but it becomes more difficult when it gets emotional. Defensiveness, crying or yelling create an environment that most would rather avoid. However, it is part of the real world. So, tips on handling these types of situations are helpful. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, September 22, 2016. Remember the “why.” Focus on all the good reasons … [Read more...]
Warmth and competence critical to first impressions
When you put people into decision-making mode they are being influenced by logic and emotion. Additionally, the bigger the decision, the more emotion influences the final outcome. So, very often your technical competence as a DVM or vet tech will work against you when dealing with increasing customer compliance. Source: Business Insider, January 16, 2016. If someone you're … [Read more...]
A recommendation or a need?
Last month, we featured an article by Dr. Andy Rourk in which he posits, “Stop abdicating our (DVM) position.” One of the main tenets of the principles of influence is authority. As a DVM or vet tech, you are the authority and it is time to start using it and the other principles to influence your customers and increase your hospital’s patients’ levels of compliance. Source: … [Read more...]
“Why Stay?” Important conversations.
Most years, an average of 14 percent of your hospital clients will move. One percent will die and one percent will get seriously ill. Job loss will hit another 1.25 percent and 1.5 percent will divorce. Combined with a natural, annual attrition rate of almost 20 percent, it is important to prioritize how you will attract new customers. Unfortunately, that attention to new … [Read more...]
Manage the pressure to discount
A longtime, good customer you cannot afford to lose suddenly asks, “Can you get me a better price?” Now what do you do. In our experience, price discussions are really about value. This customer doesn’t perceive the value equals the price you are asking, has forgotten the value he’s already getting or has read the latest book about negation. Source: Harvard Business … [Read more...]
Real empathy is not about you
In our self-centered society, empathy seems like an outdated concept. Even caring individuals often get it wrong when trying to be empathetic to another’s situation. Genuine empathy is difficult because it is all about the other person – not you. Source: Gordon Tredgold, August 1, 2016. This is something that I still struggle with because as a confident person when I put … [Read more...]
Find the right job culture fit
Whether you are a receptionist, vet tech or DVM, the culture of your workplace is an important component of your individual or business success. While this article is written for prospective employees, it also provides a checklist for practice owners to increase their hospital’s profitability. Source: Pulse, August 24, 2016. We all hope to work for a company that’s clear, … [Read more...]
Create a common goal
In last week’s Bulletin, we shared nine common mistakes leaders make when starting difficult or important conversations. We promised you a better way this week. Consider that your listener is there to make a decision. If you are there to get a decision, you both have something in common before the first word is spoken. Source: evancarmichael.com, February 6, 2012. When the … [Read more...]
First impressions count
Conversations designed to influence others often fail because of the way they begin. How you open the interaction, especially a potentially difficult or important one, has everything to do with how the other person responds. So, it is important to consider some of the mistakes leaders make when they attempt to gain buy-in and commitment. Source: Dialogue Works, August 28, … [Read more...]
Engaged employees are more productive
When employees are engaged with their work they are more productive and make positive contributions to their organizations. So it is disturbing to learn that worldwide only one in every eight employees is actively engaged. While engagement rates were the highest in Canada and the United States, the level of disengagement was still in excess of 50 percent. So, David and Arthur … [Read more...]
Are you really listening?
“They’re not listening to me.” This is one of the more common complaints I hear when working with individuals and groups to enhance their communication and leadership skills. Listening to be polite, listening to respond or listening just to let them vent, are just a few of the reasons for the breakdown in communication today. Source: Vet Advantage: June, 2016. Respecting … [Read more...]
Self-awareness key to improvement
Working in the leadership development industry for more than 25 years, I have found that unconscious incompetence is the starting point for most positive interventions. We often get in our own way and have no idea that we are the problem. So, this article attracted my attention. Source: Source: LinkedIn Pulse, July 20, 2016. Self-awareness, one of the four key components of … [Read more...]
Is humility a virtue in business?
Humility is a characteristic that most people will agree is in short supply. But, most of us still admire it when we see it. Little in our culture today encourages a humble disposition and I believe this is a relatively new development. More than ever it seems that loudest, boldest and most obnoxious voices often garner our attention. Source: Mark’s Daily Apple, May 26, … [Read more...]
Be tough, but fair
Some days it seems the business world has things upside down. Kindness is viewed as weakness. Empathy has no place in the business world. Ruthlessness is essential for success. Why, there are even training programs to help you go “from bud to boss.” Now, research that proves nice bosses can and do finish first. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, July 17, 2016. The thing is, nice … [Read more...]
Expect success
Strategy, skill and execution are important factors in achieving success in most businesses. However, too often the mental side of the challenge is overlooked in leading your team to the ultimate goal and success. There are some things you can do to help your business team prepare mentally to reach and exceed expectations. Source: Harvard Business Review June 9, … [Read more...]
Communication and Leadership
Most breakdowns in communication within a business initially seem like success to the communicator. They get their perception of the facts and come up with solutions that make sense to them. The problem is they didn’t get the other person’s perception of the facts. Thus solutions are not sensible to the person receiving the communication. Source: Finance Global Info, May 29, … [Read more...]
Help your team succeed
Avoid procrastinating For many people, procrastination is a strong and mysterious force that keeps them from completing the most urgent and important tasks with the same strength as trying to bring like poles of magnets together. It's also a potentially dangerous force, causing victims to fail out of school, perform poorly at work, put off medical treatment or delay saving … [Read more...]
Help your team succeed
Strategy, skill and execution are important to achieve success in most veterinary hospitals and practices. However, the mental side of the challenge is too often overlooked in leading the practice team to ultimate goals and successes. There are things you can do to help your hospital team mentally prepare to reach and exceed expectations. Source: Harvard Business Review, … [Read more...]
Get up again
In case you haven’t noticed, life in the real world is a series of ups and downs. Life in a veterinary practice is a microcosm of the world around us. It too, has a series of good days and others we would just as soon forget. Most of us handle the good days with grace and thankfulness. The real test is how we react on the really bad days. Source: Laurie Joyce, LinkedIn, June … [Read more...]
The cost of avoiding conflict
Managing conflict is not something most people look forward to dealing with in the workplace. Yet, conflict is a sign that your hospital is pushing boundaries and growing. Given that business is constantly changing means that if you are not growing, your business is dying. There is no status quo in our industry, so managing conflict correctly become a key performance indicator … [Read more...]