We often reach for caffeine to get through a mid-afternoon slowdown most of us experience. This afternoon slump is a real, biological phenomenon. It’s a sign your internal clock—fluctuations in energy and body temperature regulated by our circadian rhythms—is running on time. Here are five ways to bounce back. We would add one more: 6) Hydrate with water. Source: Mindful, … [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...]
Human-animal bond helps with empty nest syndrome
Facing an empty nest at home, author and mother Ashley Collins shares her experience and realizations of how her horse is part of her emotional support network. She also acknowledges how the family dog reacts to college preparations taking place in the home. This article supports the increasing discussions about the human-animal bond and one-health initiatives. Source: Horse … [Read more...]
Where to look, how to stand and what to do with your hands
Make eye contact. Keep your hands out of your pockets. Find balance between stiffness and fidgeting. Practice good posture. These are among tips experts give for improved communication. In conversation, "pretend your eyes are glued to your conversation partner's with sticky, warm taffy," Leil Lowndes, says. Source: Business Insider, August 20, 2016. Here are six body … [Read more...]
Get off the soap box
Soapboxing, is a term stemming from an era when a person would literally stand on a soapbox crate as a stage and scream to the world that he or she knew the right way — the only way — to do anything. Soapboxers tend to be utterly convinced that his or her view is the only view — and vocalizes it. They can destroy the rapport of an otherwise well-aligned group. Here are some … [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...]
Introversion, the veterinary edition
Dean Scott, DVM, discusses the challenges of introversion versus extroversion from the veterinarians’ perspective. Introverts are naturally quiet and internalized; behaviors that extroverts may interpret as signs of aloofness or arrogance. Introvert’s interactions with people are draining. They also exert a lot of energy pretending to be an extrovert. I read once that if the … [Read more...]
What’s trending at Animal Health Digest
Every market creates its version of the top five or 10 list. Our Animal Health Digest team uses views and clicks to understand what our subscribers read. The results shape the focus of what we “read for animal health professionals.” AHD is a free service for all levels of personnel in our industry. The AHD Bulletin is published weekly and delivered on Thursdays via email. We … [Read more...]
Mitigate mistakes
Tracy Dowdy, CVPM, discusses prevention and management of the inevitable mistakes that happen, particularly in a fast-paced veterinary practice. Creating a better working environment for team members and clients includes these actions: Ensure the practice does as much as possible to help team members avoid making wrong decisions or acting inappropriately Acknowledge … [Read more...]
Type A designation to go up in smoke?
In the category of “WHAT?” we offer this piece on how the origin of Type A personalities has research funding origins from tobacco companies. As the old saying goes, “put that in your pipe and smoke it.” Source: Science of US, August 22, 2016. Detail-oriented as they are, the Type A’s among us may be interested to know three curious facts concerning the origin story of … [Read more...]
How to have a great one-on-one
Often there’s a problem that needs discussing, but your boss always seems too busy. So, you keep it quiet and hope it goes away. Sound familiar? Without regular one-on-ones, team members' work might be overlooked and development opportunities forgotten. Other workplace problems, such as team disputes or mistakes, could also get ignored. Good one-on-ones are the cornerstone of … [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...]
Minimize distractions
The Mind Tools editorial team offers the 10 most common distractions faced at work and examines strategies for managing or eliminating them. Implementing these measures should mean that you, and your team members, get more done. Source: Mind Tools, August 2, 2016 via newsletter. Dr. Gloria Mark, Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, says that … [Read more...]
Finding a rhythm at work
Rhythm on a monthly, weekly and daily basis can create the order and flexibility you need for your work and time to flow in harmony. Elizabeth Grace Saunders suggests, “it’s time to discover your cadence.” This piece will appeal to those of us who are challenged with time management, energy management and juggling of priorities. Source: Harvard Business Review, April 14, … [Read more...]
Combat chronic stress with breathing
Media sources are full of articles these days about suicide in the veterinary profession. Intense experiences are commonplace and stress is inevitable. But, with awareness and a little skill, its negative impacts are not. The authors share perspective and outline a technique called intentional breathing. Directed at those in leadership positions, we recognize that all animal … [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...]
Write smart. Talk smart. Look great.
Despite our best efforts, we all make errors when we write and talk. We often confuse words with their proper meanings. Travis Bradberry, president of TalentSmart, shares 20 words that, when misused, make smart people look silly. Source: Quartz, July 20, 2016. It’s the words that we think we’re using correctly that wreak the most havoc. We throw them around in meetings, … [Read more...]
The science behind reading and influence
Michael Hyatt says, “A readership crisis is really a leadership crisis.” Readers are likely to be leaders. With reading in decline, readers have a comparative advantage in today’s business and political environments. Source: MichaelHyatt.com. Here are five ways reading can uniquely develop and empower leaders: Reading Makes us Better Thinkers Reading Improves Our … [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...]
Practice management hacks: Advice to a new manager on standards of care
The Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) shared exclusive data with Veterinary Economics which shares a series of practice management "hacks" or best-kept secrets from VHMA members. Source: Veterinary Economics, July 7, 2016. VHMA members spill their best kept secrets for better patient care. Treat your technician staff well and value their input. Tell them … [Read more...]
What to do when you don’t know what to do
Michael Hyatt offers three steps to follow when you're tired of feeling uncertain. Forget about the ultimate outcome. Focus on the next right action. Do something now! Source: MichaelHyatt.com, via AVMA SmartBrief, July 11, 2016. Feelings of uncertainty can quickly transform into a sense of being overwhelmed, Hyatt writes. In those situations, try to forget the … [Read more...]
Control impostor syndrome
Many of us fear being discovered as a poser when we move away from our comfort zones. We fear that we’re not worthy and that that we aren’t qualified to do whatever we aim to do. It’s a fear that strikes many of us: impostor syndrome. Source: Harvard Business Review, July 7, 2016. To overcome these feelings of inadequacy consider these tips: Recognize the benefits of … [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...]
A nudge can change behavior
Can a small, simple adjustment, or nudge, change our behavior for the better? Richard Thaler, a University of Chicago professor who studies behavioral economics and finance, in addition to decision-making psychology believes it can. He’s even written a book titled, Nudge. Source: TED Radio Hour, June 24, 2016, first segment. If you want to encourage people to do something, … [Read more...]
Steps to take when feeling burned out
Research shows that burnout occurs when the demands people face on the job outstrips the resources they have to meet them. Certain types of demands are more likely to tax people to the point of burnout, especially a heavy workload, intense pressure and unclear or conflicting expectations. Source: Harvard Business Review, June 20, 2016. If you think you might be experiencing … [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...]
A big ego could make you less successful
Having an inflated ego can harm your career by reducing your connection to others and stunting your ability to maintain relationships, writes Ryan Holiday. "Confidence is based on what is real — it is earned," Holiday writes. "Ego is based on delusion and wishful thinking — it is artifice." Source: 99U, June 2016. The idea that only the swaggering, all-knowing, and … [Read more...]
Recovering from rejection
Rejection is a universal and universally disliked experience. It’s also one that each of us experiences differently. Sometimes, getting rejected hurts more than we expect, especially if our immediate response is to become self-critical. Source: Harvard Business Review, April 6, 2016. I think a lot of us have a gut instinct to question ourselves in the face of rejection,” … [Read more...]