Practice Leadership

It is very important for the owner of a practice to provide active and visible leadership through creating and maintaining excellent communication with his/her staff. Here are some key points that will help any practice owner in his leadership role.

Communication of Goals

Determine what the purpose (Mission Statement) of your practice is and communicate it to your staff. Let them know what the goals for the office are and keep them informed of the programs you intend to implement to achieve those goals. A well informed staff will have greater understanding and will be likely to join you in mutual motion to achieve those goals.

Communication Tools

The implementation and use of basic communication tools is vital to the success of any practice. These tools can and should be kept in place by the office manager but also must be reinforced by the practice owner who is, after all, the senior executive in the practice. These tools include written requests or proposals, written office dispatches, written job descriptions and office policies and the use of an effective communication relay system.

It is important that written communications are responded to swiftly. When people do not hear back regarding their communication within a reasonable period of time, they become less willing to communicate. This can result in festering and unhandled business issues that can blow up unexpectedly.

Staff Meetings

It is vital that staff meetings are held weekly. This is one of the most valuable opportunities available to you for educating staff, setting goals and production targets and handling problem areas.

The practice owner and office manager should continually strive to establish strong coordination and leadership for the staff. Any problems or disagreements between the owner and office manager should always be sorted out OUTSIDE the staff meeting and should never be addressed in the presence of any staff.

Staff meetings run most effectively if the owner and office manager meet prior to the staff meeting to plan and coordinate the issues to be addressed at the staff meeting.

Setting Goals and Targets

Targeting weekly and monthly production quotas is important to the success of any practice. Have these targets worked out prior to every staff meeting. Take a look at how much production you did the week and/or month before and how much can realistically be produced within the upcoming week/month, keeping growth in mind. Realistically look at what can be done and go over it with your staff at the staff meeting.

Each week you should bring the practice’s production graphs to the staff meeting and keep the staff informed how the group is doing in achieving its production goals.

Group Member Responsibility

The more each staff member takes responsibility for the office as a whole, the better your office will perform. It is very helpful to have each staff person come to the staff meeting prepared to contribute. The owner should support the efforts of the office manager to show the staff the importance of their contribution. One of the goals of any successful executive is to continually show the staff how to take on more responsibility and how to contribute to the creativity, growth and expansion of the practice.

Policy

It is vital to any practice to have effective office policies in place. Proper policies create stability for the practice and to keep things operating smoothly. There should be written policies to govern all activities of the practice.

The office manager can be very helpful in policy development but he/she needs to know exactly what your policies are. The office manager can and should suggest areas where policy is needed. Staff should also be encouraged to propose policy via the office manager. Policies can be written and submitted to the owner for final approval.

Author Bio :


Jaff alvo is an experienced author, who has written articles on various health and financial subject. Please view my link on Silkin Management Group and Silkin Management Group.