Have you ever tried to follow someone who didn’t know where they were going? Or were unsure of what orders or directions to give you? Or were wishy-washy about what they wanted done? Was it frustrating? Did it make you want to run to the front of the line and take control?
Followers and teams need a strong leader in order to make good progress in life and business. The productivity of any business is going to be as good as the leader makes it. When you own a practice you ARE the leader. This doesn’t mean you can’t have leaders on your team as well, BUT they will look to you for where you are leading the practice, i.e. what are YOUR goals for YOUR business.
You might say that not everyone is a born leader. That’s true to some extent but almost anyone can acquire the skills of a leader if they know what they are and do some training.
Some Leadership Guidelines
This is not a complete list of all leadership skills but maybe it will give you some food for thought:
- Have a good clear mission statement for the practice. What goals are you aiming for? What do you want to accomplish with your practice (besides earning an income)? Are these goals that your team would like to forward and be part of?
- In alignment with the goals you worked out, what directions need to be given in order to achieve them?
- Give POSITIVE orders, not “Do you think you might be able to do this?” Rather, give it in a positive way with enough direction or explanation that the team can totally give you want you are asking for. And by when do you want this done? Be specific.
- Give awards, prizes or bonuses for achieving certain milestones in completing steps toward the goals. Celebrating forward progress is extremely important.
- Be interested in your team and help them be successful at their jobs. Everyone appreciates attention and care so give it liberally and they will shine more.
- Pat YOURSELF on the back when you accomplish the milestones as well. You need to acknowledge that you ARE reaching towards your goals too.
- When you have finished a target or goal, be sure to have the next one set up and ready to go. Nothing worse for a team than no game to play at all.
See how you do with these recommendations. By following the above points, anyone can be a good leader!
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