Showing Love and Humility to your Employees
Why do some practices have a group of people that get along so well, while other clinics have a staff where everyone seems to be fighting and no one seems to get along? I do not think that this overall attitude is from the employees , but I do believe it is from the management and the owner. The way that the leadership treats the employees will determine how the employees will respond. Leadership’s attitudes and actions will always determine other people’s reactions.
If the leadership of a clinic respects and treats people with love and humility, then love and humility will become the action your employees will show to clients and to others. Furthermore, I believe that all good and successful leaders lead by showing love and humility toward their employees. It is nothing more than following the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Treat people the way you would want to be treated, and see what kind of results you get. We read all the time about developing teamwork and everyone working together. This is a great idea, but the question remains: how do you do this? Many managers and owners have tried and only failed because their employees did not respond properly. This just causes frustration which leaders to anger, and then trying to force your employees to act a certain way which only leads to everything falling apart. The great news is that there is a much easier and less stressful way to lead! Instead, try treating people with love and compassion, and then see what kind of results you get. Tell everyone in your clinic once a day what a great person they are and how valuable they are to your clinic. You will be surprised at how much of a better response people will give you from this as opposed to giving them a raise. All in all, it is simple: people want to be recognized and feel needed. You should never act like you are any better than anyone that is working for you, because in reality, you are not. You just happen to have a degree that allows you to be a veterinarian. Degrees say absolutely nothing about your character. Make people feel important and needed, because without them it would be nearly impossible to function. These little, very important moves will do more for your business and success than anything else you can do.
I do not believe that you have to be friends or “buddies” with your staff; however, you should still treat them this way. Personally, I have made a decision not to socialize with my staff. I work with them every day, but they are never a part of my family or social life outside of the clinic. Socializing outside of work with staff members can be a way for trouble and many unnecessary issues to develop. My staff knows that I care for them and hold a lot of respect for them. I am very humble around them but also a little unapproachable, which keeps me at a distance. You do have to separate yourself a little from the employees in order to have the respect you need from them. However, you must do it out of kindness and humility and not be demanding about it. If you act humble, confident, and treat your employees with respect and the way you want to be treated, they will do just about anything for you. People who are treated this way will go to any degree to make sure things are done correctly and efficiently, because they will take pride in the business the same way that the leader does. If you ever see a staff or have one that is always fighting, watch the leaders and see what they do. Followers are followers because they like to follow. Leaders are leaders because they like to lead. Walk around with a heart of love and humility, and watch your practice grow.
