Physiatry Practice Management Resources

Help Your Staff Care About Service Excellence

Selecting staff with positive attitudes, providing meaningful orientation, and offering continuous training are three ways to help staff care about service excellence. But these strategies won't achieve what you want unless you also set a good example. Without example, staff members may listen to your latest service philosophy and think to themselves "This too shall pass."

Albert Schweitzer said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." Some experts believe that companies don't need a values or mission statement if they have leaders who lead by example. Steven Berglas, PhD, a psychologist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, says, "You want to know how leadership works? Throw out the mission statements; don't bother with values statements; just look at how the organization's leader behaves and you will know with 100% certainty how the employees will behave."

If you expect your staff to be unfailingly courteous and compassionate, you have to consistently exhibit those same qualities. What does it say if you tell your staff to address all patients by name but you don't know all of your employees' names? You shouldn't roll your eyes to the ceiling when you're speaking about a difficult patient, unless you want your staff to do the same thing. Always speak well of your staff. When my mother was engaged to be married, a friend gave her some valuable advice: "Don't ever speak ill of your husband to another. Later, you'll forget what you said, but the other person will remember."

Although some people seem to enjoy it, negativity does nothing to enhance your career or your life. Negativity is contagious, and affects both patients and staff interactions, impairs the overall performance of your practice. Sometimes, people fall into such a pattern without realizing it. Create a paper or mental chart for yourself. Check to see how many negative or positive statements you make in the next hour. And finally, ask yourself: How would you like to have yourself for a boss, physician, spouse, friend?

Leadership has always been more about passion than about administration. Your passion for providing excellent care and service, through the example you set, is vital to your professional satisfaction and your patient's well-being.