My challenge for you this month: Empower your employees.

THE REASONS

 

 

Also in Leading Off

• States Authorize O.D.s to Give COVID-19 Vaccines; HHS Amendment Seeks to Help
• Schedule Wind-Down Time to Stomp Out Practice Stress
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This will be tough news for the micromanagers, but dictating to people how to do their job may get submission, but it won’t get motivation. Two of our greatest needs as human beings are the desire to be heard and the desire to control our destiny. Sometimes, the best thing a leader can do is let go of control and give employees some autonomy. Below are a few ways to successfully transfer control (without losing it).

ACTION STEPS

• Communicate the vision. You should be clear on the overarching vision of what you want to accomplish in your practice, while involving the staff in creating strategies to reach these goals. For example, “Our goal is to grow revenues 10% this year; let’s hear your ideas for how to accomplish that.”
• Set boundaries. Autonomy in the workplace can promote fresh ideas and more employee engagement, but there still needs to be clear boundaries. An example would be Ritz Carlton’s policy of empowering its employees to spend up to $2,000 to solve customer problems without asking for a manager. It’s $2,000, not $2,001.
• Status updates. People like to see their own ideas succeed, but what if they’re not succeeding? Require employees to periodically provide status updates. If their ideas are not a hit, then have a collaborative discussion about ways to make improvements. OM