AAO Chicago: Leadership and Teamwork

Lessons from above:

How your team behaves trickles down from the top.

•  Leadership by solid example
•  The ortho world is a stage
•  Expect the best 100% of the time
•  Absolute respect, dignity, and humility toward others

Organizational Values:

•  Above all, we value highest character traits
•  We appreciate our patients who choose us.
•  We value ongoing education and training, professionalism, integrity, compassion and teamwork.

Solid Managers:

CORE (essential and central part of something bigger than each part)

•  CORE of managers lead and coach the team with Dr. Grummons. These partners in leadership are specialized managers in each area of the practice.
• Spokes of the wheel – cross training, each team member is vitally important (horizontal management). With any one person missing, the wheel’s strength, efficiency and effectiveness are weakened.
•  When everybody is in charge, nobody’s in charge
• By the laws of teamwork, no one alone can achieve anything of real value.

An Inspired Team delivers Motivated Patients

•  There’s no “I” in “Team”
•  If it’s gonna be, it’s up to me
•  Stop the excuses

Quality Assurance and Customer Satisfaction:

•  Monthly meetings to re-assess patient satisfaction and ongoing improvement methods to train and update all staff members in areas of patient care, customer service, technology, equipment, applications, OSHA, HIPPA, etc.
•  Continuing Education and training in all areas of office and clinical administration and care. This means attending training and update seminars, learning online, or bringing the experts to us for learning advantages.
•  Input from team members, and patient suggestions are praised and welcomed.
•  Staff suggestions are encouraged each month and awarded, once the ideas are implemented successfully. “Idea of the month” winners are voted upon by the team (Doctor G. is not eligible to vote, except in a tie-breaker situation).
•  Customer satisfaction surveys are run throughout the year, with staff persons awarded for their exceptional efforts mentioned by patients for exceptional care and attention to detail.
•  Invest in the most up-to- date technical equipment, instrumentarium and applications.
•  Ongoing testing and monitoring of facility and equipment, and applications to meet and/or exceed OSHA and highest practice standards.
•  We are doctor to the doctors families
•  Evidence regarding our customer satisfaction is that 60% of our new patients come from our current/former happy patients; the other 40% are referred by fine area doctors and health professionals.

Sound Conduct:

Doing the right thing comes with the job description:

1. Zero Tolerance: If a team member “forgets” the practice philosophies, one can be sent home (yellow card) for the day if they display unacceptable behavior, lack of attention to details, or weakened attitudes or gossip. Like in sports, the first penalty is a warning which is to send the person home with pay for the day; the second warning is a send home without pay; any third warning is a send home to stay.

•  Remember the three R’s: Respect for self, respect for others, and responsibility for all your actions.
•  Insist upon discipline and adherence to the rules or policies.
•  Don’t break one’s spirit.
•  When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

Individuals play the game, but a Team wins the championship

It is vitally important that we distinguish and separate ourselves from the competition.

How do we create well known reasons for patients and referring doctors to choose us?

Are we in motion (pond or stream)? Are we in pursuit of knowledge? Do we shine?

Are we content to stay comfy in our nest, or are we hunting for food and new success?

Bad seeds cannot produce good fruit; good seeds cannot produce bad fruit.

Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

Entrepreneurs re-invent themselves…they take the risks to move upward and onward.

Do more than survive…thrive! Seek a harvest by risking and planting seeds of efforts.

Man’s mind once stretched by new ideas, can never remain the same.

Knowledge is knowing facts; wisdom is knowing what to do with them.