What's the Big Idea?

In the book, The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams, Ken Blanchard posts the quote, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” This alone shows the sheer power a good leader holds over a team. A talented leader has the ability to inspire a team-building mentality in workers, which builds a strong company overall.

At medical practices, those team members are often physicians, each skilled and talented in his or her own way. Many leaders find comfort in the fact that through providing a good example and gentle guidance, they can create a physician-administrator relationship that helps build a thriving medical practice.

Good Leadership

Nelson Mandela once said, “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front when you celebrate victory. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” Mandela, who served as President of South Africa in the late 90s, is the perfect example of a leader who both inspired and motivated those under his direction. As the leader of your medical practice, you are tasked with locating and training the best administrators to support your business growth. Everyone wants to play on a winning team, so it's your duty as leader to choose administrators who will help your team achieve success.

As you build your team, here are the top 10 traits to look for in an administrator:

• Proven track record. Your administrators should have a demonstrated ability to work in a medical practice, including stellar work references from previous employers.
• High integrity. An administrator should show clear signs of reliability, including consistency in delivering results in past positions.
• Positive attitude. With a winning attitude, team members can tackle even the most challenging obstacles.
• Effective communication. An ideal candidate will be both a clear listener and speaker, with the ability to verbalize your organization's mission statement with confidence.
• Strong resilience. Your chosen administrator should show the ability to not only recover quickly from setbacks, but also to turn them into strategic advantages.
• Leadership ability. A proven leader possesses a high level of positive influence over others.
• Challenges oneself. An ideal administrator is always looking for ways to improve.
• People skills. The best candidate enjoys forming relationships with others in the practice, including physicians, employees, and patients/customers. This administrator will enjoy mentoring and leading people to grow.
• Flexibility. This type of administrator is unafraid of change and understands that as the organization grows, it's important to flow with the process.
• Sense of humor. A good sense of humor can help lighten the mood of others on a team, showing that the administrator enjoys both life and work.

Leading Day-to-Day Operations

An administrator should have a clear view of the overall mission and ensure the practice's team is unified in pursuing that mission. This will ensure the organization's mission is carried out through the organization's day-to-day operations.

As important as it is for a leader to ensure all team members are carrying out the organization's vision, it is also important for that leader to evaluate each day's progress. Taking time every day to evaluate the progress achieved that day is a great way for a leader to have confidence that the practice is on the right track.

As a practice leader, you'll also find that knowing yourself is invaluable when it comes to your daily accomplishments. Are you most productive in the morning or afternoon? Being aware that your emotional energy wanes at certain times of the day will help you better schedule your day to be more productive. There will always be more work to accomplish. However, there comes a time when you are no longer as effective as you could be. Recognizing when you may be pushing yourself too hard will allow you to relax and trust your team to deliver results. It is equally important, as the physician leader, to know your areas of strengths and weaknesses and ensure that your practice administrator has the capabilities to complement your weaknesses.

Committing to Inspired Leadership

Cultivating a culture of inspired leadership takes commitment. There are a number of courses available to allow physicians and practice leaders to learn how to build a more successful practice, such as the MBA Course, Mastering the Business of Aesthetics, which is held throughout the year in various US cities. This course (www.masteringaesthetics. com) is designed as a retreat for your organization that can address your own specific needs. This can range from inoffice, half-day, full-day to off-site retreats.

SPECIAL OFFER: For your free checklist designed to help you uncover the opportunities and actions needed to get more sales, profit, control, and freedom from your medical practice business, contact me via email: Michele@BennettGlobalConsulting.com or www. BennettGlobalConsulting.com.

Michele Bennett is Founder and CEO of Bennett Global Consulting Group (www. bennettglobalconsulting.com). She has experience in medical management, sales, strategic marketing, and communications. Previously, she was Global Executive Director of Strategic Communications for Bausch+Lomb's Surgical unit and Senior Director of Global Scientific Communications and Global Strategic Marketing Director of Allergan.