As a business owner, you want your veterinary practice to feel like a cohesive unit. You are looking to have a well-oiled machine where all parts work together so smoothly and effortlessly that the client doesn’t even notice the transition from one area of your practice to another. This requires teamwork. While teamwork is a seemingly simple goal, it can often prove challenging and requires a continual, focused effort in order to achieve.
In order to work fluidly as a team, you’ll need to:
- Exercise excellent communication between you and each person on the team – and for the team members with each other;
- Establish trust;
- Set clear goals;
- Practice effective conflict management;
- Learn to delegate;
- A well-organized practice; and,
- Your team understands that they have support.
Let’s look at how each of these fits within the goal of building and strengthening your practice team.
Communication
Effective communication is arguably the most valuable skill to develop when working with a team. Besides clearly expressing your ideas through conversation, excellent communication also includes active listening: understanding your audience and asking questions as they arise. This includes being committed to clear email communication, friendliness, respect, and also being mindful of body language. Developing effective communication within your team can also set the tone for many of these other skills.
Establish Trust
Equally important is establishing trust for building a team effectively. Establishing rapport and mutual trust between management and employees allows everyone to work at their best to collectively achieve workplace goals, knowing that they can trust the rest of the team to do the same. According to Forbes Coach Council, in addition to the communication skills highlighted above, some of the essentials to establishing trust with employees include:
- Help them know you as a person, not just your title.
- Ask your employees what is important to them.
- Give them trust first.
- Don’t be afraid to show them you are human and imperfect – but trying your best.
- Let them own responsibility and do their best.
Mutual trust is essential to establishing a solid team.
Clear Goals
Setting clear goals enables your team to have a common purpose that they are working toward, and allows them to feel fulfilled and accomplished when that goal is achieved as a team. In order to be clear, a goal must be specific, measurable, attainable and time-related (also known as “SMART goals”), which empowers employees to strive toward the goal and achieve it.
Effective Conflict Management
While conflict is not anyone’s favorite aspect of workplace interactions, it is something that occasionally arises even within the most cohesive team. More than the specific issue itself, what is important is how the conflict is addressed and handled. Addressing concerns immediately, remaining unbiased, utilizing solution-centered strategies, and actively listening are all valuable skills to develop in order to effectively manage conflict and create an environment where healthy teams can thrive.
