It's funny how something small can have such an incredible effect on so many.  One seemingly insignificant piece of paper, crumpled and discarded, can lie on your office floor only to be ignored by most.  And yet it can cause tension throughout the office if it's only addressed by the owner of  the practice.  We've all been there.  We watch several of our staff members step over the piece of trash, walk by the chair not pushed back under the table, ignore the smear on the glass of the main entrance, and so on, but there is a point where we let out an audible exhale and wonder why they don't see what's right in front of them.  Now, I'm not describing every staff member and I'm not describing every owner, because we all know that the 80/20 rule applies here. But take this journey with me just for the sake of discussion.

Getting back to the piece of paper, why is it not equally offensive to all staff members?  How can they see you pick it up, for years, and not learn to mirror your behavior?  I believe the answer lies in two places:  The personality of the staff member and the culture of the practice.  I'll address the personality issue first by saying that there are just some people who do not care about such details.  Like it or not, they will not change to suddenly care about  putting the trash inside the trash can!  My solution is to follow the old saying, "If you can't change the people...change the people!"  

As for the culture of the practice, well, that's less straightforward.  The word "culture" often has to do with the identity of the practice (the "who"), but I want to focus on the purpose aspect of culture.  The "why" behind the plan and the many tasks the team performs each minute of each day.  One of my pre-optometry students is training for a diagnostic technician position, and unknowingly, I found myself teaching her differently than I would teach our other techs.  Because I knew I was teaching a potential colleague, I took time to describe why we do things in a certain order, why we care about the patient experience, and why appearance, presentation, and first impressions truly matter in the eyes of the patient. 

At that moment, I pointed out the issue of the trash on the floor, especially in the exam room, where no matter how clean, well-spoken, and pleasant I may try to be, that messy exam lane will potentially sell an entirely different image of me as a doctor! Can it make me seem less competent? Will it bring into question the accuracy of our testing?  Put yourself in the shoes of the patient for a moment.  How do you feel about a person who you spot in public, much less in one of your doctors' offices, who attempts to dispose of trash, misses and leaves it on the floor.  Do you respect the person?  Does it make you question the person's "culture" (i.e. their family values)? 

The student solved this issue for me because she was a relative outsider with fresh eyes on the situation.  She said "I think they are more concerned with getting the patient ready as quickly as possible than making sure the trash ends up in the can."  And there you have it.  Subconsciously, I've asked people to place task completion ahead of true purpose.  To test this theory, I asked one of the techs about the recurring issue and she responded with this statement, "I know, I know...it get's on your nerves but I'm just trying to get all this work done before you get mad about me being behind."  To which I responded, "What gets on my nerves is that I've apparently placed the trash can in the wrong spot."  All jokes aside, I realized that the culture of my practice was being misinterpreted as "fast and picky" versus "mindful of our patients' needs."

So the next time you see someone in the office--including yourself--ignore that piece of trash on the floor, ask them to wear a pin that reads "Hi, my work is sloppy." If they push back--and they will--ask them "why?"

How do you nurture a staff that is proactive about maintaining the office environment you strive for? 

Special BluePrint Offer

At LeadershipOD, we experienced a flood of questions and had many great conversations about the early release of the BluePrint.  Based on our interactions with countless doctors this past week, three things have become much more clear:

1.      Doctors know in their gut that their practice is not living up to its full potential.

For some it's tight finances or tough staffing issues. For others it's expansion headaches or the invasion of family-time. In any case, many doctors have found themselves serving the very practice that is supposed to be serving them. Can you relate? Many know their office could use an infusion of leadership, vision, teamwork, solid ideas for improvement, and a game plan to get us there, but feel they just don't have the time ... or the energy.

2.      Our 8-Week Blueprint Program is the solution, but it's a difficult concept to explain and to understand.

The program's introduction in last month's newsletter has generated a whirlwind of curiosity! In fact, we were surprised by all the questions we received. 

• Will this be a fit for my unique situation? (YES!) 
• Is the online portion professionally done? (YES!!) 
• Is it easy to set up? (YES!!!) 
• Is it really worth the time and money? (YES!!!!) 
• Now what exactly does it do? (Simply put, it will increase performance.)

3.      Doctors notoriously like to be right! 

Yes, it's in our DNA. We want to make the right decision, not just for our own sake, but for those that trust their lives with us - our patients, our staff, and our family. That's why we love things like initiation periods, evaluations, discovery surveys, and assessments; for the very fact that these fact-finding sessions provide clues as to whether or not we're making the right call.

These three reasons are why we've chosen to offer this: Sign up for the first two weeks of the 8 week online Blueprint program for free. Two weeks to try it out without obligation. Our hope is that instead of waiting until you fully understand it to sign up, you will now be able to experience it. This will also provide ample time to make sure it's the right fit for your office, as well as confirm you're making a wise decision with your time and money.

So sign up for the program in-full and look over the first week's activities. Then if you choose to proceed, it's as easy as sending a link to your staff so they can each sign up individually. Complete the first two weeks of the program with our compliments, and only if you decide to continue, just let us know and we will activate the remaining sessions.

There are significant benefits to participating in just the first two weeks, so give it a shot as our gift to you.  So sign up now and experience the first two weeks for free.

Learn more about Blueprint 

Sign up with no commitment