Is Your Practice Management Strategy Different than Your OR Strategy?

Recently we have looked at the value of feedback from patients and staff and this week we’ll look at some of the most common feedback that I consistently hear from practice employees.

In my experience, great physicians share an ability to both manage and understand the details of their patients’ condition. From health history to success and failure of treatments, these physicians share a strength to manage even the most minute details of a patient’s condition. Surgeons use their gift to control and manage all aspects of the operating room. And as a patient, I’m grateful for this level of diligence.

Intense management of details in the OR drives healthy outcomes but this level of control in running a practice can create an unhealthy situation for the physician and their staff.

Employees are selected and hired because we believe that they have the education, experience and personality traits to perform their job responsibilities successfully. When these individuals are consistently reminded what their priorities are and they are repeatedly asked about completing their responsibilities, they are being micromanaged.

Being micromanaged results in a loss of motivation, a reduction of engagement and overall lower productivity. If you micromanage, you are negatively impacting your practice and yourself. If you sincerely believe that you have hired the right people and they are in the right roles, then you should be confident in your decisions and theirs.

When working with new clients, I find that many have often confused micromanagement with staff accountability. Accountability is driven by providing clarity of each person’s responsibilities utilizing job descriptions, practice and personal goals and consistent and open communication. When a practice infrastructure supports clarity of responsibilities, accountability occurs naturally and consistently. The perceived need to micromanage and the stress that goes along with it is removed for both the manager and the staff creating a healthier practice.

If any of this sounds familiar, and you are ready to create healthy outcomes for your staff, your patients and yourself, please contact me at smays@impactpracticeconsultants.com.