4. Get to know the staff individually.
Take the time to truly get to know everyone of your
team members. Learn what makes them different,
special and find out what they love to do everyday. It
might surprise you to learn that someone likes to clean
and organize, while someone else wants to look after
the social media. Get people doing what they love!
5. Give clear direction.
It’s important to make expectations, responsibilities,
goals and tasks completely clear so there is no
misinterpretation. The best way to do this is to take
the time to write it out. Job descriptions, work sheets,
daily goals and operation guidelines can go a long way
in building the results you want to see.
6. Learn how to give discipline when required.
It’s one of the hardest parts of the job, but it’s also one
of the most important because not dealing with issues
can result in bigger problems when you let things slide
that should be dealt with. There are courses in how to
give disciplinary action so get the help you need to do it
properly.
7. Institute changes with delicacy.
New managers often want to come in and make a
bunch of changes happen right away. STOP! Don’t
start changing things up immediately or you’re going
to alienate everyone in the office. First get everyone
involved in change. Then start making changes by
delegating to team members so they feel the change is
partly their decision.
8. Be the example you want to see.
Being a leader is about setting a standard of what you
expect from those around you. That means showing up
early, working late, taking on difficult customers and
doing tasks you might think are beneath you. It also
means being positive, polite, empathetic and calm.
Controlling emotions and outbursts is crucial when
you’re a leader.
9. Find mentors.
It could be the practice or optical owner. It could be a
friend or acquaintance or an online resource, but find
someone to be able to reach out to for mentorship and
motivation when it comes to supervision. Learn from
others on what has helped them become a great leader.
10. Recognize, recognize, recognize.
Nothing will help you more in a leadership role than
learning the art of recognition. When you tell people
they did something well, they want to do it again.
Every single day look for an opportunity to recognize
someone in your office.
Last note…being a great leader means helping everyone
else be a leader as well. Grow a team of leaders and you
will grow yourself and your business. OP
Trudi Charest is the Co-Founder of Marketing4ECPs,
a digital marketing agency focused in eye care.
Marketing4ECPs builds websites, SEO, SEM, paid
advertising on Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
review management, email marketing, graphic design,
social media, patient communications and so much
more! Trudi can be reached at [email protected] or
www.marketing4ecps.com
32 Optical Prism | May 2019