Part of the executive leadership coaching process involves examining the aspects of your leadership that need improvement, but I also provide practical tips and skills for making a greater impact on the people in your sphere of influence.
Each individual has their own specific leadership style that comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. While it would take a deeper assessment to navigate the ins and outs of your leadership makeup, there are some general tips that every executive and healthcare leader should head if they want to effectively motivate their team.
Listen Actively
The practice of active listening is critical for leaders to establish trust with their peers, patients, clients, and so on.
It requires giving full, engaged attention, not only to the words others are saying but also to the tone with which they are saying them and the body language they demonstrate while they are speaking. As an effective leader, this is an invaluable tool to better interpret words, tone, and emotions, provide solutions, and make others feel valued and heard.
Share Your “Why”
How can you expect your subordinates to be passionate about your mission if they don’t see that same level of passion coming from you? Your drive and commitment to your practice should be evident in the way you speak, act, and make decisions. One of the best ways to do this is to share your “why.”
What do you enjoy about your role? Why do you believe your work is important? What is the greater purpose? Having these conversations in 1-1 settings or in your next team meeting could be the starting point for a more inspired team by reminding them of their own motivations.
Prioritize Your People
One of the biggest issues in the healthcare leadership gap is the lack of people-orientedness. Isn’t it ironic how in an industry created to care for people, most leaders are selected based on their knowledge and technical skills alone rather than their people skills?
An effective leader is one who knows how to balance their focus between the task and their team. Move beyond the deadlines and the scoreboard to check in with the people behind the work. How supported do they feel in their roles? How are their personal lives affecting their work? What can you do to help them? Do they see opportunities for growth? These are just some of the questions you should be asking.
Set Clear Expectations
One of the most important things you should do as a leader is clearly define your expectations. How will your team know how to succeed if they aren’t exactly sure what they are working towards or what systems you have in place?
Be proactive in spelling out what their responsibilities are, the type of environment and culture you want to implement at work and how to create it, what your goals are for the next quarter, etc. Your entire team will need to be on the same page, working together as one collective unit in order to be efficient and ultimately succeed.
Enable and Delegate
Just because you can do a task, doesn’t mean you should. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to make sure each member of your team is empowered to carry out their responsibilities and carry them out well. Part of taking ownership of your team is building up their skills until you can trust them to handle their work without any micromanaging.
Constantly looking over their shoulders or nitpicking their work will cost you valuable time, and as we all know, time is money. Instead, put in the time in the beginning to teach them the skills they will need to succeed in their roles, and it will help you succeed in your role as a result.
If you’re curious about executive leadership coaching, start by taking this quick assessment to schedule a FREE 15-20 minute introductory session with me, Dr. Jerrund Wilkerson.
About Dr. Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC.
Do you want to increase your impact? Do you want to increase profits under your leadership? Do you want to develop and use your abilities to the fullest to better connect with and lead others? Executive Leadership Coaching covers these bases. Dr. Jerrund Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC, has more than 30 years of successful executive leadership coaching in the United States and internationally.
As a licensed pharmacist, he is particularly passionate about helping develop effective leaders in the healthcare community. Dr. Wilkerson has coached and trained thousands of managers and leaders. He is a certified coach and member of the John Maxwell Leadership Team.
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