Closing Thought of the Week: Maybe Don't Burn the Ships - E6
I am going to end your week with a little story. Let me paint you a picture here. I had just graduated and decided to start my office. I made my hires and was going to train my new staff for a week. The problem was, I knew how to be a doctor, not how to run an office! That did not slow me down, I was set to inspire. Do you remember Cortes? He was the guy who sailed to the new world, docked, burnt his ships, and told the crew members “We conquer and survive or we die”. I went with the following version in my opening remarks “I was thinking about burning all your cars and staying here until we are all ready to see patients”. Needless to say they thought I was crazy and my training had zero actual functionality. I went with year 1 of Optometry school and thoroughly taught eye anatomy and entrance testing.
Why do I share this? I want to make it clear that passion and intensity are absolutely necessary to run an office. They are not, however; the key ingredients to leading your staff members. They will burn out and feel very on edge all the time if that is the personality you use to manage. Your staff wants security, routine, and clearly defined roles for what they will be doing. They also want this from a confident, level headed leader who seems to know all the ins and outs of the business.
I am not saying change who you are (I am still the crazy guy who wants to burn the ships), but you may want to be very careful what characteristics you are portraying to your staff. Otherwise, they may not be staying with you for too long (assuming you have not already burned their cars in the parking lot!).
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