Management

Have you ever had to get something done at work, a project or even a simple task but needed help?  Something you couldn’t do on your own?

If so, you’re in management.  You may not know it, no fancy title is involved,  you certainly aren’t getting paid for it, but nonetheless you’re a “manager”.

In health care delivery, very few organizations except the largest for-profit companies, have  formal management training programs.

The department heads are usually filled by the “OK, Jane quit ’cause she was tired of all the bitchin’ from the nurses about the holiday schedule so who wants to be Department head?”….method.

If you don’t say “Hell no I don’t want that hassle!” you get the job.  If yo’ mama didn’t teach you how to manage people, then you’re on your own.

Management equals more pay!

I’m all about helping you with your finances.  Making more money and spending less are the only two ways to improve the bottom line.

Managers are usually paid more.   If you’ve never supervised others,though,  it’s kinda’ scary.

The best way to learn is by doing, the second best way is learning from someone who has been there and done that.

Management Project Example

We just had a large project in our office.  Let’s see what we did right and what we did wrong and see what you can learn about management and leadership.

First off, let’s get my management bonafides on the table.

I’ve had no formal management training.  I have read many books on leadership and personal development.

From Seth Godin, to John Maxwell.  From Guy Kawasaki, Jim Collins, to General Patton.  I’ve been 4 hr’d on my work week, been to the mountain top and seen the purple cow, been butterflied and long tailed to death.  I’ve got the equivalent of an MBA in self-read leadership. I have also run a business for 25+years.

The project:

The project I want to discuss is the implementation of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system in my office.  For those of you not in health care, this means the replacement of paper medical charts and all the billing/financial parts involved, with a digital version.  This is not putting in new software on Saturday and using it on Monday. This was a 6 month project with high five figure investment.

My staff are all hard workers of varying backgrounds but none of them are what you would call tech savvy.    Most of them use the internet for email, and occasional shopping but that’s about it.  Some of them don’t have computers at home.

Huge problem #1:  Change.  Every one has heard how technology is costing people their jobs and that was my staff’s first question:  “When we finish this project, will I still have a job?”

Dealing with that was easy. Our staffing is so lean, I knew we wouldn’t be laying anyone off,so I said so without hesitation.

Huge problem #2:  Trust.  To lead people, they need to feel you aren’t leading them into a certain death.  If you are taking them to a place where they’ll feel pain,  they have to believe in their hearts that there is a benefit.

If you are a good leader, and have a great cause, that benefit can be  for others, not just for the individual employee.  My staff had to believe this EMR would allow them to take better care of our patients and be more efficient at their job.  With the benefits explained,  they were willing to suffer, to a point.

It is amazin’ what your employees and co-workers  will sacrifice for the greater good.

Trust like that takes time to build. There is no short cut.  You have to be a consistent leader whose staff knows you can make the tough calls when the time comes.

Huge problem #3:  Stress.  When people are working overtime and are having to think about every keystroke every day, it doesn’t take long before tempers flare.

The best way to deal with a temporary but high level of stress is to be up front.  By letting everyone know that times are tough right now, everyone is on edge, let’s respect each others feelings, it’s OK to vent, let’s not take everything personally, and all the other cliches I could think of-we got by without anyone killing a co-worker.

But it did take constant reminding.  When you are angry at an inanimate object, it tends to spread to the livin’ breathin’ around you.

The important thing here is validating  strong emotions.  Not necessarily agreeing with ‘em, but recognizing their pain.

Sure, there were things said in the heat of battle that shouldn’t have been said. There were hurt feelings for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. But I don’t think any permanent damage was done.

Luckily, our EMR company got the brunt of the blame.  Not that they did anything wrong.  It’s better for the staff to say, “That damn computer, I’m ready to throw it out.”  Or “I wake up in the middle of the night wondering which button I should have pushed!”

Rather than, “That damn receptionist, if she adds one more work-in today, I’m going to get my gun.”  (we live in the south you know, everyone has a gun….)

Each week of the implementation process had goals to be reached and skills to be learned.

Everyone worked overtime.  I worked on Saturdays and Sundays with my staff, catching up with paperwork-excuse me-computer work.

Party Time

At the end of the project we had a party.  No, we didn’t bring a keg to the office.  We did have cake, decorated like a computer work station with a little foul language in appropriate places, and ice cream.   We had a Pinata that the team leader had painted with the name of the software company.  Everyone had a couple of shots at the beast with a big stick, releasing pent-up pain.

A sense of humor is another frequently overlooked leadership/management tool.

We all survived.

What did we do right?

• The project was well defined and  had a timeline.
• The project had reachable goals divided into accomplish-able steps each week.
• Each person had an understanding of their responsibilities.
• A weekly review of the project status ( free pizza helps).
• Those who had better tech skills were expected to help those that might be falling behind.
• We had a team leader who was both a cheerleader, but also a benevolent (mostly)taskmaster.
• We had rewards for all who participated when the project was over.

What could we have done better?

• The team leader should have more leadership training before the project started-we learned on the fly which isn’t always best.
• The practice owners/Docs have to walk a fine line between sharing the pain versus joining in on bitch sessions that are unproductive at best, and undermining at worst.  We managed to do this but did have the occasional slip.

The next project, I’m convinced, will go more smoothly as we’ve been tested in the heat of battle. All involved have seen the best and the worst of their work-mates and know they can be trusted to keep on keepin’ on when times are tough.

Summary

In summary, some management skills can’t come from reading a book, or taking a class.  However, like most things, the more you’ve read and learned, the easier it is to recognize those times that require finesse rather than a bulldog attitude.  You will find answers to tough questions come a little easier and you won’t have as many of those deer in the headlights, WTF,  moments.

If you are afraid to take that step up in your career, remember, everyone in leadership was an ignorant newbie in their past. (even if some have forgotten.)  When things get tough, remember  your career and personal finance goals help,  but focus primarily on helping others, not yourself.

That’s what makes a great leader.

Reader Questions: What helped you make the step to a leadership position.  On the job training, a mentor, and MBA?  What advice would you give new managers with no experience?

{photo credit: just chaos c.c.}

don’t forget to:

Follow-Twitter-@DrDeanBurke

Like-Facebook

Circle-Google +

Link to me-at Linked In

Friend-Facebook

Don’t miss anything here-RSS

Newsletter, for special people, with my special mini-e-course on personal finance and my special  free e-book, at no extra charge-cause that’s the kinda guy I am! Don’t you want to be special?