As workplaces grow in complexity, veterinary managers might struggle to find the best leadership style for their practice. If that statement resonates with you, here’s a look at reality-based leadership, a philosophy of consultant Cy Wakeman and one that many businesses are adopting. Advocates point out how reality-based leadership creates an environment where employees feel empowered and engaged and, therefore, perform at their best. Unsurprisingly, businesses successfully implementing the philosophy can become more efficient and productive. In an industry where burnout is prevalent, empowering veterinary professionals and keeping them engaged can be especially important.
As the name implies, followers of reality-based leadership play a key role in transforming the workplace by making decisions based on facts rather than assumptions or emotions. They learn to look beyond their preconceptions to perceive the situation as it exists in the moment. The veterinary industry has a strong foundation of working professionals who often see their work as a labor of love. As a result, looking past assumptions and emotions can be challenging.
To transform the workplace, they look at themselves first and strive to communicate better and resolve conflicts as seamlessly as possible. They recognize situations where they feel defensive and set them aside for the organization’s greater good. As challenges arise, they confidently meet them and identify inherent opportunities for meaningful change and positive results.
Workplace Drama and Emotional Waste
A crucial component of fact-based leadership involves decreasing — or ideally, eliminating — drama in the workplace. Drama can be defined as any disruptive behaviors or thought patterns that take a workplace away from achieving results instead of moving closer to goal achievement.
Wakeman realized how costly emotional waste was to businesses when she worked with doctors in human medicine. She was introducing medical record technology that could meaningfully streamline a doctor’s daily workload, but the medical professionals resisted. In fact, she said, she encountered organized resistance.
So, Wakeman decided to collect appointment data. She asked patients how much time their doctors spent talking with them or entering data into a keyboard. Someone then suggested that she add a third data column: how much time the doctor spent complaining about the patient or keyboard. The average result: about two hours a day! In other words, for about two hours daily, the medical professionals focused on issues they couldn’t effectively change.
Wakeman repeated her tests with nurses and in other industries. As she collected data, she found that the average daily emotional waste was closer to 2½ hours. That’s per person, per day. Now, multiply it by the number of days in a year (and the number of people at your practice) and the amount of emotional waste is likely massive. Then, place a dollar amount on the wasted time.
The totals shocked Wakeman, but she saw an opportunity. And, when some people tried to blame the phenomenon on the working style of millennials, she refuted the claim by saying the problem was ego-based, not generational.
She also noted how many leadership styles fuel drama. Reality-based leadership, meanwhile, encourages leaders across all tiers to set aside their egos and focus on organizational goals. It also promotes the development of workplace cultures that eliminate the proliferation of gossip, which lies at the heart of a significant amount of drama. Reality-based leadership also supports accountability so that everyone takes ownership of their actions and facilitates problem-solving.
Evolution of the Open-Door Policy
An open-door policy is touted as an outstanding way for managers to engage with employees and understand their perspectives. Many managers implement such a policy with the best intentions, inviting employees to drop by for a minute or two. That brief period, however, often grows into lengthier stays that can deteriorate into employees venting about someone or a situation. Then, at the end of the conversation, the employees often say nothing more is needed; they just wanted a chance to share their feelings.
Calculate the emotional waste by looking at that scenario through the lens of reality-based leadership. Multiply the time spent on the activity (your time and the participating employee’s) and determine whether it brought your practice closer to its goals. Likely not.
Seldom, if ever, do team members use an open-door policy to ask for insights on aligning their behavior to contribute to the business’s success more efficiently and cost-effectively. By embracing reality-based leadership, managers could respond to venting with questions such as “What ideas do you have to resolve this problem?” and “What part are you playing in this situation?” The goal is to shift the focus from emotional complaining to the facts and then work toward a solution.
Implementing Reality-Based Leadership
If you desire reality-based leadership principles at your veterinary practice, select a group of leaders interested in the philosophy and brief them. If the principles still seem like a good fit, share the program with your team, lead by example and consider certification programs.
Accountability and a commitment to work for the practice’s success are critical for all this to take root in your practice. Accountable people who make mistakes are resilient enough to get back on track and own their positive and negative actions. They are open to feedback and remain aware of the good aspects of their contributions. They embrace an attitude of continuous learning in less-than-ideal situations.
As a practice leader, welcome open communication in ways that emphasize accountability by you and others. Your role is to help people eliminate emotional waste and increase your practice’s return on investment in human resources.
No leadership program works perfectly out of the box, so expect to monitor the progress and tweak it as needed.
LEARN MORE
Cy Wakeman’s reality-based leadership philosophy is explained in detail at realitybasedleadership.com. Check out her books at bit.ly/3rXipEF and her YouTube videos at bit.ly/3Flsz53.