The leadership development of your oncology practice plays a significant role in your business. From the way patients feel to the level of care they receive, your leadership posture will affect their lives and the lives of your staff members. If you think your oncology practice could benefit from refining your leadership posture, there are many upgrades that you can make to enhance your leadership skills and improve patient cancer care.
Leadership Development and Workforce Retention
Recent years have taught everyone a lot about their personal and professional relationships. With a shift in many employees working from home, you’ve seen the curtains pulled back on their personal lives, creating a necessary change in how employees opt to function.
You’ll need to implement innovative solutions to retain more high-quality staff members. A primary solution is implementing a hybrid workstyle for employees to split their time between working in the office and working from home. As your oncology practice implements more inventive solutions that promote a happier workforce, you’ll reap the benefits of retaining more employees than ever before.
Hands-On Oncology Management
One of the biggest mistakes you can make from a leadership position is not being physically present. Employees are looking for management that understands their day-to-day lifestyle. When you’re physically present at the office, it helps to encourage your employees, increases your engagement level, boosts overall morale, and allows your team to feel more confident in your ability to lead.
You never want to shy away from completing the various tasks that need to be done throughout the day. Many new leaders will withdraw from being hands-on with specific tasks because they’re not yet familiar with the overall operations of the practice. Don’t let this deter you. Instead, you’ll want to jump in and be physically present whenever possible. This will allow you to understand more about the practice’s operations and help instill your employees’ confidence within you.
Leadership Development From Getting to Know Your Staff
Another great way to refine your leadership posture is to take the time to get to know each one of your employees. This is one of the most effective strategies to build a strong foundation for a healthy professional relationship with your staff members.
Employers often group their employees into this concept of being the same. The reality is that all of your employees are different in many ways. The way they prefer to communicate, their expectations, and their overall career goals will differ. Simply taking the time to understand what makes each employee tick can allow you to better communicate with them. This can also let you know what leadership roles they’re going to be best suited for going into the future.
Innovative Solutions For Quick Wins
When you’re in a leadership role, it’s easy to get drawn into the more significant projects and forget about all the little things that need to be done. Your job is to ensure that you have a successful oncology practice and that all of your employees enjoy their professional lives. Many times, improving the professional situation of your employees can be done with small wins.
For example, let’s say that you have an outdated printer that constantly gets jammed. While you might not give a lot of notice to it because you don’t use it as often, your employees do. It can be highly frustrating for them to sit and deal with it every day. You can gain more staff loyalty by simply investing in a new printer that will help to make their day-to-day lives smoother. You don’t always need to go for the big wins. Instead, you should always think about the little things that can help make a significant difference for your employees.
Feedback For Professional Oncology Management
A necessary part of your leadership development will be to receive constant feedback. There needs to be an open communication stream between you and your employees. Unfortunately, if your leadership structure does not actively ask for constructive feedback, you’re not going to get it.
One of the areas of leadership that you’ll have to work on is asking for this constructive feedback regarding different situations. Specifically, take the time to address your staff members. Allow them to raise their concerns and always be willing to receive that constructive feedback openly. When employees feel like they can come to you with worries without any repercussions, they will be more likely to offer their feedback.
You’ll need to concern yourself with many leadership areas to have a successful oncology practice. By taking the time to listen to your employees, foster a more current relationship, and aim for the quick wins alongside the big ones, you’ll be able to create a great workplace. Always remember that your leadership structure will play a significant role in how your practice operates and the level of care that your patients ultimately receive.
About Verdi Oncology
Verdi Oncology is an oncology practice management company focused on expanding access to care and improving patient outcomes. We work with practices, physicians, hospitals, and value-based contracting entities to create the future of cancer care. Contact us to learn more about joining the Verdi network.