What is it that you want your practice to look like? What is it that you are trying to achieve?
There are veterinarians out there who are stuck in leadership concepts designed way old for today’s generation. Although they are smart and are fully knowledgeable about Vet Med, they lack training on how to lead a business in this modern world, hence the disappointments that come right after.
Henry Ford used to say, “I’m hiring you for your hands, not your head…”
But if we’ll look at it from a 21st-century perspective, that isn’t something that is still effective.
As much as it’s important to check on yourself, understanding how your employees are doing is also a key to success.
Learn how you can effectively lead the world of Vet Med in the 21st century as we interview Elise Lacher today.
Elise Lacher is a recovering social worker and a Certified Public Accountant who works with veterinarians to help them achieve their personal and professional goals.
In this episode, Elise discusses the power vulnerability has in achieving great heights in your business. Here, she talks about the importance of having the right team in making that shift towards better leadership this time.
What you will learn from this episode:
- Discover how giving the right tasks to the right people in your practice is a huge game-changer in the field
- Understand why checking how your team’s doing is just as important as taking the time to reflect on yourself for how you’ve been working
- Find out how you can effectively lead your team in your practice in line with the trends that are happening in the 21st century
“Be vulnerable with your team.”
– Elise Lacher
Topics Covered:
03:27 – Elise describes her ideal client: A veterinary practice owner who is disappointed with the culture in their practice and their unachieved goal
05:05 – Problem she solves for her clients: Changing the culture, being in alignment with why they wanted to become veterinarians in the first place, learning how to hire the right people
09:30 – The typical symptoms/pain points: High turnover of employees in the practice
12:18 – The mistakes: Trying to do it all on their own, thinking past styles of leadership are still going to work in the 21st century
16:17 – Elise’s Valuable Free Action: “You need to be vulnerable with your team. Share with them what you want to achieve then check in on them very often and regularly to find out what is going on.”
21:58 – Elise’s Valuable Free Resource: Visit the Strategic Veterinary Consulting Inc.’s website or go to Enlightened Rebels to learn more about 21st-century business practices in a vet clinic
22:57 – Q: Does it work? A: “It does impact work in a veterinary practice. The only way it works, however, is if you start doing something.”
Key Takeaways:
“When we’re in a public business, it’s really important that we have some of those soft skills which are really kind of hard skills – the communication, empathy, being able to talk with people, the emotional intelligence that we hear so much about today.” – Elise Lacher
“When you get the right team in helping you with what needs to be done, you really don’t have to be there in the wee hours of the morning, doing the things that you shouldn’t be doing.” – Elise Lacher
“My philosophy in running a business is kind of bordering on what Jim Collins wrote about in his book, Good to Great. You’ve got to get the right people, in the right seats, on the bus, going in the right direction.” – Elise Lacher
“Just because you’ve done them in a previous practice doesn’t mean that you can get it the way we want it done in our practice.” – Elise Lacher
“It does impact work in a veterinary practice. The only way it works, however, is if you start doing something.” – Elise Lacher
People / Resources Mentioned:
- Strategic Veterinary Consulting Inc.: https://strategicveterinaryconsulting.com/
- Enlightened Rebels: http://www.enlightenedrebels.net/
- The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues (J-B Lencioni Series): https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Team-Player-Recognize-Cultivate/dp/1119209595/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
- Breene Brown’s TED Talk (The Power of Vulnerability): https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability
