One of my mentors once told me – “Your success or failure in life and business – is largely related to the number of difficult conversations you are willing to have“.
Now it took me a while to get this but the more I thought about it – the more it made sense.
How many times have you – as a health business owner – been frustrated, annoyed or upset by the actions of a team member – but NOT SAID ANYTHING – because you did not want to rock the boat.
I know I have been in this position many times.
I have put up with late arriving therapists, others going over time and upsetting the next patient, team members not wearing correct uniform or name badges, others not following procedures – regardless of how much training I did.
Sound familiar?
In hindsight I should have spoken up as soon as I noticed each and every one of these situations – and made the team member aware of what was expected.
However – as we discussed in our last email – if we are short on available labour we often hold out tongues – and put up with this sloppy performance because we are scared we will not be able to replace the repeat offender at all.
However – not being willing to have these difficult conversations ultimately erodes your status as the owner, reduces your level of enjoyment in your role – and does nothing to assist the team member improve their performance.
My suggestion to all health business owners is to speak up as soon as you notice issues that are not in keeping with the level of performance expected.
Point out the late arrival of the therapist and make sure it does not happen again.
Enforce the uniform policy – expect 100% compliance with systems and procedures – and never tolerate therapists keeping other valued clients waiting.
It is only through standing up and speaking out – will your business improve.
Otherwise you are not really a business owner at all.
I know you may be fearful of having these difficult conversations – however the sooner you start – the sooner the team will understand who is in charge.
As another mentor once told me – and this is a ripper – “As a business owner you want to be respected – not necessarily liked“.
How true is that?
I hope this helps.
I welcome your comments.
Best Wishes
Paul Wright