Leadership with Your Patients - Where Do You Rank?
We are in week 3 of our Practice MBA program, and the students and their clinic directors are doing great.
My focus for the last many years has been on management. Why? Because every practice I have seen or worked with that has had a manager, regardless of how trained or empowered, did better.
And also, because of the research Gallup has done which they published in their book, It's the Manager.
But it is also the leader.
IT'S THE LEADER
The leader, as Gallup explains, gives people:
Trust
Compassion
Stability
Hope
Leadership is a BIG subject. Try to find a book on leadership that has less than 300 pages. I just checked Amazon, and a search for books on leadership came up with 60,000. (No wonder leadership skills are barely known – who can get through all the verbiage!)
With the Goal Driven System, we are changing all that.
We like simplicity. We need results. This is why we developed the Fast Flow CEO system covers on the Practice MBA reveals.
Leadership is vital. A company falters with poor leadership and fails with no or bad leadership.
The reason management is so vital is because management allows the clinic director to be a leader. If you are hit morning, noon, and night with varying administrative tasks, you have no time or presence of mind to be much of a leader.
Managers allow leaders to lead.
LEADING YOUR PATIENTS
The Goal Driven Practice MBA program applies to managers and clinic directors leading the business towards its goals and greater future.
But what about leadership with your patients? Should doctors be leaders to their patients? Should a practice be a leader in health care to its patients and community?
I like simple scales. They are like statistical graphs… they are a picture that tells a story.
Let's have a look at a scale of doctor-patient leadership.
CHIROPRACTIC PATIENT ENGAGEMENT SCALE
The following scale is borrowed from several leadership scales, including Jim Collins and John Maxwell. Let's have a look.
Level | Chiropractic Leadership Level | Description |
5 | Reputation | Patients follow due to the chiropractor and clinic's reputation for exceptional care and holistic health outcomes, leading to a lasting impact on their health and well-being. Doctor and staff are humble, empathetic, and fiercely devoted to improving patient care. |
4 | Correction and Wellness | The chiropractor and team focus on educating patients about their health, empowering them to take charge of their health journey, and fostering long-term relationships. The doctor and staff keep patients inspired by the vision of better health. |
3 | Results | The chiropractor and team consistently deliver effective adjustments and treatments that result in measurable improvements in patient outcomes, demonstrating competence and reliability. |
2 | Acceptance | Patients choose to return based on the trust and rapport established with the chiropractor, feeling valued and respected in their care. |
1 | Status | Patients initially visit due to the chiropractor's location, insurance coverage, referral, status as a health facility, or immediate pain rather than a genuine connection. The doctor and office may have skills but do not create a deep engagement with the patients. |
© Edward Petty 2024 GoalDriven.com |
Of course, this scale is not scientific, but it does mirror what I have seen in the field. You are welcome to make one up of your own, but I think the above 5 levels apply pretty closely in real life.
Whatever scale you use, I recommend that you review it often. You can go over it with your team and reflect on it – get everyone's opinion on where the office ranks. You can also have individual doctors, providers, and departments rank themselves in terms of how well they provide leadership from their role.
You are already leaders. Keep keep improving!
Ed
Downloadable Patient Engagement Scale Chart
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If your practice-building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals, there are reasons -- many of which are hidden from you.
Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my book, The Goal Driven Business.
The Goal Driven Business
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