LAB OWNERS’ PERSPECTIVE: 3 SIMPLE TIPS TO KEEP YOUR TEAM POSITIVE AND MOTIVATED Leave a comment
With the doom and gloom of the British media quoting recessions, energy rises, and the cost of living crisis, it can be a challenge to stay positive. However, as the lab owner and leader of your team, it’s vital that you do exactly that.
Your employees are without a doubt your greatest asset and being the lab owner, it is entirely up to you to set the tone and mood of your lab, even more so in these challenging times. Our industry has an enormous number of positive aspects to focus on, but sometimes the media does us little or no favours and those positives can get lost. In this article, I’m sharing three simple tips I use that I feel are key to keeping your team focused, positive, and motivated.
1 . SHARE YOUR VISION
What does 2023 hold for your company and your team? What are your targets and how do you feel you can tackle these challenging times ahead? In my team we always do an end of year summary, being reflective whilst also doing all we can to keep the message positive. In the new year, a vision meeting is key and that’s my chance to ‘paint the picture’ of where my lab is going. A clear explanation of that vision is needed, complimented with a road map of how you are intending to achieve that vision. Simply saying “we are going to grow sales this year by 10%” is worthless if no one has a clue of how you or they can do that. “By using social media and a targeted email and promotion campaign” at least gives your team some idea as to how the sales will be generated. Vision meetings show a positive outlook and are filled with solutions, not problems. Your team know costs are up, energy is up, and a recession looms, so focusing on how you intend to battle this as a lab owner has vastly more value.
2. EMPOWER YOUR TEAM
Trusting and empowering your people is one of the most proven and solid ways to build a motivated team. As technicians, we can sometimes be controlling. At the end of the day, if the work isn’t right, it’s the lab owner that gets it in the neck but that isn’t a good reason to not entrust your team. I knew a lab owner many years ago, who insisted they did the final tweak, almost like a final quality stamp. That person shredded through employees who felt demotivated because they were not trusted to finish jobs. As a lab owner, you can advise on changes to work but it’s really important to let your team have the final sign off. Giving your team the opportunity to finish as they intended will help to them to grow in confidence. This empowerment in your team pays dividends and allows your team to not only develop but feel more than just an employee but a key part of the team.
3. NO BLAME CULTURE
A no blame culture is takes work and commitment, especially when someone makes a major mistake, but it’s probably the most valuable tool you can use as a leader. A no blame culture is simply accepting people make mistakes and using those mistakes as learning opportunities to improve. Dropping a full arch for a client whose high profile patient is due in tomorrow is a mistake no one wants to make, but it happens. Imagine you are the employee that has just smashed (by pure accident) a £5k bridge? You would be mortified but the fear of telling the boss and getting a shouting at would make most of us feel physically sick. Being understanding and open to the fact that humans make mistakes is remarkably cathartic, and reduces stress for both lab owners and employees. If I call a client and they scream at me, then maybe look back at my article “When is it right to fire a client?”, because mistakes simply happen. At our lab we avoid blame and when mistakes happen, we do all we can to learn from them. No shouting, no put downs, and certainly not in front of others. If my team make a mistake, they never feel like they need to cover it up or hide it as there is no fear of reprisal. The openness ensures mistakes are picked up fast and often fixed, rather than hidden or bodged over, as well my team feel trusted and not living in fear of a mistake.
It’s never easy being the lab owner but small changes to culture, vision, and trust can really lift both the team and yourself as a lab owner, and help the lab as a whole in these challenging times.
