Ughhhhhh, that nasty “A” word that gets me into trouble and if I had to guess has gotten you into trouble as well.

And that ‘A-word’ that I’m talking about is assuming… ASSUMING that because you’ve explained to your team members how you want something done that it will actually be done that way. Like a process that you want implemented…. Maybe it’s a consultation style, or explaining a membership or treatment. You assume that because you have explained it to them once, or even explained it to them 10 times, that they are doing it the way that you have told them. And, time and time again, I am reminded not only as I see it from a 30,000 foot view with my clients, but even in my own team. Unless it is documented and specifically outlined THEN delivered in a way that it meets multiple learning styles it is not going to be done consistently the way that you want it to get done. 

So, with that being said, let’s not assume that because we have explained it to our team or verbally told our team, or even did a training once with our team, that they are going to do it the way that we had asked them to do it. Guys, we have to have it documented. We have to have it clearly outlined. And on my team, I can’t even count how many different SOP’s (standard operating procedures) we have. And that is the only way that you can ensure that it’s going to be done the way that you would do it.

So before you go pointing the finger at your team, I first challenge you to ask yourself as a leader. ‘How do you put your team in the position to succeed?’ And the way that you do that is that you have clearly outlined the rules and responsibilities of each team member, everything that you ask them to do, you have an SOP or standard operating procedures, you have checks and balances in place to make sure that they are following those guidelines. You can have daily huddles with one-on-ones weekly, you set benchmarks or KPIs, key performance indicators, in goals during your one-on-one, then review those to make sure that they’re meeting their roles and responsibilities and milestones that you put in place. 

You also have goals, KPIs, numbers…. don’t be afraid to show and share your numbers, right? Because when you’re paying attention to those things, all of a sudden that’s when people are really going to be paying attention. And when you offer that consistent feedback loop when they’re doing something they’re held accountable, they might have questions about it or suggestions. That’s where that consistent feedback loop is really going to come in handy. And that really is the only way that you can remove yourself from the business so that you can get out of that day to day, right? Whether that’s for you to work on more of building your business, then working with patients directly, or maybe take a little time off! 

Oftentimes when I go to onsite visits, I will have a business owner tell me verbalize the patient journey, explain what it’s like in the consultation room or their sales ladder with their different memberships, what they envisioned, what they quote unquote trained their team to do. And then when I come in as a secret shopper, it’s often very different. 

And guys, I hate to say this, but nine times out of 10, what the business owner thinks is happening or wants to happen is wildly different from what is actually taking place in that business. And at the end of the day, you first, as the leader, have to have things in place, clearly written documentation, regular meetings, regular benchmarks, and that constant feedback loop to be able to perform that at a high level consistently. And so that is my challenge to you. So don’t get in trouble with the A-word. And I still, even with all my SOPs that I have with my team, I still find myself in that position at times. But guess what? The difference is that when I see that take place, my team we’re off to the races, building the next SOP, building a benchmark, setting KPIs, integrating it into our daily huddles, our monthly and quarterly reviews so that we’re making sure that things are not slipping through the cracks. And, if that’s something that you would love to learn a little bit more about and baby step into implementing that, please make sure that you reach out to your account manager and myself, and we would love to help you with that.

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