EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
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77 OPHTHALMOLOGY BUSINESS digital.ophthalmologybusiness.org June 2017 By helping your management team improve as individuals, your practice will be on the path to achieving more, too. EW Move from peer to supervisor with strength Most mid-level managers move up through the ranks. Changing from peer to boss is not easy. Newer managers need support in the area. Provide this assistance when a new mid-level manager is first elevated, not months later when role conflicts are starting to break down a depart- ment's function. Turn management skills into leadership skills Prepare each manager's career devel- opment plan. This should include specific goals and timelines. Update it annually. Make an ongoing effort to boost the management skills of most value to your practice. Build alignment here with the practice goals. Individualize the plan to each manager's career stage. It takes tremendous self-disci- pline to coach yourself, let alone others. But we all do more and bet- ter with the influence of someone else pushing us to the next level. Be action-oriented; follow through and be accountable There is a difference between "being busy" and taking effective, appropri- ate action. Be sure your middle man- ager knows the difference and hold him or her accountable for taking action that advances the interests of your practice. Express this expecta- tion and follow up consistently and your managers will grow. Customer service focus Medical practices, like other kinds of businesses, are being held to higher standards. Your customer service reputation is derived mainly from your front-line staff. Be sure the managers are setting high standards and leading by example. Understand the need for forgiveness Don't hold grudges. Staff will make errors. Correct and move on. Manag- ers must keep the practice moving forward. Encourage learning from mistakes made and stay focused on repetitive errors. Spend time on the right things, as prioritized by practice goals and strategic plan This is another challenging skill for new managers. Over a career, we learn how to prioritize and not let the smaller, easier projects jump in front. We also learn to balance com- peting tasks, which is especially hard to do when others are pressuring you. Spend time with your mid-level manager reviewing prioritization and how to determine how long each project will likely take. Written operational guidelines for each department Every department needs an oper- ations manual memorializing the "one, agreed, best" way to do every- thing. It forces service consistency, reduces errors and costs, formalizes employee training, and advances quality improvement. Make this a priority for each department man- ager. Ms. Wohl is president of C. Wohl & Associates Inc., a practice management consulting firm. She earned her Masters of Health Services Administration degree at George Wash- ington University and has 30 years of hospital and physician practice management expertise. She can be contacted at czwohl@gmail.com or 609-410-2932. Mr. Pinto is president of J. Pinto & Associates Inc., an ophthalmic practice management consulting firm established in 1979, with offices in San Diego. His latest ASCRS•ASOA book, Simple: The Inner Game of Ophthalmic Practice Success, is available at www.asoa.org. He can be contacted at pintoinc@aol.com or 619-223-2233. About the authors