Grey Haired Guidance
Ever since John asked me to provide an article for the Double Deucer, I have struggled to figure what to write. For over a month, I could not come up with a clear message to communicate. That all changed on April 1, 2021 with the post on Facebook by LTC Armstrong on the reenlistment of 4 Soldiers in the Battalion.
The post made me think about leadership, the development of committed, competent staff, and the retention of good employees as an administrator of ophthalmic medical practices for over 30 years. The role the Army and Total Quality Management in developing my leadership style.
I will start with an article that I wrote when asked about my role as a leader in an ophthalmology practice.
Ophthalmic Staff Report
November 1988
Courtesy, Care, Concern
These are terms that ophthalmic staff member hear repeatedly when the discussion turns to internal marketing techniques. We are advised how to put our best foot forward, how to “kill the patient with kindness,” and how to proved the highest quality of care. We are told how one negative experience in the office can negate all the positive care that has been provided for the patient. We are constantly reminded of the importance of internal marketing, and what should be done to maintain a high satisfaction rate with the patients.
In trying to reach these objectives, administrators sometimes fails to provide that same courtesy, care, and concern to employees. How can we expect our employees to be friendly, helpful, cooperative, and interested in the patients, if we do not show that same attitude towards them? Looking out for the welfare of employees is critical. This not only includes the provisions of a good benefits package, but also a pleasant work environment where the stress and pressures of the day-to-day activities are kept to a minimum.
Administrators’ need to:
Praise employees for a job well done.
Be sensitive to employees’ needs, wants, and desires. Employees who feel good about themselves and their life will generally do better work. A good administrator communicates frequently with employees, lending support when things are going bad and offering congratulations when things are going well.
Stay calm in the midst of crises and problems. Be the one to calmly analyze the situation, and then take appropriate action. In that way, the administrator will be stabling influence that the employees can emulate, thereby lessening the anxiety, stress, and pressure under everyday strain.
Know what is going on within the corporation in particular and in healthcare in general, and keep staff continually informed. Such information will ensure a thoughtful approach to corporate dictates and staff understanding of requested changes.
Maintain an open-door policy that fosters two-way communications. Such a policy will encourage staff to bring problems or potential problems to the administrator, without fear of retribution. It will also encourage staff to take the imitative and reevaluate what they do in an effort to improve their work habits.
Use of the aforementioned leadership will foster an environment where employees are happy and productive. By treating all employees fairly, equitably, and compassionately, administrators can help ensure that employees will, in turn, be interested in and responsive to patients.
In 1991, I received training on Total Quality Management [TQM]. This training gave me the language, terms, and tools, that were missing, to apply management and leadership skills in all of the different processes within the practice. How to develop the competent and committed staff to achieve the goals of the organization.
The Key Principles :
Methods:
Management by facts and data.
Process focus.
Reliable methods.
Continuous improvement .
Culture
Respect for the individual.
Team work.
Shared communications.
Learning organization.
Although Methods is listed first, if you do not build and grow the proper culture, you will not be able to achieve any of the objectives of the organization.
Total Quality Management was the process that brought all of my thoughts on leadership and management under one title. It gave me a common thread to bring it together, and in the ophthalmology practice, “Total Patient Satisfaction;”
As a young child, my parents instilled in me a set of values, respect for authority, loyalty, and responsibility. However, there was no process for me to develop any leadership skills. From my earliest memory and until I was drafted into the Army, I was a follower. I watch different individuals in high school that were placed in a leadership position, some were leaders and other were not. I did not know why at that time, but later, looking back, they had some of the leadership tools, but lacked some of the principles or core values.
After I completed my basic and advanced training in the Army, I was selected to attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Ft. Benning, GA. It was during the six months of training that I receive my first formal training as a leader and I began the transformation from being a follower to being a leader.
The objective of the training at OCS was to prepare us to be Platoon Leaders in Vietnam. The training provided the basic education and training on the equipment and tactics and the book on leadership. They provided examples of leadership by setting the example and that our objective was to complete the mission.
After OCS, the First Sergeant of the Company [Ernest Murray]I was assigned to gave me some advice before I departed for Vietnam. He said, “Lieutenant, you want the men to follow you because they want to, not because you gave them an order. When you are making that charge towards the enemy, you do not want to look back and see you are by yourself.”
How, as a leader, do you get the men behind you when you look back?
One of the advantages of being in the military is the exposure to different styles of leadership and seeing the results of the different styles. The range from the autocratic, (take no prisoners) to the leader that gives the order and leaves to everything in between. I look back and remember the three role models that I had and their leadership style.
During my first tour in Vietnam, three individuals became my role models for leadership. The first was my second Battalion Commander, [Awbrey Norris] the next, one of my Company Commanders, [James Bristol] and the other was one of the Company Commanders [Bill Allison] of one of the other Companies in the Battalion. Each had a strong sense of responsibility, respect, loyalty, and integrity, to complement their strong technical skills, and each have the respect of all that served under them, and would follow each of them to accomplish the mission. They showed tremendous concern for the welfare of the men that serve under them and they were excellent at communicating the mission to all.
Their style was one of being calm under fire, provided the example to the men; encourage the men under them to move to the next higher level. They encouraged us to work together as a unit, using the resources that were available to us. They were there with us, supporting us. They would delegate, but be there to provide guidance and direction if needed. However, if required, they could give us hell. They each enable the individual to develop.
Many years later, I made a presentation on leadership at the annual meeting of the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators. In preparing for the presentation, I realized how my experiences in the Army shaped my management and leadership style and served me well in my years as an administrator. I described the Army as the basic building block and TQM the fine tuning the skills.
Key points:
Must ethical and honest in all of my dealing with individuals. Be professional.
Respect for the individual. I have a deep concern for the individual, to see that the individual develops to the highest level possible.
Understand my success is based on my ability to gain the respect of the staff to follow my guidance. I have to develop the trust and confidence of the staff.
Know my staff, their needs, wants, emotions and what motivates them. Look out for their welfare.
Two-way communications, be willing to listen.
Stay calm in every situation. I have a saying, “if the ship is sinking, I want to be the one that is helping everyone get off, and the way to do that is not running around yelling abandon ship.”
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for my actions.
Make decision based on facts and data using the planning tools that are available, and in a timely manner.
Understand what I know, and what I do not know.
Walk the talk. Be the role model, have my actions back up my words.
The most valuable asset of the practice is the people.
The skills you develop in the Army will give you an advantage in the civilian work force and ability to succeed in any environment.
E. Q. Skip Fahel
3rd Platoon, B/2-22 Vietnam
Past President Vietnam Triple Deuce Association
Editor, 22nd Infantry Regiment Society Newsletter
Past President, American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators
