We Want YOU!!!

I’m doing a couple of management lectures at the upcoming CVC in Washington, DC.  I’m picturing the room.  The last time I did a management lecture to a bunch of technicians, there were eight people in the room.   A lively, interested group, but still there were just 8 bodies in one big room with lots of chairs to spare.

Many veterinary technicians don’t believe that their roles and leadership/management mix.  Their role is patient/client care and that’s where their responsibilities end.  Many are thrilled with the border.

But truth be told, licensed veterinary technicians (just like associate veterinarians ) will be asked to lead not just once, but many times during their career and it’s a responsibility they should embrace.

Working collectively under one roof, dovetailing the efforts of say 8-60…in some case 100-200… veterinary-health-care professionals into one collective, successful effort at great patient and client care is extremely challenging.  We fail at delivering the kind of consistent, mistake-free service we hope to provide, not because members of our team our uninterested, but because a lack of organization and leadership have all of us well-intended people at cross purposes and getting in each other’s way.

Leadership is not just telling people what to do and it’s not being the bad guy.  It’s keeping your eye on the goals and moving a group of individuals towards those goals.  The most successful leaders don’t make enemies in the process, but end up making people feel great about their efforts and encourage individuals to learn and stretch.  They give them an opportunity to top their past accomplishments.

Successful leaders have also spent time being self reflective, because accomplishing the above is a tall, tall order.  You can’t do it unless you’ve reviewed your own behavior and idiosyncrasies to discover what aspects of your own personality might be thwarting the group’s efforts.  Successful leaders work as much on themselves as they do on their group’s goals.

Successful leaders can chart progress not just in their practice’s goals, but in their life’s goals as well, because successful leadership skills bleed into one’s personal life.  Finances improve, relationships improve, old habits get trod down, better and new beginnings awake. 

Yes, there are spreadsheets involved.  Unfortunately you may have to bring a calculator and it’s very likely that you’ll have to remember an employment law or two, but if I’m at the head of the class, I promise you a good time.  And if you embark on the journey by yourself, for whatever reason miss this year’s CVC,  then you can always spot Debbie Hill or Brian Conrad or any of the other fine CVPMs out there at another conference who will be able to give you a helping hand with flourish.   I look forward to meeting all of you at the end of the week!

(Can’t attend the CVC?…check out other upcoming lectures by Halow Consulting)

The Social Media Workshop Express

I’m sitting with Brenda Tassava, CVPM and author of Social Media for the Veterinary Professional, having coffee, reflecting on three whirl wind days of education in Social Media.

For those of you that did not attend, this workshop was an intensive learning session. Our speakers, Brenda, Phillip Barnes and Brie Messier, both of North Star VETS gave all students a thorough immersion into the world of Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Blogging.

The BAVMA group listening to Brenda Tassava's Key Note Speech

Aliza Dubois, Phillip Barnes, Brie Messier and Dr. Jen Tsung

Dr Sally Haddock of St. Mark's Veterinary listens in

Each session was part of a partnership with a State’s practice management association.  In New York we coupled with the Big Apple Veterinary Managers Association a group that boast some 60 interested members, though it is still under one year old.  We met at Pace University’s modern Small Business Development Center, next to the quickly rising Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan.  In New Jersey, we were at Northstar VETS, a truly remarkable veterinary facility and winner of the 2012 Veterinary Economic Best Referral/Emergency Practice Award.  Here we collaborated with the New Jersey Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, a group  I started some 4 years ago and which has grown robustly since.  Some 160 practice managers in the State of New Jersey are now associated with this dynamic organization and attend its quarterly state-wide meetings.

Lee Coudrai of Winslow Animal Hospital, Dan McCann of Marne and Lisa Brezecki all the way from Pa and Newtown Veterinary!

Jerry Rouvrais of Middletown Veterinary and Candi Pisano of  Seagirt

Lastly, we dropped by the Ron and Carlos Hodges’ practice, Valley Central Veterinary Referral in Whitehall, Pa.  Anyone who has not had the pleasure of meeting these two gifted and caring veterinarians needs to make a pilgrimage soon.  They both embody sincere, loving care of animals and a great, happy regard for all of their clients.  They, along with their tireless Administrator, Allyson Tolliver, are a paradigm of what all of us strive to be in this profession.

The good folks of Bloomsburg and Whitehaven Veterinary enjoy coffee before the start of the lecture

Charlene Wandzilak and Christine Britton of the PVMA take notes and listen in

The discussion Brenda and I share is about the education we provided, about the success of each round table, about the prospects of doing another class… but mostly it is about the joy we had in learning this material with all of the attendees…the fun they had…the laughs…the total satisfaction of working with each other to figure something out, making friends along the way and turning a day of work, into an extremely fun (albeit exhausting!) productive day of education.

Charlene Wandzilak, executive director of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, was on hand to discuss the new non-dvm membership category of their prestigious organization.  During the lunch break, all of us hung out with Charlene and talked about her ‘sky’s the limit’ vision for the PVMA…no longer just an association of doctors, but of all veterinary team members… doctors, technicians, client care reps, assistants, kennel attendees and groomers… eager to lift the entire profession to higher and higher levels.  Here’s to all of you who pushed us a little closer to Charlene’s vision.  Here’s hoping that you and Halow Consulting can make many more of these great opportunities happen soon.  Thank you NYC, NJ and PA for a great three days!  You’re Tweet…(sorry)