The Articulate Dentist - A Blog by the Metro Denver Dental Society

Be A Leader: The Five Components to Results Management

By: Dean Savoca, M.Ed., BCC, CSP

It’s no secret that in this new decade, professionals in the healthcare industry will continue to feel the pressure to perform – to do more with less. Attrition, finding qualified employees, training costs, and constant regulation changes are just some of the factors that can create a swirl of stress. In this cloud of uncertainty, leaders need to provide clarity, direction, and systems to improve staff performance. Here are five components to results management to get you thinking about creating the system you need to maximize your team’s efforts.

Clarify Expectations
Set clear written expectations for employees’ job responsibilities. Review expectations with them and encourage questions to reinforce understanding. Seek mutual agreement on what is expected. This clarity assures there will be no surprises when feedback is given. If the employee is not achieving the desired results, the focus can quickly shift to strategies to overcome  barriers to their performance.

Provide Resources
When hiring, use an assessment tool or interview questions to identify the strengths and skill sets of the potential employee to  ensure alignment with the position responsibilities. Employees will perform at their best when their job responsibilities are aligned with their strengths. Give them the resources they need to be successful. Resources may include training, supplies, support staff and budget. Ask: “What do you need from me to be successful?” Providing resources demonstrates you are invested in their success. Create a positive experience for employees and they will provide a positive experience for customers.

Connect to Significance
Everyone wants to feel significant. Employees need to know their contributions make a difference. Share how their job results  are important to the success of the company and their co-workers. Nurture a team spirit. Demonstrate what you expect. As one of the 15 new employees completing training for a St. Louis-based performance improvement company, I was impressed when the CEO greeted us each by name and knew personal information about each of us. He demonstrated how he wanted us to relate with our clients. He told us what he expected and how important we were as the front-line employees. People feel significant when a manager gets to know them personally and understands what motivates them to perform at their best. This will differ depending on the individual and may include money, opportunity to learn and grow, flexible schedule, promotion or recognition. Spending time to learn about employees also earns employee respect and trust which is directly tied to performance
results.

Build Respect and Trust
Respect is a two-way street that has trust as the on and off ramps. Earn respect by promising and producing. A recent study by staffing agency Robert Half found that 49% of professionals surveyed have quit a job because of a bad boss. Nearly half. Now more than ever, it’s important to be your employees’ leader vs. just being their boss. We all can cite examples of how time and  energy are affected when people do not trust their manager. For one thing, performance suffers. One way to demonstrate respect is to include staff in the decision-making process to get their feedback on things that will affect them. Inclusion gains buy-in.

Provide Feedback and Accountability
Measuring and improving performance is an ongoing process that cannot be handled in an annual performance review.  Feedback sessions includes celebrating successes, measuring progress towards agreed upon expectations, giving incentives and recognition, re-clarifying expectations and determining what else is needed for success plus reconnecting employees to their motivators and the importance of their job. Many companies have feedback cards or online surveys for customers to complete, and staff meetings to obtain feedback to improve service — it works the same with individual employees. Ongoing performance feedback drives performance results. The majority of the time when employees are not performing, it is due to a lack of agreed upon expectations, not having a big enough purpose to be successful, or lack of ongoing support and feedback about their performance. Avoid these performance blocks.

Be a leader by applying these five components of results management and watch your employees’ performance soar.

Dean Savoca, is the performance development partner for leaders who want highly-effective teams that are focused, aligned and inspired. Simply put, Dean helps leaders coach their people. A 25-year veteran of the meetings and events industry, Dean combines an early career in hospitality sales and operations with a Master’s Degree in Organizational Performance and Change, and has spent the last 15 years speaking, training and coaching on leadership and development. He helps people identify the core issues they face daily that impact performance development, people management and team alignment – and rallies them to action, often right there in the room. The result is a better bottom line – boosted by improved performance, higher productivity, and more cohesive teamwork. Dean is a board-certified coach and has conducted more than 10,000 executive coaching sessions. He is also a Certified Speaking Professional™, conferred by the National Speakers Association, and actively involved in several industry associations.


The Articulate Dentist is a blog by the Metro Denver Dental Society, providing members with insight into the dental industry, practice management tips, tech trends and best practices as well as Society news and updates.

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