Home Health & Hospice Week

Reinforce your leadership record to keep everyone on-board.

With all the myriad of scary changes happening in the home health and hospice industry, you and your staff may be in for a bumpy ride. But you can keep your team together using certain leadership skills.

Gaining credibility with your staff doesn’t come easily or quickly, but you can earn it over time through a good leadership record. Doing so will help you lead your team through upheavals — and even unpopular decisions. Here’s how to prepare employees for big changes:

1. Show your personal investment. If you show your personal stake in the decision, people will trust that your decision is in the practice’s best interest. When your employees are uncertain about a change, explain to them that the company leadership is just as interested — if not more so — in making sure the company succeeds and stays true to its values, which include maintaining its reputation as an excellent workplace.

2. Support your decision. Don’t expect blind acceptance of your decision, but instead:

o Explain your reasoning;

o Show them how it works; and

o Make your presentation as clear as possible. For more complicated issues, try using demonstrations, visuals or metaphors.

3. Get back to basics. Do the everyday things that your employees expect of you. Show them you are there to serve and lead them. Ask them if there is anything you can do to make things better for them. Once you deliver on that, they will know you are there to make a positive difference.

4. Mark milestones. Use tact to draw attention to successes that have come about through your leadership, but don’t brag.

Instead: Structure the address to make it reflect the team effort. Your contribution won’t go unnoticed to those who voiced opposition.

Remember: Don’t get down on yourself if your workers greet your vision with skepticism. Over time, with proven leadership, that skepticism will give way to trust.