One of the many responsibilities that you take on as a healthcare leader is to motivate your team. If they feel down or do not feel like working or participating in committees, you need to motivate them and help them get back on track. Here is how you can motivate your team to ensure that they stay happy and willing to work.
How to motivate your team
- Treat them with respect
Working in the healthcare industry can be an emotionally, mentally, and physically tiring experience. And if they do not feel respected when working, their motivation can tank. And even though it might seem like a very obvious thing, treating your team members with respect is essential to ensuring their continued productivity.
Keep in mind the small things that could trigger them, and promote an environment where others will treat them with respect as well. Treating employees this way can make them feel wanted and motivated.
- Set scheduled meetings with them
Every organization has yearly performance reviews, and the healthcare industry is no exception. However, these types of meetings need to happen more frequently in order for them to be more valuable. In addition to larger organizational reviews, healthcare leaders and executives should have touch points with those who report to them. This would include physician leaders meeting with the physicians they lead on a regular basis as well as hospital directors and office directors meeting with those that report to them.
The more you have touch points, the easier it is to notice if something is off. If you sense a shift in them, ask if they are ok. These smaller meetings can also help clear out any confusion and keep the lines of communication open.
- Make on-boarding seamless and stress-free with co-creation of agreements
When a new employee or physician starts at your system, organization, or office, this is the most important time to ensure a smooth transition. A coach that I look up, Steve Chandler, has a distinction of establishing agreements so that we can avoid the failed expectation conversation. When agreements are co-created between two people, it avoids having a conversation that involves, “You failed my expectations”.
For example, Jane was a new employee starting at ABC doctor’s office. She was given a handbook that happened to include that the late person cleans the coffee maker. Jane happens to have an anaphylactic coffee bean allergy. When Jane was the late employee and did not clean the coffee maker, there was a conversation the following day between her and her manager. “Jane, you did not clean the coffee maker. You failed my expectation. You are getting a point against you.” This is a failed expectation. The expectation was that Jane would clean the coffee maker.
If this was an agreement conversation at her on-boarding, Jane and her manager could co-create a plan for Jane to find someone to clean the coffee maker for her on her late days.
- Make your beliefs and core values clear. Find out about your team’s values.
Every healthcare organization runs on a mission statement and set of values, which is typically made clear at the time of on-boarding. However, the core values and beliefs you, as a leader, have may be slightly different. For example, you may feel that honesty is one of your core values. It may not be apart of your organization’s set of values, but may be valuable if shared with your team.
You should follow these values as well, and should make them clear to every member of your team. These beliefs will also help members of a team feel like a collective, which can be motivating.
Alternately, it’s important to find out what the values of the members of your team. There are many teamwork activities that can facilitate this.
- Create an egalitarian relationship with the team
One of the most motivating feelings for team members is when they are able to easily voice their concerns or complaints without fear of repercussions. As a healthcare leader you will need to foster an environment where people will be able to speak their mind without having to worry about unnecessary consequences.
They can be their true selves and be authentic with you about how they feel about things. An environment like that can make an employee feel wanted and like their opinions matter. The more regular scheduled touchpoints are, the easier these conversations are.
- Encourage them to take care of themselves
It can be very easy to lose track of time when working in the healthcare industry. Sometimes the shifts are long, and sometimes emergencies can keep members of your team up all night. During these times, it is essential as their team leader that you encourage them to take care of themselves.
