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EW SHOW DAILY 16 ASCRS News Tuesday, April 17, 2018 by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer reasons that employees may leave a practice include poor leadership, micromanagement, little room for growth, and lack of communication, Mr. Stubenbordt said. Doing an exit interview when someone leaves your practice can be an insightful time to see how your practice can help improve employee satisfaction. Another key concept: Have a mission and values for your prac- tice—and make sure employees know what those are. You want em- ployees who are committed to your specific mission and values. Poor communication can push away many employees; something as simple as a quick daily meeting can help address communication concerns, Mr. Stubenbordt said. He shared the example of a practice that O phthalmic practices often want to grow by market- ing their practice, but without effective em- ployees—and enough of them—that leaves practices stuck. Monday morning's ASOA ses- sion "Effective Leadership: How to Inspire, Lead, and Retain Your Em- ployees" focused on how practices can attract and retain the best team members. If you're having trouble retain- ing employees, one initial step is to evaluate what may be going on at your practice that could push them away, said marketing consul- tant Paul Stubenbordt, Dallas. The website GlassDoor.com is used by many to share experiences working at specific organizations; review the site and see what others are say- ing about your practice. Common Think accountability, appreciation to attract and keep employees by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer ing input and ideas from those who work at your practice, Mr. Parsons said. "People support a world they help create. You very rarely hear complaints if they help create the rules," he said. It's not realistic to obtain employee feedback on all possible decisions. Still—"if it will impact them, at least ask for their thoughts," he advised. If a practice is having trouble obtaining quality employees, Mr. Parsons recommended a look at the attitudes of its leaders. "A bad environment starts at the top and filters down," he said. Take time to reevaluate how you or others around you are interpreting things that are happening or that have happened in the past, he advised. You may find there are incorrect perceptions that lead to negative attitudes. "Review facts and interpretations about things that you believe," he advised. Even with situations that seem initially all negative, Mr. Parsons will ask someone, "What's the upside?" It gives that person pause to think about what is possible that may im- prove a situation, he said. EW T hink of a person who you view as an effective leader. Next, write down a few words to describe this per- son. What words did you write down? A study in Harvard Business Review found that effective leader- ship takes knowledge, skill (which is the application of knowledge), and attitude, said Dan Parsons, VP of instruction, Dale Carnegie Training Mid-Atlantic. However, if you classify each of the qualities you wrote down to be attributable to knowledge, skill, or attitude, you'll find that the majority of words usually connect to a person's attitude, Mr. Parsons told attendees at the ASOA Certified Ophthalmic Executive (COE) lunch. In the Harvard study, only 15% of qualities were attributable to a person's knowledge, he explained. These are findings that help both practice leaders and employ- ees as they show the importance of a positive attitude and the choice someone has regarding his or her attitude, Mr. Parsons said. "We are 100% responsible for our attitude," he said. The idea of a better attitude also connects to the idea of looking for commitment from employees versus compliance. An employee who of- fers commitment wants to do his or her job and go beyond the basics to succeed. An employee who falls un- der the compliance category is doing a job because he or she has to do it. Although you typically can't fire a compliant employee—after all, he or she is getting the job done—business leaders should aim for employees that want to offer commitment, he said. One way to increase the amount of commitment you get is by obtain- ASOA COE lunch speaker: Attitude makes a huge difference Mr. Parsons speaks to COE lunch attendees about the importance of a positive attitude. Mr. Stubenbordt shares ways to attract and retain employees. continued on page 18

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