In the past when referring to my paid employees, I would use the common term of ‘staff.’ A practice management ‘guru’ told me to no longer use the word ‘staff’ for my employees. He smiled and told me that ‘staff’ was an infection. He encouraged me to use the term ‘team’ when referring to the people that I work with. His advice was right on. If I use the term ‘team’, I see myself more as a coach. A coach leads others to accomplish a task that everyone agrees upon. That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I want to identify the needs of my patients and then direct my team in a way to meet those needs. Pretty cool concept, I must admit.
This past week was pretty traumatic to say the least. One of my team members went through a very difficult experience. She is hanging in there, but still may have a little way to go with the recovery of her loved one. I was able to go the hospital to be with my team member and deliver a care package that we had put together earlier in the day. As my assistant opened the care package I was so encouraged to see what had been purchased on her behalf. The care items included snacks, bottled water, and even a bottle of lotion. What was so amazing was watching the reaction of my assistant as she pulled items out of the bag. All she could do was smile. I then realized that my team, who had helped me put together the care package, had not just purchased random ‘care package’ type items. My team knew exactly what their grieving colleague would really want during such a difficult time. We had made a ‘personalized’ care package for someone that we loved.
I work with an amazing team. It was great to see all of us come together for the good of a team member that we all really love.