The SPARKLING Practice and How to Achieve It : Synergy is the Key
We just awarded a two-doctor chiropractic office employee the SPARKLE award for outstanding service to patients and team members for 21 years of service.
Why a SPARKLE award? Well, that was the term most frequently used to describe this team member.
The clinic owner said: “She has dedicated almost 21 years (7,440 days!) of her professional (& personal, let’s be honest) life to our practice & the pulse of our family and pediatric practice. Over those years we have walked many of life’s journeys together, and she has formed meaningful connections with our patients. We have shared laughter (SO MUCH laughter!), tears and everything in between. She has changed many lives in her nearly 21 years.”
While she indeed does “sparkle,” so does the entire practice. And the sparkle of this office is a byproduct of its synergy.
I even feature their practice as a positive example in my book, the Goal Driven Business.
The owner, the doctors, and the staff are all committed to the goal of providing the best service possible to each patient. But their goals also include supporting each other.
According to Merriam Webster: ” ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,’ expresses the basic meaning of synergy.“
In his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey refers to synergy as Habit #6.
“Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. It’s a process…”
Much of the Goal Driven Business draws upon Covey’s work as I have seen his concepts help create a business that runs at full capacity smoothly.
His preceding two habits particularly apply:
- Habit 4. Think win-win.
- Habit 5: Seek to understand first, then get understood.
This chiropractic practice has formal communication systems, but they also communicate abundantly informally. And each team member has the goal of helping each other and the patients “win.”
In the end, it all goes back to goals. It always does. The owner keeps the goals, including the mission and core values, at the forefront of the team each week. Further, she sets an example by living these goals professionally and personally.
And as a result, staff are happy, patients are happy, and the office runs at full capacity, profitably and smoothly.
You can generate synergy in your office by improving communication and focus on win-win goals for the patient and for each other.
And make your practice SPARKLE!
Ed
PS. For help in creating a synergistic and sparkling practice, contact us!