I wish I had a dollar for every time clients have told me how much they love patients and delivering clinical care and how much they hate managing sta�. They see managing sta� as a constant hassle, a drain

on their energy, and a burden to them. Seeing their sta� and their practices in this way, it’s no wonder some of them live for the day when they can retire.

I have seen thousands of practices over the past 18 years, and those that attain the highest level of success look at sta� in a di�erent way. These practices face the same challenges as anyone who needs a team to deliver services, but they choose a di�erent, positive context in which to address those challenges. They achieve not only �nancial success but also a sense of ful�llment among all their members óall members, including sta�. By ful�llment, I mean loving going to work every day and seeing a group of people come together to perform at the highest level of teamwork to deliver care and caring to the patient.

What are successful practices doing di�erently? Successful practices understand the value of both management and leadership and the di�erence between them. Management is striving to become more ef�cient and e�ective in the day-to-day activities that each team member performs. It focuses on “how,” not “why.” Leadership is setting

the direction for the practice and establishing the values and standards from which the practice will operate. It is creating the big picture, the context for the practice, the “why.”

While both leadership and management are important, without leadership, the practice won’t attract the right people, and good people won’t stay. Without leadership, the team can’t understand how what they do furthers the practice’s vision. There can be no meaning behind their actions, and thereforeno ful�llment.

Grumbling among the sta� about money often re�ects a lack of leadership rather than an actual compensation shortfall. Money is not what sta� consider most important in their jobs. People want to have goals, work toward them, and meet them. That brings job ful�llment.

Without leadership, without a practice goal to collectively strive for, all that energy and desire to meet challenges turns inward. People start grousing about current conditions in the practice. They mean well, but without that outward focus, the practice becomes more about problems than about solutions.

After all these years of coaching clients and leading my own team, I am very clear that nothing we can say as leaders can create sustained motivation in our teams. Leaders can only create an environment

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where self-motivated people can come to be inspired and to grow, individually and collectively.

So, how can you create this environment?

Have a vision that contains a higher purpose.

By “higher purpose” I mean something you are genuinely passionate about that de�nes why your practice exists. A higher purpose could be religious, but it could also be things like making a di�erence in the lives of your patients and team or setting the standard for clinical care in your community.

Value your team and see each member as a critical resource.

Your team wants to feel valued and appreciated for the signi�cant and unique contributions they each can make to your vision. They don’t want you to think of them as pieces of equipmentójust more overhead expenses.

Constantly stretch yourself and your team to grow personally and professionally.

We all feel best about ourselves when we are growing and improving. We want to contribute at the highest level, and we all need attainable challenges.

There are very few of us who don’t rely on teams. A sta�, and the challenges that come with it, is a given. However, creating context for our teams is

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not a given, and it is one of the biggest levers in achieving the success we all want. Best of all, it is totally within our control.

I encourage you to reexamine the context you have created for your practice. Can it be nourished and improved? Can your team become more aligned with your vision and more accountable to achieve the results to which you all aspire? True leadership takes more energy, more focus, more persistence, and more trust, but the payo� in both personal ful�llment and economic return is worth it.

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