Human resources are the greatest advantage you have in an increasingly competitive market. For your healthcare organization to be successful it is equally as important to staff your team with great team members as it is to optimize your clinical and business processes. As we have built and developed our team with C.A.R.E., we have also identified 8 characteristics that you should be looking for within your existing staff, and when hiring new employees. Inspire these leadership principles in your staff and watch how quickly they help you reach your organizational goals.

No Excuses

“No excuses, no explanations.” – Tony Dungy

There are two kinds of people on every team: the ones who make excuses and the ones who get things done. Typically “excuse makers” already have an explanation in mind before they even begin a task, and entering into a commitment with that mindset gives them an excuse to fail before they even start. Making an excuse is a way to avoid failure, but great teammates (and great leaders) understand that failure is nothing but a learning opportunity unless it is allowed to become more than that. Solution-oriented people eliminate obstacles before they arise by asking questions.

Accountability

“Accountability breeds response-ability.” -Steven R. Covey

Those team members who do not make excuses will often also have a high level of accountability. It is important for the leaders in your organization to hold their staff accountable for their results and to provide frequent feedback about their performance. Accountability is not about scolding people for failing to meet their goals, but rather is about loving them enough to want to help them succeed. Encourage your team to have honest conversations about issues in their work. If it is important enough to be upset about it is important enough to talk about. (Otherwise, forget it!)

Servant Leadership

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell

One of the most important characteristics you can look for in your team members is servant leadership. Leaders should be there to serve their teams, and team members should be there to serve each other. After all, without internal support how can you possibly support a whole network of patients? Servant leadership requires building authentic relationships and giving your staff an opportunity to get to know each other. Only when they are serving each other, and holding each other accountable, will they really be committed to reaching shared goals.

Personal Example

“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” – John Wooden

Leadership that leads with a servant’s heart, and that is engaged, consistent, and genuine, is an example to the entire team of how they can serve others. You cannot expect a team to do more than its leaders are willing to, but it is important to remember that it isn’t just management who are viewed as leaders. Every department has those people who are looked to as an example. When everyone on your team is setting the right example, you can be sure that work ethic, integrity, and personal improvement will follow.

Passion

“Figure out what you are passionate about, enough to outwork everyone else it the world, because 90% of success in life is a direct result of how much effort you are willing to put forth. The trick is you have to be honest with yourself about what you are passionate about.” – Mark Schabel, CEO of RMP

It is unlikely that you will meet too many people who are passionate about collecting money from patients. Expecting your staff to love such a difficult task enough to want to be better than everyone else in the world is unrealistic. However, you can look for people who have identified what they are passionate about, and whose passion is in line with the goals and culture of your organization. That could be helping patients, or working together with their team. The best way to inspire passion in others is to help them honestly identify what they do love about their job and to embrace it.

Attitude

“The only disability in life is a negative attitude.” – Eric Day, Business Development for RMP, Founder of Stay Positive 

Attitude is about how people choose to react to the world around them. Having a positive attitude requires sacrifice and a choice to rise of the circumstances. People who consistently make that choice are far more likely to act positively, and to set a positive example for others. To illustrate the importance of having the right attitude, consider this: only 1/3 of patients have indicated they would leave a practice due to service dissatisfaction to go to a competitor. The other 2/3 indicated they would leave as a result of the attitude or indifference of one employee.

Heart

“We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it.” – Jon Gordon

A heart-centered approach to business relies on the ability to look inward and reflect on goals and passions, and to understand why you are really doing what you are doing. Your team needs to have a firm understanding of why they are on the team; they need to feel valued, respected, listened to, and involved. If they are just there for a paycheck they will never be a great team member. But if they feel that they are valued and understand how they are part of the team they will have a better connection with their counterparts, and their leaders.

Belief

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Great teammates believe in themselves and in the rest of their team. They also need to believe in the mission and vision of your organization. This may be the hardest characteristic to determine, but if you are able to find passionate people who align with the goals of your team, who lead by example, and who have a positive and no-excuses attitude and show heart, then you have also found a person who will believe in themselves, and in you.

Want more tips for building a ridiculously successful team? Download our free team building webinar on demand!

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Written by Ali Bechtel, Digital Marketing Manager for RMP

This information is not intended to be legal advice and may not be used as legal advice.  Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case.  Every effort has been made to assure this information is up-to-date as of the date of publication. It is not intended to be a full and exhaustive explanation of the law in any area, nor should it be used to replace the advice of your own legal counsel.