Infographic Work Life

7 tips for managing office politics in private practice

17 September 2024 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

7 tips for managing office politics in private practice:

Unavoidable. In any practice of more than two people, some office politics is inevitable. But it doesn’t have to be toxic.
Be transparent: Talk openly about the value of building connections during onboarding, induction, professional development, and supervision.
Reframe: Highlight the value of networking, negotiation and relationship-building as core competencies for speech pathologists.
Prioritise the team: Set incentives to promote information sharing, communication, and teamwork. Don’t set KPIs that encourage information hoarding, or competition between team members.
Access: Outside supervision, ensure everyone has access to management, and that everyone has the same access to clinical resources and informal support.
Check for biases: Be aware of the extra barriers that some team members face because of their background, gender, race or other factors, and insist on including everyone.
Share stories: Ask team members to share examples of times when they have been helped by others, or leveraged relationships and resources to be effective in their roles.

Source: Wyatt, M. and Doldor, E. (2022). Office Politics Don’t Have to Be Toxic. Harvard Business Review, May 2022.

SLP leaders should tell their employees they appreciate them more often!

16 September 2022 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

In a recent study, almost 30% of employees reported that they had not received any recognition over the last year. Atrocious!

Leaders who tell their employees that they appreciate them are perceived as being better at collaboration and teamwork, accepting feedback, building relationships, and motivating staff.

To improve morale, productivity, performance, client satisfaction, and employee retention, leading Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) – practice owners, managers, and supervisors – should recognise their employees’ contributions properly.

SLP leaders can improve employee recognition in four basic ways:

Content: be specific with praise, and recognise inputs – things like hard work, new ideas, and perseverance – not just outcomes (that are not always within an employee’s control).
Delivery: the line manager/supervisor should deliver recognition regularly, and as soon as practicable after the behaviour or achievement is observed.
Systems: implement simple, automatic cues to reflect on who went above and beyond; then take a few minutes to tell the employee you recognise it. (Don’t wait until you’re not busy.)
Personalisation: some employees love fanfare and acclaim. But about ⅓ of employees loathe public recognition. Notes/cards and sincere thank yous, delivered privately, can work just as well for talented introverts!

Source: Zenger, J. & Folkman, J. (2022). Do You Tell Your Employees You Appreciate Them? HBR Online, September.

For more on supervision, check out our book “How to supervise speech pathologists properly in private practice“.

Difficult professional conversations: tips to help control emotions

23 August 2022 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

Many Speech Language Pathologists in private practice are people pleasers, overworked and under-resourced.

Disagreements about priorities, caseloads, workloads and feedback are inevitable. They can feel threatening and stressful.

When threatened, many of us switch to “fight or flight” mode, making it hard to think rationally and professionally.

We can implement strategies to interrupt this physical response to keep our cool during difficult conversations:

Breathe: Focus on the sensation of air coming in and out of your lungs, or your nostrils. Breath in slowly through your nose for a count of 4 and out for a count of 8 through slightly pursed lips, at least three times.
Anchor: Notice the feeling of your feet on the ground.
Move: If possible, get up and walk around. If this is not possible, do small physical acts like crossing two fingers or slowly touching each finger with your thumb.
Use a mantra: Repeat a phrase to yourself to remind yourself to stay calm, e.g. “Go to neutral”.
Label: Name your emotions and examine them, recognising you are not your thoughts. Put space between your (temporary) emotion and your identity.
Take a break: excuse yourself for a moment to get some water, coffee, or to go to the bathroom. (This can also help give your conversation partner a chance to cool off and reset.)

Source: Gallo, A. (2017). How to Control Your Emotions During a Difficult Conversation. Harvard Business Review, Digital Edition.

For more on supervision of speech pathologists, check out our book “How to supervise speech pathologists properly in private practice“.

This article also appears in a recent issue of Banter Booster, our weekly round up of the best speech pathology ideas and practice tips for busy speech pathologists and speech pathology students.