You’ve been running your business and expanding your group practice. Things may be going well, but does it feel like you’re spreading yourself thin or stuck with certain problems with your team? It could be that you’re responding to problems with your clinicians more as a therapist than as a leader.
Clinical training mindset –
As a therapist, we are wired to listen, validate, and ‘fix’. This is how we’re taught to behave with our clients. While this isn’t exactly the wrong approach as a leader, if we’re too focused on validating and fixing, we may not be empowering our clinicians to work to solve problems on their own. This causes them to rely heavily on your input, taking your time away from other aspects of running your business.
Conflict avoidance –
As therapists, we value compassion and because of that we often try to prevent conflict by adjusting expectations rather than holding firm. This can be detrimental to your business because instead of holding people accountable to the expectations of the job, they’re able to slide with things that may be impacting your business negatively. It’s hard to confront people about these types of things, but standing firm as a leader and bringing attention to potential problems, you’ll be better able to run your business smoothly.
Fear of losing staff –
With hiring being tough in the mental health field, we feel pressure to retain people at all costs. We know all too well that the burnout level is high and that the amount of therapists going into the field is not quite enough to replace those leaving it at all times. We also know that there is a lot of competition and that therapists have a lot of choices of where they can work. This may make you feel pressured to not bring up problems or to not hold your employees accountable for things.
However, this can allow for a bad workplace culture and atmosphere, allowing a bad work culture to begin will be much more difficult to undo than preventing it from happening in the first place. It’s important to have those standards and keep everyone to them.
Empathy replacing responsibility –
We were trained as mental health clinicians and because we deeply understand the challenges our clinicians face, empathy can replace accountability. Of course, we know what it’s like to have a large caseload and not enough time. We know sometimes the clients can be challenging. And we know that sometimes, it can be difficult to end sessions on time and get notes in when they’re supposed to be done. But think of it this way, just because you understand how hard it can be doesn’t mean you can excuse job responsibilities not being met. It’s the clinician’s job to manage their time in a way that appointments end on time, notes are done properly and submitted on time, and that things run smoothly. The more they don’t adhere to their responsibilities, the harder THEIR jobs will be, not just yours.
By holding them accountable, you’re helping them more in the long run. Being a leader means that you support them and are empathetic but also that you hold them accountable.
High leadership standards –
We want to be the “supportive boss” which can make it hard to step back and accept we have done enough. We don’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, available to our clinicians at all times. Working hours need to be respected not just for them but for yourself. You need time to unplug and wind down, just like they do. It can also be hard to really admit that you have given them all the tools and help you can, but if they’re still struggling it’s time to sit back and let them use those tools or consider if they’re the right fit for your business. We all have different meanings for what being a leader is but that doesn’t mean that we have to hold unreasonable or unrealistic standards for ourselves.
Consider Us
Compassionate Consulting Company has consultants that are prepared to help you at any stage of your business journey-whether you are just starting out, expanding your team, or looking to diversify or develop leadership skills. Here are testimonials from clients that have worked with us. Schedule a free consult so we can learn more about your business goals and share how we can help. Here are the steps of working with a consultant, what to look for in a consultant, and ways a consultant can help you achieve your business goals. We are here to help you avoid these mistakes in order to ensure your practice is impactful, profitable, and sustainable!
