Growing Supervisors to Leaders

VHMA Manager to Manager

Today’s guest says it best when she shares, “The best leaders are those who create and cultivate other leaders.” As managers, it’s our responsibility to train and develop supervisors and team leads. Brenda Medina joins the podcast today with a lot of great tips on how to do this.

Brenda Medina is a CVPM currently working as Director of Practice Success at Encore Pet Group. While others hunkered down during the pandemic, she hosted a web conference focused on management and self-care. Brenda has always been a cutting edge thinker. Her ideas for practice success are innovative and part of practice success is making sure that those in supervisor positions are supported.

Show Notes:

[2:53] - We need to consider both hard and soft skills of team members and what soft skills may need improvement in order to move someone into a supervisor role.

[3:57] - It is important to create very clear job descriptions and post them internally to give people a shot at stepping up to an interview.

[5:51] - You might have someone in mind for a position, but other employees may step up to interview and surprise you.

[7:29] - This also cultivates respect and eliminates the idea of favoritism.

[8:58] - Provide struggling employees with training and support to grow, but we also we need to give them permission to realize that the role may not suit them and they need to step down.

[11:50] - This can be viewed as a demotion, but sometimes a great person was placed in a role without the skills and strengths needed.

[13:43] - Support for supervisors begins right away during onboarding for the role.

[15:11] - Brenda has three book recommendations for individuals stepping into a supervisor role for the first time.

[17:17] - It’s not about having more power and responsibility. It’s about cultivating and harnessing the skills of the people on the team to deliver for patient care.

[20:35] - Brenda has one-on-one short meetings with supervisors and team leads on a weekly basis. This is time to focus on their growth path instead of the team grievances.

[23:57] - Brenda shares how she outlines these short meetings so they don’t take too long every week.

[26:24] - End one-on-ones with, “What can I do to help you more?” The consistency of asking this question leads to the trust of supervisors seeking collaboration.

[27:44] - The best leaders are those who create and cultivate other leaders.

Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.

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