When you reach a certain level of experience, you’ll have a pretty good idea of which aspects of being a vet you enjoy most, and which you’d rather not have to do extensively. But that doesn’t mean you want to do the same thing for the rest of your career. At some point most people look to broaden their horizons, take on more responsibility and look for opportunities where their input can make a valuable difference in a business.
Moving up into a leadership role in veterinary practice doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go the commercial route, working for a large corporation. It also doesn’t mean that you need to open your own practice. There are many great opportunities open for senior vets to take on leadership roles within a smaller private practice and enjoy the benefit of building into something without being burdened by ownership responsibilities. In fact, it’s usually these ownership responsibilities that open up opportunities for senior vets to step up into a leadership role.
In our last article we looking at what opportunities exist for senior vets, in this article we’re going to look at leadership skills needed that’ll make moving up much easier.
1 – Empathy
As a vet you probably find it very easy to be empathetic to your patients, but what about your junior co-workers and industry colleagues? Empathy is one of the most valuable yet under-rated leadership skills. Leaders often think they need to be strong or stern, but the reality is that if you want to get the best out of people, empathy will win them over more than anything else. People want to feel valued and understood and when a leader is empathetic it earns the respect of their team members.
2 – Organisational skills
Many of the senior roles available involve being a support to the practice owner. Good organisational skills facilitates good management. Designing and putting systems in place, makes a veterinary practice more efficient and is a valuable skill to have. Good structure means that there are fewer grey areas, employees can operate with greater clarity knowing what is expected and what is not acceptable. People can get on with their jobs without having to wonder if they’re doing it the right way or having to figure things out for themselves.
3 – Digital Communications
Social media is an important tool to connecting with and communicating with clients. Many senior roles involve marketing and client relationship building and being digitally savvy is a plus. It’s not just about knowing how to create a Facebook post, for example. There are proven strategies for building audiences and developing client engagement. Learning more about these practices can help in making marketing efforts more effective if that is a role you’re going to take on.
4 – Coaching
As a senior vet, you’ll have gained a wealth of expertise in your career to date. Sharing that expertise through mentoring junior vets can be hugely rewarding. These is also an added benefit to the practice in that through developing junior employees, they are far more likely to stay in the practice if they feel there is opportunities for growth and learning. Mentoring can involve specialising in surgery or a specific field of clinical practice. Basically you can choose according to what you’re most passionate about.
5 – Writing / Presenting
Another avenue of opportunity is creating client information materials. This could be brochures on health plans or routine vaccinations. The practice may have a blog and you could write articles on special cases or success stories, or even clinical breakthroughs that are making an impact on the industry. There may also be the opportunity to give presentations at client information evenings in which case developing confidence as a public speaker will be a valuable skill to have.
6 – Business administration
While many people hate admin, there are those that are just naturally organised and skilled at it. If this is you, you could be a great asset as a senior vet in a practice and help take some the load off the practice owners. Administration includes overseeing ordering and managing supplies as well as managing staff. It requires being detail oriented and skilled at working on administration systems.
If you’re considering that one of the above leadership roles may suit your style, it is worth focusing on which come easily to you and which may need improvement.
Take our Leadership Quiz today, to uncover your leadership potential and leadership style.
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