Heather Carter
As Partner Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center (PVESC) develops, I have had the opportunity to connect with people who have diverse backgrounds and work experience. The conversations highlight similarities in the industry. These similarities demonstrate the scope of the devastation in the veterinary landscape. The outcome of this devastation is emotionally fatigued individuals who are leaving the industry en masse. Interestingly, the problems detailed in these conversations have evidence-based solutions that can interrupt and reverse the high turnover. In addition, a leadership style can create or resolve these problems.
The creation or resolution of these problems is due to the variety of leaders and leadership styles. These styles are as diverse and nuanced as the teams they lead. It is a frequent and ongoing conversation that the critical piece to team and organizational health within our veterinary hospitals is strong leadership. Despite the identification of this need, a lack of effective leadership is contributing to the increased turnover that is seen in every facet of our industry. The relationship between the leader and their team is suffering. This component is critical in the process of turnover. Research has demonstrated that a lack of trust and a poor mutual relationship between a team member and their leader is a primary cause of turnover[1]. Changing your leadership style has the potential to preserve your team and allows you to identify the motivation and inspiration your hospital needs to retain individuals.
The first step in changing your leadership style is achieving trust with your team. This can be accomplished in three steps, 1) an increase in group cohesion, 2) organizational commitment, and 3) applauding a teams’ goals and endeavors1. Practicing these steps demonstrates the principles of transformational leadership. This form of leadership encompasses behaviors that inspire, engage, and intellectually stimulate followers [2]. Within transformational leadership, four dimensions capture the capacities a leader can connect with their team, 1) charisma, 2) intellectual stimulation, 3) inspirational motivation, and 4) individual consideration [3]. A primary reason you should consider using this leadership style is its advantages in preventing turnover. Current research supports transformational leaders having the ability to discourage their team members in their decision to quit1.
Transformational qualities allow the veterinary leader to generate organizational commitment while enriching job satisfaction among their teams 1. Using this leadership style in the veterinary environment can foment the inspiration or motivation needed for a team to improve their job satisfaction[4]. The transformational leader identifies and focuses on the desires and aspirations of each of their employees while creating an environment that is welcoming for growth and development [5]. The combination of these factors has the ability to regenerate your team and improve a hospital’s culture. This is achieved through a motivated and supported team who have an increase in job satisfaction. Research shows that a team’s job satisfaction is increased when they perceive their leader demonstrating transformation‐oriented behavior. Most importantly, employees with higher job satisfaction are less likely to quit their jobs.
Two important pillars provide the second and third step in this leadership style. The use of these pillars ensures that the motivation and inspiration that is generated by the transformational leader are more than rhetoric. Within the first pillar, the creation of a beneficiary contract provides information to the team about the impact of their work i. A beneficiary contract enables employees to see that their contributions to the vision have meaningful consequences for other people[6]. Moreover, a beneficiary contract shows a team that if they work harder and “perform more effectively, living, breathing human beings will be affected positively” i. This contract can be fulfilled through characteristics of a job that shape the quality of quantity of interactions that a team has with the recipients of their work and services. For example, the leader could introduce a client to the technician who was instrumental in their pet’s care. Or highlight the extent a customer service representative went to obtain a client’s records when they call for an update. The outcome is client interactions that are positive for both parties. In addition, these interactions do not require emotional labor and can reinvigorate job satisfaction.
The second pillar is the creation of prosocial impact. This concept is simply the benefit of helping people. Prosocial impact protects a team against the emotional exhaustion that can be caused by negative or difficult tasks. A difficult task can be defined as a busy shift at work with minimal breaks. The transformational leader can recognize this feat by acknowledging how many lives this person helped, and the impact this help has on the community and the clients. This hard work can be highlight through internal communications, social media, and client updates. With these actions, the transformational leader focuses their team’s attention on how a busy day generated positive outcomes and how their work is respected and admired by leadership.
The daily actions of a transformational leader go beyond basic and transactional relationships to motivate others to achieve more that they thought was possible [7]. The positive change that is seen with this form of leadership is a passionate and cohesive team that operates with mutual trust and respect.
At Partner we recognize the positive impact of strong leadership and designed job descriptions around this skill. Understanding how imperative this quality is in a team, the growth path for individuals exposes individuals to an abundance of hard and soft skills. The outcome is a multi-faceted and resilient team that can navigate any obstacle.
To find out what kind of leader you are, or to get more information on transformational leadership, contact Heather Carter at HCarter@PartnerVESC.com
For more information about Partner Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center please visit www.partnervesc.com
References
[1] Siyal, S., & Peng, X. (2018). Does leadership lessen turnover? The moderated mediation effect of leader–member exchange and perspective taking on public servants. Journal of Public Affairs, 18(4), e1830–n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1830
[2] Leadership Styles. (n.d.). George Mason University
[3] Transformational Leadership (n.d). George Mason University
[4] van Dierendonck, D., Stam, D., Boersma, P., de Windt, N., & Alkema, J. (2014). Same difference? Exploring the differential mechanisms linking servant leadership and transformational leadership to follower outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 544–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.014
[5] Avolio, B. J., Zhu, W., Koh, W., & Bhatia, P. (2004). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: The mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating role of structural distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 951–968.
[6] Grant, A. M. (2012). Leading with meaning: Beneficiary contract, prosocial impact, and the performance effects of transformational leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 458–476. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0588
[7] Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational leadership: Industrial, military, and educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
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