What does coaching mean in the context of your veterinary practice?
Welcome to our new three-part series on coaching in veterinary practice!
Let us guide you into the realms of coaching and mentoring to transform not just your leadership approach, but the entire dynamic of your veterinary team. We’ll provide you with a playbook for coaching and show you how to unlock the untapped potential of your team members.
In this Part 1, we’re defining coaching in the context of veterinary practice – where questions reign supreme, and wisdom is stirred through thoughtful dialogue.
Beyond the Side Lines
When you think of a coach, what do you see?
Most often, our minds transport us to the side lines of a sports game. We conjure up the coach who is passionately directing their players, making strategic adjustments, and yelling advice over the noise of the game.
This concept of a coach may apply to sports games, but in the veterinary workplace, coaching demands a different approach.
Asking vs Telling
In veterinary practice, coaching isn’t your standard playbook – it’s an art, an exploration of the untapped potential of your team members through asking thought-provoking questions that spark reflection and encourage deep thinking.
Unlike mentoring, which requires the mentor to hold all the answers, coaching is a catalyst for team members to tap into their own brilliance.
Coaching is a process that encourages team members to find their own solutions to foster limitless growth.
Putting it into Practice
Typically, in veterinary practice, coaching takes a backseat to mentoring.
Mentoring plays an important role in our profession, especially in developing the clinical competencies of junior team members. Mentoring relies on subject matter expertise and is necessary when we’re focused on technical training.
However, coaching in the non-technical context is fundamental to empowering team members to formulate their own ideas, rather than just follow instructions.
Coaching encourages your team members to think for themselves, instilling a sense of agency and ownership.
It’s about creating an environment where team members can reflect, generate ideas, and most importantly, grow.
Five Reasons to Embrace Coaching
1. Independence: Coaching enables team members to think independently.
2. Agency: Coaching gives them a greater sense of control over their tasks and decisions in practice.
3. Motivation: Intrinsic motivation soars when team members feel empowered to improve and take ownership.
4. Bigger Picture: Managers and team leaders can step back from micro-managing, instead focusing on strategic goals.
5. Unexpected Insights: Team members may possess unique ideas or perspectives, contributing to team success.
As we’ll discover in this series, coaching is more than a task; it’s a mindset that enables growth, independence, and inspiration in your veterinary team.
In Part 2, we’ll unveil a tried-and-true coaching method that will revolutionise your leadership approach.
