By Amir Khoshnevis, OD 
Over the years, I’ve learned a very hard lesson: Unless you’re able to effectively lead your staff, especially as it expands, you’re doomed to limit the growth potential of your practice.
I started with three staff members and thought I was a genius for keeping everyone aligned and engaged. Eight years later, I’m having a hard time managing nearly twenty people. Have we grown? Yes. Are we still growing? Yes. But, frankly, we’ve spent so much time “managing” staff that we’ve lost significant momentum, left projects unfinished, and ultimately, kept the practice from truly growing.
Do I blame the staff? Not necessarily. As with most problems, I must first look inside to evaluate my skills as a practice owner before I lay the blame on others. Have I hired and trained properly? Is our staff truly aware of our company culture? Have I built a strong support team for the men and women of my offices?
The answers are probably not as flattering as I would like, and the truth is, nothing is as good as I would ever want it to be. Where do we go from here is the question to ask at this point. The past is the past, and all of those good and bad decisions serve as a guide for our future.
If I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the rate limiting step in the chemical reaction known as business growth is the right staffers, in the right positions, then what can I do to make that process better and more efficient? The catalyst I’m seeking is courage. Business courage is having the ability to meet a difficult problem head-on, with an unwavering belief in the company culture and vision–being okay with the potential of having less people, making less money, and possibly slowing down the pace before you get it right. In order to do it correctly, I must also hone my business acumen and evaluate the practice with an objective eye. To better serve the company and the patients it serves, every person on the team must be evaluated, retrained, or let go. But I have to start with the staff member #1…me.
How do you evaluate which staffers should stay and go? How do you evaluate how you are doing personally as business owner and manager of the practice?
Amir Khoshnevis, OD, founded Carolina Family Eye Care in 2003. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is a member of several optometric associations. He is a presenter at AOA and SECO. Dr. Khoshnevis has a strong interest in specialty contact lenses and has built a medical co-management contact lens practice as well as a clinical investigation site for specialty lenses. To contact him: drk@carolinafamilyeyecare.com.
