QUARTERLY BEAT / JULY 2024
During the pandemic directive leadership styles, such as ‘coercive’ and ‘pacesetting’, were detrimental to the workplace culture. 3 In hospitals where leadership used these styles, employees felt less emotionally safe. This factor, in combination with the stresses of managing overwhelming caseloads, understaffing, and uncertainty drove many talented professionals to abandon the veterinary field. In general, businesses whose leadership embraced the ‘affiliative’, ‘democratic’, and ‘coaching’ leadership styles were able to focus on creating new ways of doing business that energized and engaged their teams. These actions empowered employees and gave them a sense of control, which was missing during the pandemic. 4 The aftermath of the pandemic has seen increased turnover in veterinary hospitals and increasing dissatisfaction in the workforce. While salaries and benefits have substantially increased, discontent continues as employees seek more meaningful work. Brave leadership for the present requires a blend of the following styles: · Authoritative, where employees have the autonomy to design their work and how it is completed. · Democratic, which allows veterinary teams to co- create outcomes with their leaders. · Coaching, which will create pathways for continued growth and development of the team members and encourage a culture of learning.
A critical component in utilizing effective leadership styles is an understanding of “Followership”. The act of leading involves two parties: the leader and the follower. A leader cannot lead if they don’t have followers. The ability of a leader to lead isn’t impacted by followership, but by following behaviors. Followship behaviors are heavily influenced by the actions of the leaders. It is through this relationship that co-created outcomes occur. This concept is foundational to brave leadership. MANAGING A LEADER’S BEHAVIORS By its very nature, veterinary medicine is filled with the unexpected; as a result, teams work in unpredictable workplaces daily. Well-meaning leaders contribute to the stress and anxiety that their teams experience, often unknowingly, through their words and actions. Brave leadership demands that leaders understand the impact of how they act and communicate with their teams and that they strive to minimize negative behavioral patterns, as identified in a recent article 5 :
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