I'm super sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been very crazy at work. I have some drafts prepared about my trip to Colorado as well as the Wallow Fire, but today I needed to write about Teamwork.
Over the years of running this company I have learned so much about people, integrity, leadership, compassion, commitment, etc. When we were a small company, we had only 3 employees which included Janelle, Mike, and myself. On just about any day, things went very smooth. It was easy to keep up with our patient load and with Janelles memory (the girl has the mind of an elephant), I knew things were getting done and patients were being cared for. Mike and I did all the deliveries, we had a part time respiratory therapist who took care of our oxygen setups, and Janelle took care of all the phone calls and all the paperwork.
All 3 of us showed up for work and we all usually showed up in a good cheerful mood. The company and patients came first. I'm sure it's not always a healthy, but we all took the job home with us. Mike and I took call and being such a small company we knew all the patients. If by chance we forgot something, we just called up "the elephant" and she of course came through.
Fast forward 7 years. Mike moved to Omaha 18 months ago and just now moved back and started back with AOM as of Friday. Janelle moved to Alaska the first part of May. Counting some part time staff, we now have 9 employees and I have no idea how many total patients we have.
With growth, comes headaches. And lately (I know you don't start a sentence with "and"), my head has been pounding. Part of this, I take responsibility for. Actually I take all the responsibility. Attitude reflects Leadership. For the most part, I'm very happy and satisfied with the team we have. Just about everyone walks through the door in a good mood. A good mood though can only take you so far. Everyone has to work well together and everyone has to be counted on to be doing their job. Just like spokes of a wheel, if one spoke is bent or absent, the wheel is no longer true. I feel like we have a few bent spokes at the moment.
Everything is fixable, but some people are gonna have to step it up a bit. I enjoy working with fun, happy, driven, caring people. Back in my days of horseshoeing, I always lived by the rule that if I didn't enjoy the horse or the owner, I wasn't going to take them on. Well the same goes here, only for employees too. I love what I do, and I value the difference we are able to make in the lives of others. I'm not going to allow anyone to take away from that.
People cannot be here just for a paycheck. They have to be a part of the team. The interests of the patient and the rest of the team have to be at the forefront. I'm hoping this is something that can be taught, if not, some aren't going to last long. I'm going to be meeting with a few employees individually in hopes of alleviating any and all of these problems.
I've only got one more week of little league. This will free my afternoons up so that I can focus more on work and organizing things. By the end of this month, I plan on things moving in a smooth efficient direction. My sanity depends on it:).
Anyway, with the fire and evacuations, Janelle leaving, and some other staffing issues, things have been hectic. Sorry for slacking off on the posting. Hopefully things are on the mend. Evacuees have been allowed home, what a huge relief for them. My prayers are with those in Greer, Alpine, and Nutrioso. This fire never should have gotten this big. Fire/Forest management needs to change. I'll save this argument for a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment