The DNA of Your Pharmacy Lies in Your Leadership

You know what DNA is, but do you really know what leadership is?

The Pharmacy Sage defines it as “rendering uncommonly good performance, and then getting it from others.”

As such, your main job as the leader of your pharmacy can be divided into 2 parts:

• Build your cash flow and profits to greater heights
• Build strength into your organization by creating a place where the best employees not only want to come to work, but also want to stay for the rest of their careers

To accomplish the first, you create—or bring in—the finest marketing available for independent pharmacies. Put it to work using a multiplicity of different online and offline strategies to make certain that you deliver the right messages to all the right people.

The second part is where your leadership becomes much more apparent to your team members. It is your job to attract the best possible applicants for any job opening. And that means, not only those who are actively seeking a job, but also anyone who might possibly want to leave her present position in order to find a better one…with you.

Creating a place to work where the best want to stay on a permanent basis is key to attracting the best. When you have such a working environment, people are more happy, more productive, and your employee turnover becomes negligible.

At Rx Profits Now, I practice what I preach. Many firms pretend that they treat team members like family. I make certain that concept is a reality, day-in and day-out. As such, I…

• Use “please” and “thank you” for anything and everything possible during the course of the day
• Commend people as often as possible for a job well done or any improvement they make
• Use a goals-oriented program for getting improved work performance wherever I feel that improvement needs to be made. It leads to a variety of rewards for me.
• Evaluate and give raises twice yearly based on how well those goals are achieved

Good leaders enjoy giving rewards to their people when those increases are based on improved performance. It’s part of the leadership psyche. In addition, I also provide:

• Partial gas reimbursement based on the distance each travels to and from work on a daily basis. Costs very little; nevertheless, it shows I care.
• Some fruit, yogurt, and other foods on an almost daily basis to make certain that people, in their haste to come to work on time, do not go through the day on empty stomachs. Fruit is healthy, and I try to make certain that a minimum amount of protein becomes part of their morning food consumption.
• Weekly or bi-weekly staff meetings to keep them apprised of changes that are occurring; also to seek their opinions and input. You’d be amazed at how much talent you can bring out in these meetings using such an approach.

If you want to attract the best and keep them forever, turn their work into fun. Show some humor once or twice a day to help them enjoy their work. And, when preceded with some training, you can delegate much of the work that you really should not be doing.

The more you attempt to do the routine and mundane that does not belong in your job description as the owner, the more you have diluted your role as the leader. And your people decidedly recognize that fact. Believe it or not, they know what you should be doing versus what you should be handing off to other team members, so that you can concentrate on that work which you, and you alone, should do.

If you cannot delegate, you cannot lead. As a result, where should you be focusing your time, effort, and energy now?

• Upgrading your marketing so that you deliver messages that resonate with your intended audience. Seek outside help to do this very specialized activity.
• Write down what the next 5 years of your pharmacy should look like
• Put on your research cap, gather some data to see how much revenue even a part-time personal assistant could bring to your pharmacy business
• Finally, look inward at what is truly holding you back. Where is the chokepoint? Are you looking at all possible alternatives?

To the degree that you practice what you have learned from the above, the DNA of your leadership will become more and more pronounced.

The Pharmacy Sage can be reached at (518) 346-7021 or thepharmacysage@rxresultsnow.com