ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 4/30/2024
3 tips to help pharmacy leaders clear the slate
Clearing the slate means that I come to work each day with the discipline of delegating as many items from my to-do list to others as I can. I explain ahead of time that I am passionate about what we do and I think about it a lot. The thinking generates many action items that I alone could never accomplish. - 4/23/2024
Pharmacists, you are movie stars!
Whether pharmacists like it or not, we are the celebrities of the pharmacy. We have important staff around us that keep us afloat but to many of our patients, especially our most regular ones, we are their main event. - 4/16/2024
What’s your pharmacy leader strategy? Are you ‘in charge’ yet ‘out of control’?
Great pharmacy leaders find themselves organically in charge of the operation yet out of the control of the minutia. How? They create an environment where people contribute to the development of their plans. They mobilize the right answers by giving autonomy. - 4/9/2024
When do you suck it up and ask your pharmacy staff for answers?
The best pharmacy leaders do not have all the answers, but they do know how to mobilize teams that find those answers. Before making big decisions, ask pharmacy staff what they think. - 4/2/2024
Are medication review quotas the new traffic tickets?
Companies need to stop setting service goals and instead strive to solve their operator pain points. In fixing operator problems that unlock services, they will also unlock other aspects of what makes a pharmacy strong, like driving prescription and over-the-counter growth. - 3/26/2024
Every pharmacy has a Sherlock Holmes on the team. Who’s yours?
The best gift you can give someone is an idea. Ideas spark hope, motivation and a new beginning. The more ideas we can generate, the greater the opportunity for positive outcomes to occur. The more connections we make between different ideas, the better the potential for greatness. - 3/19/2024
What’s the best compliment you can give someone in your pharmacy?
In one of our pharmacies, we hired someone without pharmacy experience for the front shop. She worked part-time being a secondary student and was quick to learn. She was quiet, listened attentively and absorbed information like a sponge. She quickly grew in proficiency and responsibility. - 3/12/2024
Pharmacy leadership—old school versus new school
Today, the best bosses are leaders. They take care of others before themselves and serve those who execute their vision, which was developed from collective opinion. Leaders give others a chance to ask why and explain the reasons for major decisions. - 3/5/2024
A (good) four-letter word for pharmacy
Of all the things the boss can provide to a staff there is one critical element that is easy to miss. Aside from the usual – money, time off, benefits, bonuses, training, tools and support – the boss provides something that takes staff through the hard moments and keeps them invested in the job for the long haul. - 2/27/2024
5 questions to help validate a pharmacist’s negative thoughts
What if you could control the way you felt by controlling the way you thought? Like a remote control for television, our negative thoughts take us to the shows playing in our heads. The good news: we can train our brains to better handle negative thoughts, so we end up watching the shows we want instead of being stuck in a bad movie, too deeply committed to walk away.