What does it mean to be a great leader? And why should you work to be a great leader in your pharmacy? Your ability to be a strong leader to your employees and patients can lead your business to success—but it takes work.
“You can’t just default to normal communications and hope you come across as a really strong leader,” said Don Hutson, CEO of U.S. Learning, LLC, and author of “Selling Value: Principles of Value-Based Selling.” “You have to make the effort to achieve your desired leadership outcome.”
The first step to becoming a strong, effective leader, Hutson said, is the decision to commit to studying and developing your leadership skills. And it doesn’t happen overnight.
“You need to accept the premise that school’s never out,” Hutson said.
“Part of leadership is business acumen; it’s people skills; it’s customer satisfaction; it’s entrepreneurship,” he said. “All of these things are critically important.”
And if you push yourself, you’ll notice a difference. “When you develop a compelling leadership style, then you start to notice that employee turnover has decreased and customer satisfaction has increased,” Hutson said. “If leaders do a good job of keeping their employees happy, they’ll make their customers happy too.”
Skills to learn
It’s important to devote time and energy to learn skills that weren’t part of your formal education.
Hutson recommends starting with books about business and leadership, or even subscribing to online educational programs. Continuing education sessions are another way to develop additional skills.
“You have to do your homework to get really good at it,” Hutson said.
Along with learning, you also have to put your leadership skills into practice. “I think the worst thing that pharmacists can do today is get in their cocoon behind the counter and not engage with employees and customers,” Hutson said. “It’s called professional cocooning.”
As you develop your unique leadership style, you’ll find that certain common traits foster great leadership. Hutson points to community involvement, follow-up and follow through, and integrity as common traits of successful business leaders.
“Integrity is huge,” he said. “Being a trusted advisor is so important when you’re dealing with patients in a pharmacy environment. Being a trusted advisor means establishing respect in your field and earning trust in everything you do.”
Sell to lead
One skill that’s often overlooked when it comes to leadership in a pharmacy setting is selling.
“Regardless of the title on your business card, everybody’s in sales,” Hutson said. Pharmacists don’t typically think of themselves as salespeople, but Hutson suggests taking a fresh look at the role of sales in your pharmacy.
When it comes to communicating with your patients, your employees and your business partners, selling is built into these relationships. “Every time we speak, we want to be articulate, convincing and persuasive, which will enable us to get our desired outcome from that relationship. One key caveat is to be sure those desired outcomes are ‘win-wins’ in nature, not manipulative.”
You have to sell your vision for your pharmacy to others, and get them involved. “People will buy in to the degree that you ask them to be part of a given initiative. When you give them opportunities for authorship, they will feel more ownership.” “We all sell, and we need to know how to do it right,” he said. “The greatest leaders know how to persuade rather than demand.”
Educate to innovate
You can’t move your pharmacy forward if you’re still relying on the business tactics and leadership skills of yesterday. Staying engaged in your own education and constantly pursuing new knowledge is essential.
“I know that when I let my guard down and quit learning, I’m going to become obsolete,” Hutson said. “Being a pharmacist is exactly the same.
” The more you work to stay on top of your own skill development and the emerging trends in your profession, the more you’ll establish yourself as a trusted advisor, and the more you’ll be able to incorporate innovations into your business practices. This will allow your pharmacy to stay competitive, too.
“We’ve got to maintain a hunger for knowledge, an excitement for new information and an absolute commitment to stay on the cutting edge rather than the trailing edge,” Hutson said.
About the expert
Don Hutson is a Hall of Fame Speaker and New York Times #1 best-selling author. He is the CEO of U.S. Learning based in Memphis, Tenn. Learn more at donhutson.com.
